VT of a PCP with Barclays - Excess Mileage Problem

[Crawleymatt]

Hi all and [MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION]

I am hoping for some help here, been looking at the posts for some time, now is the time to act i think!

At the end of May 2017 I terminated my PCP on a Citroen DS3 as I got a new job with a company car.

A company came and collected the car on the 24th May and I heard nothing until I chased Barclays Partner Finance yesterday.

They are charging me the following:

£3,707.16 which is made up of:
£199 completion Fee
£184.22 for my final monthly payment for June (even though I VT'd in May)
£234 for collection (which they discounted by £70 when I challenged them) I had budgeted for a £150 collection fee as I couldn't return the car to Macclesfield from Carlisle!
And......
£3089.94 for excess mileage of 21,833 miles over the 4 years.

Now here is my issue, they are sending me a copy of the agreement in the post which I signed for 8k miles per annum. This is not what the sales guy at the time sold it on, I had said i would need about 17,000 per annum, to which he agreed and said it wouldn't matter anyway as I could either trade it in or VT is and mileage wouldn't be taken into account at that point! WRONG - I would not have singed a thing if it was for 8000 miles, but I fear the paperwork will state that and thats tough on me!

I have no means to pay the £3k, I have accounted for £400 and have that available, but cannot afford the rest, and cannot really afford to agree to pay them a small amount per month either (already in a bit of debt).

What should my next step be, from reading this I can challenge the delivery charge and the mileage, but what is the likelihood of it sticking and them agreeing to scrap the charges. Does anyone have any experience of Barclays Partner Finance with this issue?

Thanks in advance

[xs2man]

Re: VT of a PCP with Barclays - Excess Mileage Problem

If you VT'd in May there should be no June payment. They would not be allowed to charge a completion fee or for delivery charges either. Nor the mileage.

To avoid paying all this though, you may have to take Barclays to court. And in the meantime, they may tarnish your credit record by putting a marker against it. So it's up to you whether you want to take that risk. That is a significant amount of money though, so it will take some consideration. But if you do fight it, you should be prepared to go all the way with it. But be aware, that you need to decide early on, because if you start to fight it, then give up later on, the damage to your credit report is already done, and wont be reversed.

[R0b]

Re: VT of a PCP with Barclays - Excess Mileage Problem

I'd very much strongly argue the completion and collection fee as well as your final payment is definitely not payable and you could easily resist that. As Xs2man has said, you will need to consider your options because finance companies will apply a default on your credit file and unless you are willing to take it all the way to the courts, you are going to live with it for the next 6 years.

Were you not given a copy of the agreement when you signed it? It is common for sales people to suggest a certain mileage only for the finance agreement to say something else. Usually the more annual mileage you require then the higher the monthly instalment. If you had any witnesses at the time who were with you then that could help you in terms of any misrepresentation, but if not its difficult if its your word against theirs.

[Crawleymatt]

Re: VT of a PCP with Barclays - Excess Mileage Problem

Thanks People, to be fair my current credit report is damaged anyway, I have had a default after a dispute recently, so I am worried about that a lot less than anything else.

Just waiting for them to send me the paperwork and statement breakdown and then my reply will be thrown back at them with added aggression!!

It is my word against no-one to be honest as the garage no longer exists and nether does the salesman, it was a very good deal when I got it as the garage were pushing hard for sales as they were known to be struggling a little. 4 Years ago I knew very little about those types of deals so blindly said yes!

[Crawleymatt]

Re: VT of a PCP with Barclays - Excess Mileage Problem

An Update if any further advice could be given?

Have sent a letter to Barclays Partner Finance and had no response, so I have called them today and got the following!

You either take this to the ombudsman or pay the debt (basically). As i had raised a complaint about the amount earlier (which they closed without my authority) they are unwilling to look at any further complaint, and will now (after my pressing them) are going to send me the original signed agreement and a response to the letter I sent them.

I assume once I have these letter I now go to the ombudsman?

The original complaint was just regarding the original amount of the delivery charge (which I initially agreed to), was quoted £150 but they charged £225 (ish) so that was the complaint, not the whole issue at all.