Car Finance CCA Question

[MagGov]

Good afternoon all, a newbie here looking for some advice on car agreements.

I took out a vehicle CCA agreement in 2023 with a large UK leasing company.

The quote and the agreement signed included maintenance and road fund licence.

In July last year the finance company sent me an additional invoice for road fund licence due. This was because the price of the vehicle increased above the £40k threshold the day before delivery and incurs and additional £400 RFL per year for the first 5 years.

In my T&Cs it states:
1.5 In the event of a change to the price of the Vehicle or any option or an unanticipated change in the cost of the Road Fund Licence between quotation and delivery, we may incorporate an amount equal to such change and provide a revised Agreement or charge any increase to you. In the event of a price change under this clause you may cancel the Agreement within 7 days and you will have to reimburse us in respect of any direct losses (such as dealer’s cancellation charges) that we may suffer as a result of such cancellation.

I was never advised prior to delivery that the price of the vehicle had increased and this additional charge would be payable. I was neither provided with a revised agreement nor given the chance to cancel (the cancellation charge would have been a lot less than the additional RFL charges).

On contacting the company, they have replied saying that they do not have processes in place to advise the customer of such increases.

Am I still liable for this charge or are they in the wrong as their T&Cs state they should have advised me and given me options?

Any help greatly appreciated.

M

[echat11]

Hi MAGGOV

Welcome to LB

Although it states various things in their Terms and Conditions, those Terms and Conditions seem to be 'unfair'. Only a Court can decide if those Terms and Conditions are 'unfair'. Their T & C's state that they will allow you to cancel the agreement, but they failed to inform you of RFL until after the cancellation period had elapsed. They did not give you a revised agreement, when they should have.

I find the following difficult to believe, surely 'price increases' aren't a one off thing, it's a normal business recurrence.

Don't speak to them over the phone, make a formal complaint in writing, make your case, you believe their Terms and Conditions are 'unfair', explain why 'Their T & C's state that they will allow you to cancel the agreement, but they failed to inform you of RFL until after the cancellation period had elapsed.' 'They did not give you a revised agreement, when they should have.'

Follow the complaints procedure on their website, reassess once you get a final response / deadlock letter. If you still aren't happy, then you can complain to the FOS.

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/unfair-...s-unfair-terms

Update the thread.

[Pezza54]

I agree with echatll
If you just accept the additional charge you will be paying an additional £400 a year for the remainder of the lease
The finance company uses the word "may" charge you and does not appear to be trying to charge you for the extra price of the car, just the additional road tax
You should refuse to pay this extra charge.
The company were aware of extra car tax (years 2 to 5) for vehicles with a list price over £40k and given you the opportunity to cancel the revised agreement in accordance with their terms and conditions

You could contact a main dealer and find out the date in 2023 when the new higher list price of your car was announced and what date the new price came into effect

If you are correct, there was an increase in list price the day before delivery, the manufacturer would have published the increase weeks before you took delivery. The finance company would have had ample time to amend the agreement