Unsure about pcp deal- please advise!

[Stacyleigh87]

Hi!

So I am new to this and have done a lot of reading through the previous posts re: vt on pcp/hp deals.

My partner and I went to a dealership on Thursday to look for a new deal for my partner who is a taxi driver. We explained our circumstances and that he would cover a lot of miles per year and that our last car was an HP deal. The salesman advised us to go for PCP instead this time to keep our payments down and vt once we have paid 50%. (The car was out of our price range when looking at HP) I voiced my concern re excess mileage charges but was assured that the finance company can’t legally enforce these due to CCA which I have read many times on this forum.

We spoke with the branch manager yesterday (11.01.19) and I again voiced my concerns re excess mileage charges but he was adamant that the finance company can not enforce these charges but will definitely invoice for them if we vt however we are not obligated to pay these. The manager was very convincing and we signed the paperwork.

I have since read many posts re finance companies chasing for these fees and falsely recording on people’s credit reports when they do not pay up even years after the vt has been completed.

My partner will likely be approx 100,000 miles over the maximum agreed amount by the time we can vt at 15ppm!!

I am feeling very uneasy about the situation and am now wondering if there is anything we can do before we actually collect the car??

Any advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance

[des8]

Tagging R0b for you, but as this is weekend you may have to wait till Monday for an answer

[Stacyleigh87]

Thank you!! Much appreciated

[R0b]

Not sure you can do much here having now signed the paperwork. You have to remember these people work in sales, they're meant to be convincing in order to get the deal done.

Yes it is argued that excess mileage is not chargeable when you VT but if you have set a low estimated annual mileage when you know that you are going to go over it substantially is misleading and false. Some lenders like Fiat are now catching on to referring to the common law of misrepresentation and ruling normal cases that would be difficult to prove because so long as you hold an honest opinion of the annual mileage, in your case this isnt really true.

Did you get anything in writing from the branch manager confirming that you can rely on your VT rights? If you didnt, all I can do is wish you good luck because it's yours and your partner's word against the branch manager when they time comes.

You should at least make a note of the branch managers name and you may want to consider getting out of the contract sooner than later if possible. You could try to make a formal complaint to the finance co. Tell them you've been misled and that you want to terminate the agreement now than getting to that stage. Or you can carry on and take the risk.

In my view, getting a car on HP or PCP for taxi purposes is absolutely the wrong idea. You should really buy the car outright and get a personal loan.

[des8]

Is there not a 14 day cooling off period in which to cancel?
Might mean losing any deposit paid to dealership,

[R0b]

Yes, you can, but you need to find the loan balance as that does not get cancelled. Unless, the documents weren't signed on the premises then you could exercise the distance cancellation rights.

[Stacyleigh87]

Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately the forms were signed on site. These apparently have not yet been sent as the car is not ready to be collected yet and the manager prefers to wait until the day before we collect to send the paperwork.

If I still have 14 days cooling off period could I cancel the pcp finance and find another way of buying the car? HP or personal loan? We didn’t have to pay any deposit upfront so wouldn’t be losing any money. HP is a lot more expensive monthly but at least wouldn’t be mileage restricted?

[R0b]

Yes you could make arrangements to repay the loan balance such as through a personal loan. If the paperwork hasn't been sent off, then you may want to consider keep all communications in writing and complain to the branch manager saying that you believe to have been mis-sold and mislead into signing the agreement on the basis of the annual mileage. The complaint should set out in full the background and perhaps seek to rescind the contract on that basis. Ideally, you also want to send a copy of the letter to the finance co. and make it clear in the letter at the end that is what you are going to do.

Ultimately, it is the finance co. who is liable for the dealership's actions but if you want out of the contract then I would suggest now is the time to do it than at the end when you do VT.

A pure HP agreement shouldn't restrict mileage but I do see alot of contracts still retain a mileage clause so you'd have to see an example of that type of agreement before going through any further credit check to see if it's in there or note. I don't believe a conditional sale agreement has the excess mileage clause in either (or at least it didn't in my Santander one some years ago) so that could also be an option as solution.

[Stacyleigh87]

R0b Thanks again.

I contacted the dealer this morning to confirm that he hadn’t sent the finance paperwork which he hadn’t. He also confirmed that legally we aren’t tied in to taking the car either as we didn’t leave a deposit and the finance hasn’t been set up yet so there is nothing they can do. His words... we can walk away if we choose to but that they can also help us look for a better way to finance the car if we still want to go ahead.

Definitely feel like a weight has been lifted off me!!

Thanks for your help!

[R0b]

Good to hear that. I would think you should make a decision relatively swiftly in case they say you are no longer entitled to walk away, and make sure you communicate this in writing and refer to your conversation that was had (if not in writing) allowing you to exit the agreement without penalty.