car industry fair wear and tear

vialli33

Hi
I recently voluntary terminated a finance agreement on a citreon c1 because we wanted to buy a mini.A company called RMS receivables came to collect the car and did a quick inspection of the car at my house and noted that the two front wheel trims were lightly scratched.
I got a letter from RMS today saying that my car was damaged over and above industry fair wear and tear and that it would need a machine polish costing £65 and also they said that a rear wheel trim is scratched and want £60 to replace three of them.
Ive looked at some car industry wear and tear documents online and everything they have listed as damaged seems to be considered as fair wear and tear.
If i refused to pay would i be liable to prosecution?
Should i ask for photos of the damage and a copy of their fair wear and tear terms?
cant help thinking hey are just trying to get some money out of me for nothing.

Dvorak123

You certainly wouldn't be liable to criminal prosecution.

They might (probably wouldn't) try to take you to civil court, but ignoring them isn't a viable option.

I think you're probably right to ask for their definitions of fair wear and tear and photos of the damage, making it clear that you believe the car to be in a fair condition against what you see as industry standard condition (what is that anyway).

forgotmyname

Dispute the damage as fair wear and tear, And left them moan about it.

If they want to take you to court it will cost them. Time / Money.

Your defence would be better if you had taken pictures of the car in detail.

Dont just ignore they may think that you may ignore court papers also so they automatically win.
Then it gets more serious.

But if you dispute any damage saying it wasnt that bad then its harder for them to get anywhere.

chrisw

This guide from the vehicle rental association is generally considered to be the industry standard. If your damage is greater than specified in this, you will struggle, otherwise it will form a sound basis for your argument.

http://www.gecapital.co.uk/en/docs/BVRLA_FWT_GECapital.pdf

vialli33

letter printed and being sent tomorrow, lets see what they have to say.

vialli33

Phoned them this morning even though the letter from them said everything must be done in writing.
Anyway after disputing their claim of the "damage",straight away he dropped the bill from £125 to £60 and said i was still liable for damage to three wheel trims.However i was not going down with out a fight and i kept asking for photos showing damage considered to be unacceptable wear and tear and quoting the BVRLA document and in the end he gave up and said we owed nothing and a few minutes later i got an e-mail from him to confirm this.:D

albionrovers

Great result.
I handed back a 3yo leased Honda yesterday in really good nick.
Chipsaway recently sucked out a single dent and commented that it was one of the better condition lease cars that they had dealt with.
The inspectors gave me the signed sheet and said he was really impressed with the condition.
I asked about the subsequent inspection back at base and he told me nothing to worry about.
Hopefully, I'll hear nothing. If I do, I'm confident that Honda finance are trying it on and will challenge them every step of the way.

vialli33

im sure they send out a bill even if they cant find anything wrong with it hoping some people will pay up.If i ever give another car back ill make a really detailed video going really close on every panel .