RCI Finance (Renault) Voluntary Termination

[r0ssi_uk]

Hi everyone. First post here.

I would like some advice regarding damage claims made by RCI Finance after a VT of a Renault Clio.

A bit of history:

I VT'd our Clio back in June. As expected it was not plain sailing. After jumping through a whole load of hoops I managed to get Renault to collect the car. I have all my phone calls recorded for evidence purposes. I have also take photos of the condition of the car.

A Manheim representative made an appraisal of the car on collection and found nearly £800 of 'faults'. This included a missing service stamp in the log book, Renault also decided to add a missing monthly payment to the bill. I managed to get this reduced to £467 after providing evidence that the car was serviced and the garage had forgotten to stamp the book and that I had issued notice to terminate the contract before the last monthly payment was due.

My issue is with the remaining £467.

I understand that the condition of the car need not be in any other condition than reasonable. Obviously this is an open term which can be interpreted differently by different parties. For me, I believe it means reasonable by anyone of sound judgement? For Renault, it means complies to BVRLA standards.

After sending emails to Renault explaining that the car is in a reasonable condition and that they should prove otherwise, they have now handed off the 'debt' to QDR Solicitors who are trying to get me to pay up. Renault have also added the outstanding money to my credit file, meaning I have now have an outstanding debt listed against my name. Is this right?

Where do I stand with this? I am reluctant to pay this money as I firmly believe the car was in a reasonable condition given it's 2 and a half year old age, the 15000 miles per year agreed mileage and the fact that it was used by my wife for commuting and picking up the kids. The car is bound to have a few nicks and scratches. I believe in a CAP guide it would be classed as Clean.

Many thanks
Ross

edit: I did not sign any forms of any kind during the process and have not admitted liability for anything.

[R0b]

Hi Ross,

There's plenty of posts about damage and excess mileage on here - I would suggest you use the search bar in the top right corner of the forum.

If RCI have indeed marked your credit file for the outstanding amount then my view is that is unlawful. You can try to complain to the Financial Ombudsman and see if they find in your favour, otherwise it would more likely than not be a trip to court for breach of data protection causing damage to your credit file.

[r0ssi_uk]

Thanks for the reply.

How would I go about wording a letter stating that my credit file is incorrect?

[R0b]

There is a letter somewhere floating about, I'm trying to collate them all and upload them in one place but not yet completed it. I'll have a look this evening and see if I have an appropriate example.

[r0ssi_uk]

Thanks that would be greatly appreciated. Does that fact that the debt has been handed off to a debt collector make a difference? Should I deal with them or RCI directly?

[R0b]

I assume QDR are instructed to collect the debt and that's as far as it goes, they wouldn't be instructed to deal with any formal complaint you raise to RCI and subsequent legal action that arises out of the debt which if you were to pursue that route, it would more than likely be a breach of data protection.

However, so that everyone is kept in the loop, it would be prudent to send a copy to QDR just in case RCI forget to notify them of a complaint raised, because all actions should be suspended whilst it is investigated.

[r0ssi_uk]

Ok. When I create the letter I'll send it to both parties, possibly with a covering letter explaining that I have lodged a formal complaint with RCI. I still have evidence that the car was in a (in my eyes) a reasonable condition. There are even items on the damage list that claim that I have made a repair to the car, this isn't true at all.

Thanks for your help. The credit file issue is especially troublesome as I am trying to improve my credit and this has caused issues.