VT Mercedes - next step?

[Kati]

Re: VT Mercedes - next step?

[MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION] xx

Registration Number: XXXXXXX Agreement Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXx,

Thank you for taking the time to raise your concerns with our De-Fleet department following the return of the above vehicle. I was disappointed to read you have been left feeling dissatisfied by the charges raised as this was certainly never our intention.

I understand you advised that you do not believe the above vehicle needed to be returned within the terms outlined in our Vehicle Return Standards as the vehicle was only ever intended for private use and therefore only needed to be returned in a reasonable condition. Whilst I appreciate your comments; the intended use of the vehicle does not negate your contractual obligation to return the vehicle in accordance with your signed agreement. This stipulates that should a vehicle be returned in a manner not consistent with our Vehicle Return Standards; a charge will be raised to reflect this.

Our Vehicle Return Standards state that the vehicle 'must conform to the original specification of the vehicle'. As the above vehicle was supplied with genuine Mercedes-Benz alloy wheels and was not returned in this condition; we were required to replace these and charges have therefore been raised correctly to reflect this.

With regards to the charge for excess mileage; I do understand your comments however, I feel it is important to advise that whether you are returning your vehicle at the end of your agreement or upon use of the Voluntary Termination (VT) clause, as you have not exercised your right to purchase the vehicle, an excess mileage charge will be raised should your return mileage exceed your total mileage allowance. This obligation is set out within the first page of your agreement, under key information. The provisions of the Consumer Credit Act that cover a customer's right to VT their agreement do permit us to include any over mileage when determining what is 'not reasonable' upon the cars return. I must advise that this does not reflect the presence of additional damage and instead is a reflection of the loss in value of the vehicle that Mercedes-Benz has suffered as a result of the additional mileage.

It is stated in your agreement under 'Excess Distance'; 'If the vehicle is returned to us (whether at the end of the period hire or an earlier termination), we will calculate the total distance travelled by the vehicle whilst in your possession (the "Total Distance")'.Your mileage allowance has therefore been re-calculated on a pro-rata basis in line with the length of time you have had the vehicle in your possession. Please find below a breakdown of your excess mileage calculation for your reference:

Original Allowance: 49,000 miles (1,020.83 per month)
Term of agreement: 48 months
Terminated early by: 7 months
Revised allowance: 42,000 miles (10,20.83 x 41)
Collection miles: 92,821 miles
Exceeded by: 50,821
Pence per mile: 6 pence, plus VAT
Total: £3,659.11
I would also like to kindly refer you to S99 (2) Consumer Credit Act 1974 where it states:

'Termination of an agreement under S (1) does not affect any liability under the agreement which has accrued before the termination.'

As your agreement was subject to a mileage allowance prior to termination and you have exceeded this, the charge has been raised correctly and remains payable.

With regards to the Voluntary Termination acceptance form; I can confirm that we do not legally require a signed acceptance form in order to process a Voluntary Termination. Our Head Office have confirmed that you advised in writing in December 2016 that you wished to terminate your agreement and for this reason, a Voluntary Termination acceptance form was not issued to you. However, this does not negate your liability to compensate us for the additional mileage accrued during the life of your agreement.

Taking the above into consideration; I am satisfied the charges have been raised correctly. I am therefore unable to uphold your complaint and payment of £5,121.63 remains due in order to bring this matter to a close.

Whilst this may not be the response you had hoped for, I trust the above has provided you with the reassurance that I have fully investigated your concerns. Please also be assured that your complaint has been investigated in line with our obligation to treat our customers fairly.

May I kindly ask that you accept this as our final response, however, should you be at all unhappy with our handling of your complaint you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this response. If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances. The Ombudsman contact details are Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square, London, E14 9SR tel:- 0800 023 4 567 or 0300 123 9 123, website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk. I will be happy to arrange for their leaflet "Your complaint and the Ombudsman" to be sent to you at your request however, please find a link to the online version here: FOS Consumer Leaflet.

Yours sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
De-Fleet Complaint Administrator

[Kati]

Re: VT Mercedes - next step?

last one:

[R0b]

Re: VT Mercedes - next step?

Typical response from them I guess.

Irrespective of the clause which says that your liable for excess mileage upon termination (I can't see which clause as the image is blurry), page two of the agreement states your termination rights - it is a statutory statement set out in Schedule 2 of the Consumer Credit (Agreements) Regulations 2010 and there is nothing within that statement that suggests you are liable for excess mileage - what it does say is that provided you have complied with what it says, 'you will pay nothing more'.

Also, when you read section 100(1) it does explicitly say that 'Where a regulated hire-purchase ... agreement is terminated under section 99 the debtor shall be liable ... to pay the creditor ... one-half of the total price ... and the sums due in respect of the total price immediately before the termination'.

It doesn't take a genius to understand that the above statement clearly suggest that if you terminate the agreement in accordance with section 99 then you will be liable for XYZ. The words 'total price' are central to that section because the CCA defines 'total price' and excludes any liability for penalty charges, damages for breaching the agreement or compensation.

section 99(2) is qualified by the words 'the sums due in respect of the total price immediately before the termination' in section 100(1). Therefore the sums due will only include any outstanding monthly instalments not excess mileage charges (which is damages for breaching the agreement). Section 100(1) and (4) make up the termination statement on page 2 of your agreement.

Regardless of the above, my interpretation of section 99(2) really means that if you have paid over 50% of the total price, you can't recover those sums paid because they have already accrued whereas MBFS are interpreting that in a different way to try and circumvent the statutory liability of section 100. Sure they might be left with a depreciated car but they're not only getting the car back but also getting 50% of the total amount payable.

I would suggest you keep that correspondence safe because if you ever end up in court you can refer to that as their final response. All of the above information is found in the link below along with a sample response to that - though again its their final decision so up to you if you want to go to the FOS or wait and see the next steps.

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