Car Lease Contract, They want more money

[Guest]

Good Evening all, this is my first ever post so please be kind and thank you in advance for anything you have to add!

I ordered a lease car before the Covid outbreak, signed and returned the contract.

In May they asked me to sign the contract again, NOTHING in the contract was changed. The car was delivered today, lovely car all seemed fine.
The Car is not registered or Taxed I enquired and they said that one of the Tax's has increased and they did not change this in the contract as it was missed and now I need to pay.

My contract is for a monthly payment of £x amount and the company will cover tax.*
My final conversation today was if I do not pay then they will cancel the contract and come to collect the car.*

Now the signing of contract was over 21 days ago, there is nothing that says the contract will start on delivery date so I thought the Law assumes that the contract would intend to start from day of signature.

Can they effectively null and finish the contract just like this?

Thank You*
KF

[R0b]

Hello, the usual rules of contract law are that if it isn't in the contract and there is no term that allows them to recover the increased charge, then it is tough luck and they will need to accept they contracted a bad bargain.

I can only think of two ways of them being able to void the contract.

1. There is a clause in the contract that allows them to terminate under those specific circumstances.
2. They may argue that the tax increase being left out was a mistake and allows them to void the contract, but the tax increase would have to be considered a fundamental feature of the contract. First thoughts are that it isn't because the cost of the vehicle lease would be the fundamental feature and the taxes or other costs ancillary to that.

Of course, if they do terminate the contract without a lawful justification then you could sue them for wrongful termination (also called repudiation of contract)* and seek damages, possibly to the value of the either vehicle, the rental payments over the lease period or some other loss that could be calculated (whichever is greater).*

If you are confident that there is nothing in the contract, it would be sensible to write back and explain to them your reasons why you shouldn't pay the increased taxes and, what you intend to do if they choose to terminate and attempt to collect the car. If they believe they have a right to terminate the contract for non-payment, then they need to provide you with the legal basis for doing that.

In the meantime it would be sensible for you to go back through the contract and make sure there is nothing in there that they could rely on, as that might put you in breach of contract. Anything around costs, expenses, references to increases or similar should be your main focus. It's not uncommon for B2B leases to say that if there is an increase of taxes or other fees between signing and delivery of the car, then you have to pay the increased price. However, every contract is different so just make sure you are safe before spewing out something that might later make you look silly.