voluntary termination of a PCP

[rsj]

i am looking for advise please

i am about to VT my car and understand the process but need guidance on the situation of excess mileage.

i am over by a large amount

my allowance over 3 years was 46500 miles and have done 152000 miles.

what should i do when im asked to pay the excess ?

i understand its a grey area and they shouldnt really be able to come after the excess mileage fee under consumer rights but its such a large amount.

am i legally allowed to refuse to pay ?

[Amethyst]

Re: voluntary termination of a PCP

Blimey, that was a massive underestimate. How much does the contract state per mile ?

How long/much do you have left on the contract if you don't VT ?
[MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION]

[R0b]

Re: voluntary termination of a PCP

Bloody hell, whilst I am all for arguing the excess mileage point not being recoverable, your mileage takes it to another level and I think you might need a miracle for this.

Just out of curiosity have they billed you for the excess mileage? I'd imagine it would be in the region of around £8,500 based on 8p per mile?

Strictly speaking, I'd still think there is a good chance they couldn't come after you for the contractual charges for excess mileage but you might get collared under taking reasonable care of the goods. The lender's argument will be based on the fact that the agreed mileage is 46500 and you've gone over by almost 4 times that amount and the vehicle being returned is likely to require substantial mechanical repairs to the car.

Having said that, the law does only require you to take reasonable care of the goods whilst in your possession. Yes the car has done a huge amount of miles but the price of the car is not evidence of the car's condition and in a well-repeated Court of Appeal of Brady v St Margaret's Trust, Lord Denning said the following on the condition of the car:

But I would like to say that it is not right to assess damages under this head on the basis suggested to us by Mr. Harris, namely, that you are to take the initial price as evidence of the condition of the car. The price in these hire-purchase agreements is no guide to the condition of a car. There should be evidence by the hire-purchase company to show the condition of the goods at the time the agreement was made and to show how far the hirer has defaulted under it. As I read this clause, the hirer's duty is to keep the car in the condition in which it might reasonably be expected to be if he had looked after it properly. He need not put it in a better condition than it was when he hired it. He need only keep it in the condition in which a reasonably minded hirer would keep it. Thus he would repair it if there was an accident, and he would do the immediate repairs in the course of running the car, but no more. The hire-purchase company should give evidence of any default on his part in that duty.

Lord Justice Davies also had this to say:

It seems to me that it would be most dangerous, in the case of a vehicle which was secondhand at the time of the hire-purchase agreement, for the court, in assessing damages for depreciation and damages for breach of contract to keep in repair, to rely either upon the price which was agreed to be paid for the vehicle in the first instance or the price which was obtained for the vehicle after it had been retaken by the hire-purchase company.

Now, whether a judge would take that same stance is a different story because even he or she might think that the amount of miles driven in a 3 year period is ridiculous. How exactly have you managed to amass such a high amount of mileage, are you driving cross-borders or something?

Also, was the car brand new or second-hand?