Voluntary termination of Peugeot Just Add Fuel

onlyroz

Does anybody have any experience of performing a "voluntary termination" of a Peugeot Just Add Fuel deal?

I am five months from the end of my deal and would like to hand my car back now and buy something else from a different manufacturer. I believe that my car is around £1000 in negative equity. I have around £1000 in payments left between now and May, and in June the balloon payment of around £6500 is due. I would preferably like to hand the car back now and pay as little as possible to wrap up the finances.

My understanding is that I am entitled to terminate the hire-purchase component of the financing without penalty, but I will still have to pay off the insurance and servicing components still outstanding. Is this correct?

I am going to ring Peugeot finance in the morning, but would like some advice on what I should be saying to them. Something along the lines of "I would like to exercise my right to voluntarily terminate the finance agreement - to which address should I send my notification, and to where should I take the car for collection?"

forgotmyname

Is it the type of agreement that you can VT? Have you double checked the terms?

What condition is the car in? any damage?

onlyroz

forgotmyname wrote: »

Is it the type of agreement that you can VT? Have you double checked the terms?

What condition is the car in? any damage?

My contract does have a section on early termination but I have been led to believe that they will make it difficult. The car is in good condition, maybe a few stone chips and small scuffs but no dents, and I am well within the agreed mileage.

onlyroz

I have spoken to Peugeot - they are going to send me some paperwork to fill out, and once I've sent that back they will send round somebody to collect the car and inspect it. They say the process should take a few weeks in total.

From what I've read I need to be very careful with the paperwork to make sure I don't sign away my rights regarding the section 99 stuff, and I also need to carefully photograph the car to ensure that they don't try and claim there is damage.

facade

onlyroz wrote: »

and I also need to carefully photograph the car to ensure that they don't try and claim there is damage.

If you are going to do that then it would need to be visibly on their yard, with a copy of the latest edition of the daily paper in shot, and they can still claim you caused damage between taking the photo and them taking possession.

onlyroz

facade wrote: »

If you are going to do that then it would need to be visibly on their yard, with a copy of the latest edition of the daily paper in shot, and they can still claim you caused damage between taking the photo and them taking possession.

Is this something that I can expect to happen, or do voluntary terminations normally run smoothly?

Rain_Shadow

onlyroz wrote: »

Is this something that I can expect to happen, or do voluntary terminations normally run smoothly?

I have experience of one VT, A Mazda RX-8, about 6 years ago that was in about £2k of negative equity and 33 months in to a 36 month agreement. It went very smoothly. I didn't wash it so that some of the more obvious paintwork faults were not visible. All the tyres were within a hundred miles of illegal. But the guy walked round it, stuck it on his transporter and took it away. I heard no more.

onlyroz

Rain_Shadow wrote: »

I have experience of one VT, A Mazda RX-8, about 6 years ago that was in about £2k of negative equity and 33 months in to a 36 month agreement. It went very smoothly. I didn't wash it so that some of the more obvious paintwork faults were not visible. All the tyres were within a hundred miles of illegal. But the guy walked round it, stuck it on his transporter and took it away. I heard no more.

I was wondering about whether I needed to valet it - the interior in particular is quite grubby because I have two kids and I have to park it in a swamp. The exterior is ok but there are some minor scuffs which I would hope come under "fair wear and tear".

blackste

onlyroz wrote: »

I have spoken to Peugeot - they are going to send me some paperwork to fill out, and once I've sent that back they will send round somebody to collect the car and inspect it. They say the process should take a few weeks in total.

From what I've read I need to be very careful with the paperwork to make sure I don't sign away my rights regarding the section 99 stuff, and I also need to carefully photograph the car to ensure that they don't try and claim there is damage.

Hi Roz.

Ignore any "termination pack" that they send you. What you need to do is write to them, stating that you wish to voluntary terminate. That is all you need to sign. There are some very good templates on a website called legal beagles.
You have to give them reasonable time to come and inspect the vehicle, and pick it up, or, they can ask you to bring it to a place of their choosing "within reasonable distance". This is usually a local car auction, or similar.

I assume you are aware of the 50% of total amount paying rule, although the figure does not have to be reached in months payed, as you can make an extra payment to bring you to the 50%.

Overall, do not speak to them on the phone. Writing, or email should be the only forms of communication, as you have a paper trail.

blackste

onlyroz wrote: »

I was wondering about whether I needed to valet it - the interior in particular is quite grubby because I have two kids and I have to park it in a swamp. The exterior is ok but there are some minor scuffs which I would hope come under "fair wear and tear".

The car has to be clean enough for the inspector to inspect it. Also, you should take photograph of each panel on the car, with a copy of that days newspaper, so that you can prove the condition, so being clean is in your interest. Do the same for the interior. I wouldnt pay for a valet, just a quick onceover with a bucket and sponge.

onlyroz

blackste wrote: »

Hi Roz.

Ignore any "termination pack" that they send you. What you need to do is write to them, stating that you wish to voluntary terminate. That is all you need to sign. There are some very good templates on a website called legal beagles.
You have to give them reasonable time to come and inspect the vehicle, and pick it up, or, they can ask you to bring it to a place of their choosing "within reasonable distance". This is usually a local car auction, or similar.

I assume you are aware of the 50% of total amount paying rule, although the figure does not have to be reached in months payed, as you can make an extra payment to bring you to the 50%.

Overall, do not speak to them on the phone. Writing, or email should be the only forms of communication, as you have a paper trail.

Thanks, and yes I have definitely reached the 50% point. I'm interested to see what paperwork they send out, but I'll probably go with sending them the Legal Beagles template - I want to be certain, however, that I'm sending it to the correct place.


At what point can I cancel my direct debit? A payment is due on Jan 17th, which I am happy to pay, but I'd rather not pay the Feb-May instalments, or the balloon payment due in June.