Audi Voluntary Termination/ Reference of Mercedes case

[Runner95]

Hello,

I have recently VT'd my PCP with Audi and used a letter template from one of the forums on Legal Beagle to argue my case against charges for excess mileage and damage. I have received a response from Audi mentioning two things that I could really use some help with please!

Firstly- In my letter to them I used the case of Mercedez vs. Cahalane at Willesdon County Court as a response to excess mileage charge and they have come back to me and said that both their legal team and the Finance & Leasing Association have no record of this case and are therefore unable to take it in to consideration. I am very confused by this, so does this mean that the case doesn't exist or have I provided the wrong detail please?

Secondly- In terms of not owing any additional money once 50% of my PCP had been voluntarily terminated I referenced Section 100 of the Consumer Credit Act. They have come back saying I have failed to note that Section 99 (2) explicitly stated that "Termination of an agreement under subsection 1 [the right to terminate] does not affect liability under the agreement which has accrued before termination." Therefore the charges still apply.

Would you please be able to advise on the above please? As I am very confused by it all!

In addition they have mentioned in the closing paragraphs of the letter that it constitutes their final response and the charges still stand. So I would assume I would send a response back to them, but also send a case to the Financial Ombudsman?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks!

[R0b]

The Mercedes case is a County Court case and is not a published judgment, if they wanted to Audi they can apply for a transcript themselves and then get the judgment. Whether they want to or not is their prerogative but is not up to you to do that.

The second point was also raised in the Mercedes case, and the judge confirmed that the excess mileage charges only crystallised upon termination of the agreement, not for every mile beyond the agreed mileage. If you check the terms and conditions under voluntary termination or default charges or similar clauses, it will say something along the lines that if you terminate the agreement or return the car then you will be liable to pay the excess mileage charges. Had you seen the agreement through to the end and paid the option to purchase price, you wouldn't actually be liable to pay those charges.

Whilst Section 99(2) does indeed say that termination does not affect liability accrued before termination, it is also subject to Section 100(1) which says that if you terminate under Section 99, your liability is capped at one half of the total price, which excludes damages for breach of contract. So they only recoverable sums under Section 99(2) would be the monthly instalments.

Make a formal complaint to the FOS, they are currently reviewing their decisions in light of the Mercedes case.

P.s. you only need to post your thread once, you aren't going to get a faster reply if you post multiple times.

[Runner95]

Thank you for your speedy response.

I wasn’t trying to get a quicker reply it was just that I posted to the wrong forum (realised after!) so wasn’t sure if it would be seen.. hence the second post. (Didn’t know how to delete the first one!)

If I drafted a response (omitting personal details) could you possibly take a look over this please? Or would I not respond to them at all and just direct my response straight to the FOC please?

Thank you!

[R0b]

What template letter did you send? I've been updating some templates recently so you may have sent an older version.

I don't think there is any point in responding to Audi as they've made it clear it's their final response. Make a complaint to the FOS, if you look on the thread below there is a complaint form with some template wording, you will need to adapt it to suit - that poster is a few steps ahead of you so have a read of the thread to save you from asking questions.

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...excess-mileage

[Runner95]

To be honest I can't remember unfortunately as it was early November, but it may well have been an older version!

Ok great, thank you so much for your help!

[Runner95]

Sorry R0b in the thread it mentions a copy of the Mercedes case transcript being sent and also a copy being attached in the Financial Ombudsman complaint but I was unable to find this in the thread, would there be any chance you could send this over to me please?

Thanks!

[R0b]

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