Help? VWFS incorrect excess mileage fee

MarkW1986

Hi,

I recently VT’d a PCP which I had through VWFS. I was in the final year so went ahead, filled out and emailed the template across to go ahead with VT.

BCA agents came to my home address, inspected and collected the car. I received a BCA report which stated no damage and a note of mileage on collection.

I have since received an end of contract invoice from VWFS claiming an excess mileage fee of nearly £3k. The mileage they are claiming I had done is roughly 30,000 miles more than the car had on the clock. I have complained to VWFS and have went to citizens advice/ waiting for a solicitor to contact me.

Has anybody had similar experiences of this and is it possible for me to take this further as this is not only immoral, but also illegal?

Thanks in advance
MarkW1986

Ganga

If the mileage on the collection sheet was correct can you not photo-copy your copy of the paperwork and take it from there,i presume you checked that the person collecting the car had the right mileage on the sheet.

neilmcl

Do you have proof of the mileage of the car when it was collected. It sounds to me like a simple admin mistake to me so instead of claiming illegality why not speak to the finance company about it first. In fact this would've been the first thing most people would've done before posting on an online forum.

MarkW1986

Thanks for the replies. Yes I have evidence of the mileage at collection. I made the complaint over a week ago to VWFS. They!!!8217;re stating it is 30,000 mile more than what is reported.

I!!!8217;m hoping it is a clerical error and I!!!8217;m waiting on clarification from VWFS.

I!!!8217;ve came to this forum in the event that they were to pursue, to see if it!!!8217;s occurred before.

AdrianC

I wonder...

What mileage had you done, and what mileage are they claiming?

Was it, by any chance, about 50,000 and they're saying 80,000? If so, then does the odometer switch between miles and km at the touch of a button?

MarkW1986

It appears they have pro-rata!!!8217;d the invoice based on when I VT!!!8217;d and that is how they have calculated the excess mileage

DoaM

And that's utter BS ... what matters is the mileage when you VTd, not what they think it would have been if you'd gone full term. For all they know you could have parked up the car and not used it anymore.

What mileage did you do, and what was the contractual mileage?

MarkW1986

I done roughly 55k (I have an email from BCA of the exact figure somewhere) Contracted was 47k.

I VT!!!8217;d as early as I could. I!!!8217;m presuming from what I!!!8217;ve read on the forums (although I!!!8217;m not taking it as gospel), they are trying to claw back what they are due to miss out on - payments per year were close to £3k and I was in my final year.

What I wouldn!!!8217;t mind knowing, is if they are taking the p***, then I will too - do I have to legally pay any excess mileage at all?

sheramber

What does it say in the Terms and Conditions for your agreement.

Sometimes the excess mileage is claimed as having caused excess wear and tear on the car.

Ombudsman seems to agree with the charge.

http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx?FileID=53103

http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx?FileID=12006

A Google search for 'car finance excess mileage' will bring up several hits where people have been advised to dispute the charge but none have coma back to report whether they succeeded or not.

DoaM

There have been recent court cases about this (from what I've read here) ... one was won by the motorist and one was won by the finance company. As both were in the County Court (small claims) then neither sets a precedent so we still don't know either way.

molerat

What was your contract period in months and how many months was the VT at ?