PCP and voluntary termination

[Basilb73]

i am writing here on behalf of my son. He is trying to VT his car and having so much hassle with Barclays who acknowledged on phone then seem to be ignoring. We have used the template letter from here by ROB but we are now sitting 4 months later with Barclays escalating to Clydesdale and trying to get him to voluntary surrender. What can we do now?

[R0b]

Assuming you have evidence that the VT letter was sent to Barclays then it is treated as terminated. If it has been 4 months you should look to make a complaint to Barclays and then to the Financial Ombudsman.

[Basilb73]

thanks for speedy response.

I have an email and also a letter from Barclays complaints department when original email was resent to remind them. The next response was from Clydesdale as mentioned trying to get my son to voluntary surrender. Should I make another complaint?

[R0b]

If the complaint has been going on for over 8 weeks then you are free to pursue it to directly to the Financial Ombudsman.

When you say they are trying to get your son to voluntarily surrender the vehicle, in what way are they doing this, by email, telephone?

[Basilb73]

They have referred to Clydesdale t/a asking him to voluntary surrender the car. The letter says they won't repossess car without a court order and asking for the full amount of credit

[R0b]

Can you post up the letter with personal info redacted?

[Basilb73]

[Basilb73]

The voluntary termination notice was emailed to them in April this year. They acknowledged over the phone. Then continued to send letters for payment to which we responded with a further email with original VT notice ( using your template) attached which had original email date. In response to this they sent a letter acknowledging the complaint and the response to the complaint seems to be what I have uploaded to you here.

[R0b]

That letter is a letter before action.

What exactly were they trying to pursue you for when they demanded payment? Have you paid 50% of the total price payable under the agreement, or is it something else they are trying to seek?

It sounds as if they are trying to claim the value of the car which is the sum of £17,273.44 is that right?

Why haven't they collected the car from you? Have they refused or have you refused?

[Basilb73]

This letter is out of the blue. We were expecting a follow up letter from the one acknowledging a complaint and instead got this. They kept sending letters for missed payments and ignoring the VT.

My son hasn't paid 50% of the total price and has acknowledged to them that he knows he is liable for that and has no issue with that.

They haven't picked up the car simply because they are ignoring the VT. There was an earlier letter dated June that says they were unable to uphold the complaint as in order for a customer to be able to VT an agreement they require customers to sign and return the VT form. My son used advice from here telling them he did not need to sign a form as the email to them was enough to VT the agreement.

Thanks

[R0b]

We can't help you if you are going to drip feed the information so it is best if you provide us with the following information (personal info redacted):

1. All relevant correspondence including their response saying that they cannot process the VT without their documentation being signed.
2. What exactly is it they are demanding payment for.
3. How much your son owes to make up the 50%.

I'm not sure if either you or your son knows how serious this is but he really needs to get a rapid move on with a response to DWF. Failing to do so will likely result in proceedings issued against him and means alot more work and effort.

Given that your son is on such a short timeframe to respond, it might be helpful to send an urgent email to DWF (if there is one on the letter) citing the fact that their letter before action is not compliant with the Pre-Action Protocols for Debt Claims. You should point out that under these protocols their client is required to allow 30 days to respond to the claim but their time limit is only offering 14 days. In any event, your son is seeking to respond in full to the claim but requires further time to do so and they should expect the response within the next 7 days.

That would allow your son to draft something which is detailed and highlighting the issues in hand and why their client is not entitled to it. It doesn't guarantee that proceedings won't be issued, but it will make them think twice about it.

If you or your son needs feedback on the letter for extension and/or the response then post up a draft here and we can comment on it. Time is of the essence here and your son really needs to at least acknowledge their letter in some way. Sitting around doing nothing is a recipe for disaster.

[Basilb73]

Hi, I totally appreciate all help you are offering and wasn't my intention to drip feed. I will post all information as soon as i can (i am in work). In the meantime i will get my son to respond ASAP to DWF as follows:

"DearSir/Madam,

I am writing with regards to your recent letter before action sent from your office on 28/08/18. This letter is for failed payments with regards to a conditional sale agreement and is asking i respond in 14 days and by 4pm on 11th September 2018.

I am writing to request an extension to allow me to effectively respond and in line with the pre-action protocols for debt that allows 30 days to respond to the claim.

Yours faithfully"

Does this sound ok?

[R0b]

Having re-read the situation, the letter before action ought to be covered by the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims which requires certain information to be in the LBA which is not, and also certain enclosures of documents.

The contents of the LBA of what should be included are listed in the Debt PAP under Section 3 (click here for link). Therefore they should have included the Reply Form in Annex 1 of the Debt PAP.

I would suggest that complete the Reply Form and include it within your letter which for urgency purposes should be sent by email as mentioned in my last post. As the debt is disputed your son would need to tick "Box D" and then I also suggest that "Box I" is also ticked to request further information.

I've attached a working example of how your son might wish to respond but do note that it is just an example and is simply an interim letter with the view that a full response to the claim will be made in due course and before the 30 day period that they are required to give (or maybe longer
Have a read of it and adapt to suit.

[R0b]

Noticed a few errors and mistakes in the letter (references to Protocol instead of Debt PAP) so have uploaded a revised version.

[Basilb73]

Thank you once again.

Strangely when i got home last night there was a letter from Barclays saying they are still looking into my son's complaint:

Dear Mr xxx
We are still looking into your complaint on xx August 2018. We are sorry that we are still not in a position to give you a final response, but we assure you that we are still looking into it.
Thank you again for your patience. We are working to resolve your complaint as quickly as we can and will be in touch again within 28 days.