Moneybarn VT final billing letter - help needed

Kryten2340

Hi,

I am currently in the VT process with Moneybarn and would like some advice as to how they've come to the final balance as if I understand the CCA sections 99 and 100 correctly I am not liable for anything at all.

The original agreement was for 54 payments of £229 so total loan agreement was £12,366. As per the account balance at point of return figure (£2009.88) this meant I had paid a total of £10,357. The £175 relates to arrears on the account from a missed payment a couple of months ago of which I was in a payment plan prior to VT.

I don't understand their less half rule figure of £1834.88 as I believe this would have been half of £12,366 which is £6183 and I've paid over £4000 more than this. If I understand sub-section 1 of CCA 100 correctly there is no provision for missed payments/arrears and the only provision is for being liable for half the amount due.

Can someone advise where I stand please before I respond to Moneybarn? I should point out that the car was in poor condition when it was returned (couple of scratches and no service history) so part of me feels I've gotten away with this but equally the car was almost 10 years old.

Just wondering where I go next. I have seen in other threads/forums that Moneybarn are notorious for not knowing the VT process.

Further to recent correspondence, we are pleased to confirm that the billing has now been completed on your
account.
A breakdown on how this balance has been calculated is illustrated below:
Account balance at point of vehicle return: £2,009.88
LESS payments received since return -£0.00
Bounced Direct Debit £0.00
Contractual Charges £0.00
Complaint Resolution £0.00
DD Indemnity Claim £0.00
Replacement V5 Fee £0.00
MOT Fee £0.00
Replacement Keys Fee £0.00
Personalised Plate Replacement Fees £0.00
Recovery Agent Fees £0.00
Repairs and/or Refurbishment Fees £0.00
Excess Mileage £0.00
Loss of Value £0.00
LESS Half Rule -£1 834.88
FINAL BALANCE £175.00

Clive_Woody

I didn't think you were still entitled to VT if you had missed payments and defaulted on the agreement....but I am no expert.

DrEskimo

Are the 54 payments of £229 all there was to the agreement?

What about any payment upfront, or any final payment?

Kryten2340

Yes. The 54 payments of £229 is all there was. No pre or final payment involved.

Nearlyold

If you VT, any arrears are still owed even if paying the arrears takes you over the 50% threshold or you are already over the 50% threshold by the time you VT. So the balance owing of £175 if it relates to arrears would be correct.

DrEskimo

Nearlyold wrote: »

If you VT, any arrears are still owed even if paying the arrears takes you over the 50% threshold or you are already over the 50% threshold by the time you VT. So the balance owing of £175 if it relates to arrears would be correct.

Yea I missed the arrears bit. If you had no arrears it would have just zeroed your amount owing. As you say, this would have been the case about 29months ago to, since you passed the VT point by the time you paid £6k (of the 27th payment).

Was the car really worth less than £2k....?

Kryten2340

Yes. It was only worth roughly £1k. No service history, 99k miles and was due a timing belt change amongst over maintenance jobs.

Looks like I’m paying the arrears then. Could be worse they could be trying to get me for lack of service history and the scratches so got lucky there I guess.

Nearlyold

It may seem perverse that you have to make up any arrears when you VT even though you are well over the 50% point.

There is a logical reason why this is so, under a Hire Purchase agreement you are paying monthly to hire the vehicle from the owner (the finance company) and at the end of the hire period you have the option to take ownership of the vehicle by paying the option to purchase fee.

If you VT with arrears you will have had use of the vehicle for a period that you have not actually paid for - paying the arrears thus covers this period