Hello - Voluntary Termination Questions

[NigelBaxter]

Hello everyone. Searching for clarification on VT has lead to me this wonderful forum and I've spent a few hours reading threads on the subject.

My wife and I have two cars (one each). Mine is on PCP from BlackHorse and my wife's is on PCP from FCA.

My wife would like to VT as her car is costing her more than we thought it would and she has recently found out about a car purchase scheme through her employer she wished to take advantage of but she needs to do this sooner rather than later as the scheme ends in April. As far as I can gather her case is straight forward as she is under her agreed mileage, the car is in good condition and she has made over 50% of her payments.

My situation is a little different due to the excess mileage charges. When I took out the finance the salesman explained that the excess mileage fees would only apply if hand back the car after 4 years (the finance period). He said that I would be able to hand it back early if I needed to without penalty. So we went conservative on the mileage amount at 6k per year. My mileage does fluctuate and I would say my average is around 12k but he assured me this wouldn't be a problem. The agreement states a maximum mileage of 24k however my car has just passed 42k and this makes the excess mileage charge ITRO £6k! My car is now worth far less than the outstanding finance which is why I want to get rid of the car sooner rather than later.

From reading the forums it seems fairly clear than once the agreement is VT'd there are no more charges to pay unless the car is damaged beyond fair wear and tear and it would be down to the finance company to argue that my excess mileage is beyond fair wear and tear. The car in question is a large execute diesel saloon and 42k miles is 2.5 years is hardly astronomical so I feel it would be difficult for them to argue the case.

Therefore my questions are;

1) How likely is it that I will be able to hand the car back without any excess mileage charges?

2) If there a template and I can send to the finance company that not only expresses my wishes to VT (I have seen that template already) but is also clear that I will not be responsible for any additional charges?

My only other concern is that I do want to buy another car from this particular manufacture (albeit a used vehicle) and I have a feeling they will reject any future applications because of this.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[R0b]

Re: Hello - Voluntary Termination Questions

Hello, to answer your questions in the same order

1. Handing the car back is not the biggest problem, as they may stall and stumble saying you need to pay the excess mileage but this is not the case. You only need to give notice to terminate the agreement, there is no caveat that all balances must be paid beforehand. What you might want to take care of is that many disputes of charges result in the lender applying a default for failure to pay, despite the agreement having already been terminated. I believe this is misleading and a breach of data protection. You can read about it if you haven't already here -> http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...960&highlight=

2. See this link, first letter at the bottom -> http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...on-Your-rights

3. If it is the same finance company that will be lending to you, then you might have problems getting finance from them or they may hike up interest rates or require a deposit of some sort, or they may well reject your application.

[NigelBaxter]

Re: Hello - Voluntary Termination Questions

Hello, to answer your questions in the same order

1. Handing the car back is not the biggest problem, as they may stall and stumble saying you need to pay the excess mileage but this is not the case. You only need to give notice to terminate the agreement, there is no caveat that all balances must be paid beforehand. What you might want to take care of is that many disputes of charges result in the lender applying a default for failure to pay, despite the agreement having already been terminated. I believe this is misleading and a breach of data protection. You can read about it if you haven't already here -> http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...960&highlight=

2. See this link, first letter at the bottom -> http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...on-Your-rights

3. If it is the same finance company that will be lending to you, then you might have problems getting finance from them or they may hike up interest rates or require a deposit of some sort, or they may well reject your application.

Thanks for the clarification, I have read some of your posts on this subject already.

I know it's hard to say, but any idea ho many people who have been through this process, and have visited the forum, have been sucessful?

[R0b]

Re: Hello - Voluntary Termination Questions

It's a bit difficult to say as many people on here end up paying the balance as they don't want to go through the court process or that it is causing too much stress and hassle and would rather get rid of it. So the real question is whether you want to fight it or just pay them whatever the charges may be.

I am in the process of submitting a claim in the next week against Santander for the same reasons, though their charges don't relate to excess mileage. Despite them saying the account was closed down and the balance was zero, they have still applied a default on my credit file and the disputed balance remains. They have also failed to respond to my letter before action.

There have been a couple of successful threads where people have made a formal complaint and the finance companies have simply removed the debt, but for other companies, the use of a default is a good way to apply pressure on those to pay up.

I can't tell you what the best course of action as there are a number but it is up to you to weigh up the risk.

[NigelBaxter]

Re: Hello - Voluntary Termination Questions

Hello again,

I have some what seems like good news.

I have recently spoken with my finance company and they confirmed that the excess mileage charges would only apply if I hand the car back at the end of the 4 year agreement. If I voluntary terminate then these charges would not apply. Fingers crossed this should be a smooth process.

I will let you know

[R0b]

Re: Hello - Voluntary Termination Questions

That sounds like good news, though I would make sure they confirm it in writing. Anything said verbally should be taken with a pinch of salt.

[NigelBaxter]

Re: Hello - Voluntary Termination Questions

Good idea. I will get them to confirm. Thank you.