Need help with a reply regarding VT - payments

[Aanderson]

Good afternoon.

i need a bit of guidance

I sent my VT letter and everything is arranged for collection company to come collect my car.

i stated in my termination letter that it was being terminated with immediate effect but startline have said I must continue paying until collected. I challenged this with a reply using the guidance given on here but they have came back and said I am liable for payments until the car is collected and should I wish to make a complaint to email.

now how should I go about this, as it’s not my fault the collection company can not collect until 5 days after payment is due. I have also already said that consumer credit act is clear on where my liability stands regarding half the total sum there for I am not liable for any other payments but this seems to have fallen on deafs ears

any help would be vastly appreciated

[echat11]

Providing you've paid 50% you can VT, make a formal complaint, follow the complaints procedure on their website, when you get a final response / deadlock letter, if your not happy, lodge a complaint with the FOS.

[Aanderson]

echat11 yes I’ve paid 50% and they’ve agreed to terminate but are adamant I have to keep payments until collection. They said if I’m unhappy with this to email the complaints email,

any idea what to say here

thank you

[Pezza54]

Refer the company to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 S99(1) and S100(1)
The consumer under the legislation can terminate the contract (unilaterally) when he or she has paid 50% of the total loan including interest
After you have stated in an email that you are terminating the agreement and have paid half of the loan, cancel your direct debit

[Aanderson]

Pezza54

yes this I’ve done thank you.

does the car still need to be insured to be collected do you know.

[echat11]

Your follow up letter summarizes what's in your initial letter.

Make sure you take pictures / video of the car before it's handed over.

[Aanderson]

So little update.

after sending my follow up “complaint” email to startline I’ve had 3 missed calls from them, all 3 calls ring once then they hang up. Almost to make out like they have tried to call to discuss with me but really don’t want that awkward conversation on how they can not force me to keep up with payments until the vehicle is collected.

instead I have sent another follow up email asking them to stop these 1 ring calls and correspond via email so that there is a record of what is being said. All done politely of course

[Aanderson]

echat11 Pezza54 Latest, I have received an email that seems to try hammering home they are not upholding my complaint


Dear Mr Anderson,

Our Response to Your Complaint

You contacted us on 28 January 2025 regarding your Voluntary Termination (VT).

You have been advised that you need to keep paying the contractual payments until the agreement ends.

You have advised us that you are under the impression that legislation dictates that you do not need to pay anything further towards your agreement as you have reached the “50% mark”.

We have now completed our investigation, and we can confirm that we are not upholding your complaint.

Investigation

You entered into a finance agreement with Startline Motor Finance (Startline) to purchase a xxxxx registration xxxx for xxxx from Arnold Clark. This agreement commenced on 16 May 2022.

At the point of sale, the vehicle was seven years old with a recorded mileage of 39,654 miles.

As part of our investigation, we have reviewed your agreement and your concerns.

We understand that you are under the impression that you do not have any further liability towards your agreement, and that your agreement has already been terminated. However, your agreement has not yet been terminated.

Please see CRA 1974, section 99 (2):

Termination of an agreement under subsection (1) does not affect any liability under the agreement which has accrued before the termination.

The agreement is not considered terminated until we have received the vehicle as you still have use of the vehicle.

Furthermore, please see the Terms and Conditions point 11.2.1, regarding terminating your agreement early:

You must pay us any arrears and other sums due, up to the date of the agreement end and any costs and expenses incurred by us…

We have also issued you an email on 08 January 2025, stating:

Confirmation of any sums due will be issued to you, which will detail:

• Any shortfall to reach half of the Total Amount Payable as detailed in Step 1.
• Any arrears outstanding on your agreement at time of Voluntary Termination as detailed in Step 1.
• Any damages or costs associated with missing items or vehicle collection.
• Any charges accrued where mileage conditions have been exceeded.

As such, we are not upholding your complaint.

Kindly contact our Final Balance Support Department for further assistance on this matter.

Their contact number is 0141 483 2270 and their opening hours are Mon-Fri; 8am-8pm, Sat-Sun; 9am-6pm.

Summary

As mentioned above, we are not upholding your complaint

If you remain dissatisfied by our response you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter.
If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances.





where do I go from here

[echat11]

So little update.

after sending my follow up “complaint” email to startline I’ve had 3 missed calls from them, all 3 calls ring once then they hang up. Almost to make out like they have tried to call to discuss with me but really don’t want that awkward conversation on how they can not force me to keep up with payments until the vehicle is collected.

instead I have sent another follow up email asking them to stop these 1 ring calls and correspond via email so that there is a record of what is being said. All done politely of course

What they are saying is 'nonsense', they know it is.

If the Complaint ends up with the FOS, then Startline has to pay the FOS to look into your complaint.

If the calls continue, update the thread.

[Aanderson]

echat11 yes I honestly believe they have just attempted to hit me with a bunch of words to try confuse me. Am I right in saying when they refer me to section 99(2) this part is about arrears so if I missed a payment then I would be liable to pay this (which I haven’t) so really they are barking up the wrong tree using this reference?

I have emailed them back basically stating that I have terminated the contract after paying more than half of the total sum due and giving notice and therefore I am not due to pay anything else (as they seem to believe they decide when it gets terminated regardless of my letter)

So annoying that the collection companies earliest collection date falls 5 days after payment is due or it would have avoided all this

[Pezza54]

Your first para is correct. 99(2)termination of the agreement does not affect any liability which has accrued before the agreement is terminated
The date of termination was the the date you communicated to the finance company you were terminating the agreement (the date you sent your email)

You could write back stating that you haven't used the car since the date of termination and it is awaiting collection

[Aanderson]

Pezza54 I thought that and I have said this, I stated in my
original termination letter the car is now parked and will no longer be used awaiting collection and i have repeated this in my email today.

[Aanderson]

echat11 Pezza54

so I checked my online startline account today and a further £12 has been added to my account and now showing arrears totalling £312.66, £300.66 for the car payment that didn’t go through as I cancelled the direct debit.

i emailed startline and this is their response

I hope this email finds you well. As the direct debit on 31 January 2025 was unsuccessful, a £12.00 dishonour fee was added to your agreement, in line with our Terms and Conditions.

We have outlined our reasoning and provided you with our final response to your complaint. If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint, you have the right to bring it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Please see the PDF file attached to the Final Response Letter that we issued on 30 January 2025, for further information regarding the Financial Ombudsman Service.



im guessing now the FO is my best route now?

so my response from startline is

[Pezza54]

Yes the FOS.
You are in deadlock with the finance company.
Contact the FOS to make sure you can refer your complaint to them
Far better than receiving a LBA and court claim

[Aanderson]

Pezza54 sorry I keep coming to you. I have outlined everything I. I need to for my complaint to the FO including referencing recent cases reviewed by FO which is in the debtors favour that are similar cases to mine, my question is do I submit my complaint now or wait until they get the car back and then start about damages which I feel could be a whole other saga, am I best to send it now or wait for a full picture of everything