PCP voluntary termination - lost spare key

hlb31

I recently terminated my PCP with Volkswagen as I had paid over 50% of the loan so was able to do this without paying off any balances & I was not looking to buy a new car.
I went through the process of the termination & a really nice guy from BCA came to inspect & collect the vehicle. I kept the car in good condition & there was no damage to it, however it was missing the spare key. I looked high and low for the key in the weeks before the collection but couldn’t find it anywhere so I accepted that I would be charged for it by Volkswagen and the inspector who came to my house confirmed this to me as well. It was my fault for not keeping it in a safe place, or maybe it was in a place that was “too safe” so I was happy to pay the charge of £200, assuming that it was a charge for replacing the key.
However, I have recently received a message from a car dealership who bought the car from BCA, asking if I have the spare key, as the car was sold to them without it. I’m not sure how it works at BCA, but I’m assuming it must have been detailed that the key was missing when the car was sold?
My issue is that I’ve paid £200 for a missing key, which I assumed would be replaced, which hasn’t been?
Is there any point in ringing Volkswagen finance to enquire about this charge & the reasons behind it?
I understand charges for damage as they effect the value of the car at resale, but I can’t see how a missing key affects it if it hasn’t even been disclosed to the buyer that it’s missing!
It might be too late now as I’ve already paid for it but it seems like a pointless charge to me if vw haven’t incurred a cost for the key anyway?

Would I be wasting my time by contacting them?

Scrapit

You were charged for a key that was missing, not you paid for a new key to replace the missing one.

hlb31

I understand now that I was charged for the missing key, and not to replace it. but I’d like to know why I was charged if vw haven’t actually incurred any costs because of it being missing or lost any money because of it

motorguy

hlb31 wrote: »

I understand now that I was charged for the missing key, and not to replace it. but I’d like to know why I was charged if vw haven’t actually incurred any costs because of it being missing or lost any money because of it

They have taken it that the car will have been worth £200 less at auction because it was missing the key.

The trader buyer is chancing his arm that you maybe have it and will supply it for free.

Any trade auctions i follow state if one or two keys are supplied and buyers bid accordingly. Whether or not it actually made £200 less is going to be impossible to quantify.

motorguy

A VT is painful for a finance company so they will attempt to recover any costs they can, subject to fair wear and tear as set out in the BVRLA guidelines.

Thats why they've done it, rather than because they were going to get a new key ordered prior to it going to auction.

AdrianC

Whether they replace it or not, whether it actually costs £200 or not, whether it actually impacts the value by £200 or not... All pretty much irrelevant.

You contracted to keep the car for a certain period of time and mileage, and to return it in an agreed condition at the end, else you'd face penalties according to their standard charges. You didn't, because that agreed condition includes all keys. So there's that standard penalty charge - and that's £200.

The time to consider whether replacing the key yourself would have cost <£200 was before return.

LandyAndy

I sold a car to WBAC at the beginning of the year. The reduction in their price due to it only having one key was about £60 less than the cost of a new key from Ford so I let it go with one.

A couple of weeks later the dealer who had bought it at auction called to ask if we had found the key (we hadn't).