County Court Form Received - Voluntary Termination Excess Mileage Costs

[2019Lily]

Hi all, Im wondering if somebody could help or point me in the right direction on here. I have searched and found so much info Im not sure what is relevant to my issue.

In April 19 we Voluntarily terminated a PCP via VW Finance on the recommendation if the garage we were purchasing from due to excess mileage on the car (our circumstances changed dramatically during the contract which meant quite a lot more travel). We went through the handover process and the car was collected and payments ceased etc.

We were warned by the garage that we would be hounded for the excess mileage costs but that there was no legal obligation to pay and to basically ignore the correspondence and it would go away. The bill is approx £3500.

We have just received a county court form and looking for advice on next steps or how to best complete the document

Thanks in advance




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[2019Lily]

Can I assume that I respond to the form in the same way as I would respond with the letter? State I have fulfilled obligations in line with the contract and no further costs are valid?

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[R0b]

It would be helpful to upload the claim form, redacted, to see what exactly they have stated in their particulars of claim.

Also, have they instructed solicitors and if so, who are they.

Probably also helpful if you could upload the terms and conditions of the agreement.

[2019Lily]

Hi see attached scans of the initial finance paperwork and the claim form received

The garage that initially sold us the vehicle pointed out the termination clause on page 1 of the VW finance document 'Termination of Rights' stating that if our circumstances did change that we would be covered to hand the vehicle back under this clause with no further costs. At the time I worked from home so the mileage logged was accurate but there was always the thought that if that changed in the 3 to 4 years what would happen?
The garage selling us the new vehicle went through the same info, checked our agreement and advised (informally of course) that the best course of action was to VT the vehicle with excess mileage no enforceable by law. They also pointed us to a few online guides to read that gave us confidence what was being said was correct with the main theme being that the consumer rights laws override any contractual law enforcing the extra costs (or something like that)

We had a full service carried out on the vehicle before handing back, professional clean and made sure we took copies of all paperwork and documents, photos of the vehicle etc to make sure we were more than covered to make sure we didn't come under any shock from the fair wear and tear clauses.

We had initial communication with VWFS to show that they had accepted the VT and we had paid more than our agreed figure and no more would be owed from the finance viewpoint. We haven't received a breakdown of any costs and now have the court form to fill out. If we were receiving such documents I would have expected recorded delivery as well to ensure it is being received otherwise the 14 day response time cant be enforced surely?




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[2019Lily]

Hi rob*just wondering if you have had chance to have a look at this?*

In the meantime should I be responding on the moneyclaim site to acknowledge receipt? Just read one of the guides. Am I right in thinking we select the option to Defend all of the Claim and take note of the new respond by date?

Thanks

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[R0b]

Yes, I had a quick look last night. The particulars of claim are poor, dont set out the clauses which they claim to have been breached and quite frankly if you had the money to spend £255 I would be making an application to ask the court to strike out the claim in that basis.

However, if you cant afford to do that then it's simply a matter of filing a defence saying their particulars of claim are poor and that you cant defend yourself because you dont actually know the case being put against you.

Yes acknowledge the claim and that will give you 33 days from the date of the claim form being issued to file a defence, so a little breathing space.

I will try to find an example from here that's relevant you can use as a starting point but that might not be until later today

[2019Lily]

No problem. Thank you very much for the help. We will look to fill in the acknowledgement tonight as a starting point

[2019Lily]

rob* *just to confirm that we have submitted the acknowledgement. The online instructions are saying that we will now have 28 days days total instead of the original 14days to respond with the defence.

Look forward to seeing the example response

Thanks again




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[R0b]

I have found something that might be suitable as a starting point but havent had a chance to look through it over the weekend. I will try to post it up this evening.

Also just so we know deadlines, what was the date on the claim form? It will be 33 days from that date that you need to file your defence (28 days + 5 days which is when the claim form is deemed to be served on you).

[R0b]

Here you go, a starting point you can use for your defence.

[2019Lily]

rob*Thank you. Apologies for the lack of response I have been away with work. I think the letter was dated 30th or 31st January. I will get a response sent this week using your template so thank you.

can I ask what the next steps would be from there? Is it the court that makes a decision on the response or does the claimant get the option to come back with a response?

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[2019Lily]

rob Thank you For the help on this. I sent the response as suggested into the court and looks like the problem has gone away.
thank you very much for the help

[pt2537]

rob Thank you For the help on this. I sent the response as suggested into the court and looks like the problem has gone away.
thank you very much for the help

I dont think you can conclude that, the claim never goes away, it is either stayed which means its still hanging over you head, or it is awaiting directions from the Court, or it has been discontinued, which i doubt as you havent received notice of discontinuance, so far from going away, there is a real possibility this case will pop up right when you arent expecting it.

Speak to the Court, find out what has happened, that is my advice