Issues with car leasing company (VED increase) - ALL HELP APPRECIATED

subo88

Hello,
Looking for any advice in regards to a car leasing issue i am having. 
I originally agreed a deal with a company in February for a new car, and we agreed the price, upfront payment etc. And we discussed that one of the only reason's i was interested is because it was a good price and i wanted to beat the VED increase which was coming end of March, which was due to knock all the prices up quite substantially. 

Delivery was due end of March and i had handed back my old PCP car when the leasing company said they weren't able to deliver my car because the country was due to go into lock down. And they would be in contact when it was possible for them to deliver it. I had to lease a car myself for the 8/9 weeks i waited on delivery and when the car was ready they said before they deliver it i would have to pay the VED increase of £450. To which my reply was it wasn't my fault they couldn't make the agreed delivery date and it wasn't the original deal we had agreed to. And my own car was still picked up, days after they said the delivery of my new car wouldn't be happening and i had to foot the bill of a short term lease until my new car was ready.

We have been back and forth with them more or less saying - it doesn't matter if they couldn't deliver and if the deal has changed - i am still to pay it. And they've passed it onto a legal controller who just sends me invoices for £480. And the leasing company are just ignoring me now. During the pandemic i haven't worked (i'm LTD) and this year isn't looking good for me at all, worked 6 days all year. So i told them since this isn't what we agreed on i'm not interested anymore.

Can anyone tell me if i can do anything about this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Sean

AdrianC

Some cars were re-banded due to changes in the way emissions are calculated - it moved to using the WLTP figures for all cars first registered after the deadline. Yours is clearly one of them.

The covid situation is hardly the lease company's fault, is it?

If you haven't been working during lockdown, why did you need to hire a car for two months?

By all means, stand your ground on refusing to pay... but ultimately, it will go to court, and you will lose. And the bill will end up being a lot higher.

subo88

Hi Adrian, 
Yeah i know what it was for, i knew the increase was coming and i was taking the car because i had agreed my 4 year contract before it. So the VED increase should have never effected me.

Definitely not, but was it my fault the car wasn't delivered on time? Other companies were still working, and i was happy to receive it at any point. And i need to pay for the increase because they can't make good on there promises?

And i needed a car because the project i was due to work on was going ahead at this point. And only got cancelled a few weeks ago. 

AdrianC

subo88 said:

Yeah i know what it was for, i knew the increase was coming and i was taking the car because i had agreed my 4 year contract before it. So the VED increase should have never effected me.

But your car wasn't registered before the deadline. Therefore, the increased rate applies to your car.

Definitely not, but was it my fault the car wasn't delivered on time? Other companies were still working, and i was happy to receive it at any point. And i need to pay for the increase because they can't make good on there promises?

No, it's not your fault, either. But it IS your car. And, more importantly, it's your contract. What does that contract say about costs arising from delayed delivery? I'll bet I can take a good guess.

The reason for the delay could be anywhere in the supply chain. Perhaps the car was late being delivered to the UK? Perhaps it was delayed being delivered to the supplying dealer? Perhaps it was delayed being PDId by the dealer? Perhaps there was an issue with it at PDI, and there was a delay in rectifying that issue? It was certainly delayed being registered... and that's done by the supplying dealer, not by the financier.

And i needed a car because the project i was due to work on was going ahead at this point. And only got cancelled a few weeks ago. 

Wouldn't it have been a lot easier to just hire one when it was required? Still, it's not the financier's problem either way.

DoaM

Has the car been registered and delivered yet?

Jonesya

What does your contract say, the fine print, because that is what determines what you are liable for, anything else is just speculation.

If it states the hire company will pay the VED and you will pay them a stated amount, a fixed figure, clearly stated that you have a fixed liability then I think you may have some grounds to complain. But if it says you will pay the cost of the VED without a fixed sum, or if there's small print about the charges being subject to variation to changes is tax etc, then I'd imagine you might struggle.

photome

If the £450 is too much to pay ( i believe it is yours to pay)  Can you get out of the contract and get something cheaper