excess mileage chargers from BMW

[dantc]

Needing some help.

I recently VT my BMW agreement, i was over the 50% and was instructed i would be liable to pay nothing further from a BMW Salesmen

i used one of the legal beagle templates in response to BMW regarding section 99 and 100.

now i have had 2 letters from BMW first one is title excess mileage and they have quoted the following
'thank you for your recent email in respect of the excess mileage invoice raised on your agreement. having taken your comments into consideration and after a full review of your agreement. i am now able to respond to the points you have raised.

please allow me to explain why we are justified in raising the excess mileage invoice as per section 99(2) and 100(4) of the credit consumer act 1974

when reviewing the CCA 1974, it needs to be taken into account as a whole. We do not disagree that the act does advise that you will be liable for 'one half of the total price' in section 100(1). however section 100(4) expands on this and specifically states : ''if the debtor has contravened an obligation to take reasonable care of the goods or land, the amount arrived at the subsection (1) shall be increased by the sum required to recompense the creditor for that contravention, and subsection (2) shall have effect accordingly''.

it needs to be accepted that a vehicle is a devaluing asset; the more miles the vehicle is returned with, lower the value of the vehicle, as you have exceeded the pro-rated mileage allowance of which you have agreed and signed to, this has put the vehicle out of good condition.

i would like to bring you attention, section 173 of the credit act, whilst this states that a contractual term is unenforceable should it add additional liability. Your duty to pay for the excess mileage under the ''excess mileage chargers for depreciation''. section of your agreement should you end the agreement.

please be aware that our stance will remain unchanged. as explained in the terms and conditions of your agreement, it is your liability to settle the invoice amount, it is not the responsibility of BMW financial service to take this complaint further as a final response has been issued.

should you not agree with our response, details are explained below of where you can escalate your complaint. in light of this, collection activity will continue and i must make you aware that any payment outstanding for 28 days or more may have negative impact on your credit file.


and the second letter is a notice sums in arrears relation to agreement. has any1 got any advice for me? as i was told by a BMW salesmen that i am not liable to pay excess mileage chargers and have emails to prove this, and also used a legal beagle templates for VT for bmw.

thnaks

[R0b]

Re: excess mileage chargers from BMW

Hello,

Standard response from BMW, how much are they seeking from you in excess mileage charges? Did you have the car serviced regularly and ensure it was repaired as was necessary?

If they intend on relying on section 100(4) then they need to providence of what (if any) damage has occurred to the vehicle and that the damage is caused due to the excess mileage and not reasonable wear and tear. In other words, they would have to show that you were driving the car negligently to warrant a claim under that section. Second, since it relates to the mechanical condition of the vehicle, they would have to offer an expert's report - did you receive a damage report and if so, was there any mention or reference to the mechanical condition of the car?

Not that it would change their mind but you can point out that the value of the car is not evidence of the car's condition. This was rightly confirmed in the Court of Appeal case, Brady v St Margaret's Trust, where Lord Denning said the following:

"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."

So you can go ahead and ask them for that evidence, no doubt I would say that the car has already been sold so its more likely impossible for them to do that. Depending on how much the charges are, BMW may or may not take you to court on this, but they could apply a default notice to your credit report, I would suggest you look into this to confirm or not and you can obtain a free credit report using Noddle.

If you want to defend it then that is up to you and your choice and risk, but you might want to consider reading the link below as a starting point (I assume you have already read some if not all if you have sent a VT template).

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...on-Your-rights

[dantc]

Re: excess mileage chargers from BMW

Hello thanks for your reply.

They done a report on the day of collection they said i needed a new trye and was charge of 100 pound but none of this has been mentioned.

They want £1900 for excess mileage?

If this is going to effect my crediy rating i will have to pay this as i am in process of buying a new house.

The car was in excellent condition on collection. BMW salemens told me i would not be liable to pay for excess mikeage and have proof on emails regarding this aswell

[R0b]

Re: excess mileage chargers from BMW

It may well affect your credit rating but only way to find out is to check your credit report. If they have already applied a default lets say then even if you do pay it your unlikely to get the default removed which means you've already paid, still have the default and then your probably unlikely to recover the £1,900.

Have you been given approved mortgage or is the application still pending?

If you have emails too, then you should maybe make a complaint and then contact the Financial Ombudsman Service and see what they say about it.