Ford PCP Voluntary Temination and Credit File

pcoupe89

Hi All,

Long time ghoster, first time poster.

I have a bit of query regarding the termination of a Ford PCP Hire Purchase credit agreement. I bought a car in November 15 on a 3 year deal due to needing a diesel for the mileage I was doing. In March this year I changed jobs to somewhere more local and needed to switch so I continued up until halfway through the deal, contacted Ford to say I wished to voluntary terminate.

They got the vehicle collected and sent me a letter with my outstanding liabilities for excess mileage etc, which I dually paid and I believed that to be it. They said they would mark my credit file to say that the agreement had been voluntarily terminated and they couldn't say how this my affect my file.

This was mid May, I checked my credit score today to see the Ford Credit entry was still showing as open with a balance of £8015 (half the agreement) and was last updated 31.05.17. I contacted Ford Credit and they said the account would remain open until they sell the vehicle on. Surely this can't be right?! This can be longer than my 3 year agreement!

The agreement was terminated under the procedures laid out in the Consumer Credit Act, they have the car back, it's registered to them and, in their words, I have paid all my liabilities.

Any Guidance?

Thanks

SeanG79

I would write to Ford Credit and insist they update your credit file to accurately represent the account (settled & VT)

A VT marker is not adverse, however it is likely that Ford Credit will have suffered a loss. To prevent similar future losses, you may find a vehicle finance lender insists on a larger deposit or shorter term or a fixed sum loan (personal loan) to limit the risk of future losses.

In my experience, a VT marker doesnt usually impact with other lenders, only the same lender you VT'd with previously. It definitely wont have any negative impact on other finance facilities (credit cards/personal loans/mortgages)

SeanG79

In addition, I would expect the vehicle will be sold at auction, so I wouldn't expect it to take too long.

molerat

OP VTd mid May but report had not been updated end of May - give them a chance to sort the paperwork out !

National_Debtline

Hi pcoupe89 and welcome to MSE,


When you voluntarily terminate this type of agreement you will be liable for 50% of the total agreement, minus the money paid to date, plus any excessive wear and tear - the resale of the car is irrelevant. Check your agreement for exactly what you have paid and bear in mind if you went over your mileage allowance this calculation can be tricky to work out.


You can raise your concerns with the PCP company and ask them to complete their assessment regarding the condition of the vehicle and confirm the final balance to you ASAP. You will need to ensure that is settled and then you can ask them to update your credit file, with a £0 balance.


Molerat is right, and this may take longer than a few weeks to resolve but you can certainly pick up on the fact that the sale of the car is of no consequence to you and your liability, so they should not be delaying anything for that reason. If they refuse to resolve this then take it to the Financial Ombudsman. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

pcoupe89

Hi all,

Quick update today following a conversation with Ford Credit.

The vehicle is indeed due to be sold at auction shortly. The account remains open until they can apply whatever money they make to it and write off the difference.

I made the point that it was negatively affecting by saying I still owed them £8k and this could impact my mortgage application.


I got put on hold for a while and then they came back after checking with a colleague and said they would manually adjust the balance for me now and it should show from whenever the reference agency updates. It was interesting that she also said they'd had a letter recently about a similar case

Thanks for the tips all :money: