Close Motor Finance and the great VPP fee mystery

Padz_2

Hi all - this is a duplicate of a thread I have over in Motoring. Just giving it a go here in case there are any takers.

I just have a quick question for anyone who has recently financed a motorbike preferably (but if you've used them for a car that might be useful as well)

I'm interested in the amount of VPP fee they charged you. Also in what the dealer or Close Motor Finance told you the fee was for.

I will post the full story at a later date when I have all of the information.

Thanks,

Padz

PS Actually feel free to share any stories about Close Motor Finance that you might have as it all helps to build up a picture of the company.

jonesMUFCforever

Whenever I have purchased a car using finance from say FORD there has been a start up fee and end fee (under various names).
Not sure if this is relevant to you here.

NeverEnough

I have used Close Motor Finance for four car purchases over the years and there were absolutely no problems whatsoever with any of the loan agreements - but then, I paid every instalment in full and on time, and know what I had signed up to as I signed the agreement at the dealers on each occasion and had time to read through it there...........

Padz_2

NeverEnough wrote: »

I have used Close Motor Finance for four car purchases over the years and there were absolutely no problems whatsoever with any of the loan agreements - but then, I paid every instalment in full and on time, and know what I had signed up to as I signed the agreement at the dealers on each occasion and had time to read through it there...........

If you don't mind me asking NE

1) Was there a charge called VPP on each of your 4 loans?

if there wasn't then the following questions will not be relevant.

But if there was a VPP charge...

2) Was the charge the same for all 4 loans?
3) Did you get all 4 loans from the same dealer?
4) What did the dealer say the VPP was for?

Thanks in advance,

Padz

Exemplar

Padz... what are you trying to achieve by this? duplicating posts, wasting bandwidth? Or have you had a bad experience and you're not getting the support you want?

standupguy

It probably stands for vehicle protection premium which they would argue checks the vehicle /bike isn't stolen or on finance etc and covers the cost also of registering their interest with hpi.

They have to do all this anyway ( to protect their own interests) but dress it up and charge you for it.

This is just another way of charging add on fees to gain more profit out of the deal.
You can always cancel the credit within 14 days and get a bank loan without such extra costs?

From their point of view they have presumably given you a decent rate for borrowing and such fees are a way of keeping thier margins acceptable.

Apples2

Did you not consider asking this question before signing the dotted line?

NeverEnough

My Close Motor agreements don't mention anything called VPP - I always declined PPI and anything "extra" when I entered into HP Agreements with Close or anyone else.....FWIW, I found Close easy to deal with, the rates were reasonable at the time, my account was always correctly credited and I have no complaints about them as a company. Hopefully I won't need their services again now that I have a company car!! I can't say what their default management tactics are like as I was never late with a payment, but VPP is a new one on me, it wasn't itemised on any of my agreements.

Padz_2

standupguy wrote: »

It probably stands for vehicle protection premium which they would argue checks the vehicle /bike isn't stolen or on finance etc and covers the cost also of registering their interest with hpi.

They have to do all this anyway ( to protect their own interests) but dress it up and charge you for it.

This is just another way of charging add on fees to gain more profit out of the deal.
You can always cancel the credit within 14 days and get a bank loan without such extra costs?

From their point of view they have presumably given you a decent rate for borrowing and such fees are a way of keeping thier margins acceptable.

That's a really helpful post standupguy. Interestingly enough it ties in with what Close themselves eventually told me but only after a whole week of chasing them and emailing countless times.

The interesting point is that you'd imagine the VPP in tht case to be a fixed fee especially in such a case where the vehicle is new and so does not need any HPI check!

However, Close are saying that the DEALER sets the amount of VPP fee charged and not them. Apparently they have NOTHING at all to do with how much is charged.

I don't need to cancel the credit - everything is cool with that. The question came up because the dealer said he didn't know what VPP was and Close seemed incredibly reluctant to tell me what it was either. It took a week of emails and they were VERY evasive. That sort of behaviour makes me suspicious.

I still don't understand why it isn't a set fee but maybe someone else will be able to answer that.

Padz_2

Apples2 wrote: »

Did you not consider asking this question before signing the dotted line?

Of course I did but the dealer said he didn't know what it was for.

Padz_2

NeverEnough wrote: »

My Close Motor agreements don't mention anything called VPP - I always declined PPI and anything "extra" when I entered into HP Agreements with Close or anyone else.....FWIW, I found Close easy to deal with, the rates were reasonable at the time, my account was always correctly credited and I have no complaints about them as a company. Hopefully I won't need their services again now that I have a company car!! I can't say what their default management tactics are like as I was never late with a payment, but VPP is a new one on me, it wasn't itemised on any of my agreements.

Now that is a really interesting comment. You were never charged VPP. So not only is it not a set fee it can apparently be waived altogether! This is what I'm talking about... the plot thickens!

For what it is worth I think this will be the last time I borrow from anywhere except my bank. At least their charges are open, honest and above board.

According to various threads on here and elsewhere which I found when searching for anything on Close - their techniques when people miss payments are absolutely foul. They charge huge fees for phoning people and visiting their homes and things like that. Sounds awful.