Service plan cancelled

floboroo

Hi everyone!

I have a car on finance. I have been paying my installments for 3 years now (5 year plan with me owning the car at the end of it). I tried to return the car last September when I had gone past the halfway point, but the dealership wouldn't return the car as they said that it was only worth £4k in mint condition and my settlement figure was a thousand more than this. Which confused me as I thought that I could return it.

So I called Santander, who are the middleman for this finance. They said that I had a personal loan with them, so it wasn't so much finance, it was more that Santander had loaned me the money to buy the car and I was just paying them back, so that's why the dealership didn't have to take my car. Fair dos.

Now, when I took out finance on the car, the salesperson said that the service plan was compulsory to go with it - it was all part of the deal. I couldn't take out finance on the car (kept using the word finance rather than a personal loan) if I didn't have the £22 a month service plan to go with it. Same with every other person who has their car on finance, apparently.

I begrudgingly agreed. I never got a phone call reminding me to go for a service, never got told that the MOT was included in the service plan (never really got a service plan breakdown?!), so took my car elsewhere to be MOT'd for 2 years until the second service where someone mentioned that I should've had it done there as I had paid for it.

Anyway, weirdly, my service plan payments have stopped - and not on my part. My direct debit is still live but the payments have stopped coming out, halfway through the payment plan year. My service is due in February, but they haven't taken payment since September.

I was wondering if anything had come up (I listened to Jeremy Vine a couple of days ago discussing car finance, but that's about it in relation to what I know), about this being sort of like PPI in that it was an unnecessary add-on just for commission? And so they've cancelled it thinking that I won't know or something? I know I should've contacted them earlier about it, but I didn't know if they were going to collect payment later or if I'm in for a huge bill. Has anybody else had this happen?

Sorry for the long thread ... thanks for reading!

Mercdriver

floboroo wrote: »

Hi everyone!

I have a car on finance. I have been paying my installments for 3 years now (5 year plan with me owning the car at the end of it). I tried to return the car last September when I had gone past the halfway point, but the dealership wouldn't return the car as they said that it was only worth £4k in mint condition and my settlement figure was a thousand more than this. Which confused me as I thought that I could return it.

...

Sorry for the long thread ... thanks for reading!

I'm afraid it sounds like you were conned from the beginning. There's no such thing as a mandatory service plan. Did the garage sort the finance - in this case, bizarrely a personal loan not secured on the car which I haven't heard of in relation to car finance. Sounds like there was a fixed fee service plan that the salesman included the cost for in the loan.

Do you have a copy of your loan agreement?

What does it say?

What are the amounts of the loan(s) and how does this compare to the amount of money borrowed?

Not exactly sure what you will be able to do as it will be your word against the salesman. Speak to the garage. If he has done the same to lots of other customers you are unlikely to be the only one complaining, though you will be relying the goodwill of the garage, I suspect.

This won't be like the PPI scandal where there is a set protocol and the banks accept their guilt in misselling.

motorguy

floboroo wrote: »

Hi everyone!

I have a car on finance. I have been paying my installments for 3 years now (5 year plan with me owning the car at the end of it). I tried to return the car last September when I had gone past the halfway point, but the dealership wouldn't return the car as they said that it was only worth £4k in mint condition and my settlement figure was a thousand more than this. Which confused me as I thought that I could return it.

Had you had the car on car finance, you wouldnt have been returning it to the the dealership (if you were voluntary terminating) as its not their car - its the finance companies. Thus the dealership couldnt have take a voluntary termination.

floboroo wrote: »

So I called Santander, who are the middleman for this finance. They said that I had a personal loan with them, so it wasn't so much finance, it was more that Santander had loaned me the money to buy the car and I was just paying them back, so that's why the dealership didn't have to take my car. Fair dos.

No, Santander are the finance company for this loan. The salesman / dealership are the middle men.

floboroo wrote: »

Mandatory Service Plan Stuff

As above, no such thing as a "mandatory service plan" - you were sold a service plan, by what sounds like an unscrupulous car salesman - either because (a) he lied or (b) he didnt ensure you fully understood what you were buying.

His word against yours though now.

I'd endeavour to find out the terms and conditions of the service plan, what your paying for, and why its been cancelled.

floboroo

Thanks guys - to clarify, the salesperson specifically said that I could not take out the finance without the service plan, even when I asked if I could pay upfront when it needed servicing or take it elsewhere it was a resounding "no".

d0nkeyk0ng

floboroo wrote: »

when I asked if I could pay upfront when it needed servicing or take it elsewhere it was a resounding "no".

I would have either walked away, or if I really wanted the car, got it in writing. People get servicing thrown in free sometimes to clinch the deal so surprised you specifically got charged for it.

AdrianC

floboroo wrote: »

Now, when I took out finance on the car, the salesperson said that the service plan was compulsory to go with it - it was all part of the deal. I couldn't take out finance on the car (kept using the word finance rather than a personal loan) if I didn't have the £22 a month service plan to go with it. Same with every other person who has their car on finance, apparently.

A loan is finance. Not all finance is a loan.
The deal you were being offered was including the service plan. You did not HAVE to buy the service plan - you could have said "No, I don't want that deal" and walked out of the dealership if they would not sell you the car without the service plan. You did not have to buy THAT car from that garage at all...

I begrudgingly agreed. I never got a phone call reminding me to go for a service, never got told that the MOT was included in the service plan (never really got a service plan breakdown?!), so took my car elsewhere to be MOT'd for 2 years until the second service where someone mentioned that I should've had it done there as I had paid for it.

So you didn't read up on what you'd bought? You say you didn't get any Ts & Cs, but you didn't chase for them?

Anyway, weirdly, my service plan payments have stopped - and not on my part. My direct debit is still live but the payments have stopped coming out, halfway through the payment plan year. My service is due in February, but they haven't taken payment since September.

It's now January. That means you've missed four or five payments already. What happened several months ago, when you asked them after one or two missed payments why the DD had stopped?

sheramber

It may have been a 3 year service plan which is now finished.

motorguy

sheramber wrote: »

It may have been a 3 year service plan which is now finished.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The most likely reason.