Sending back a Financed/Fleet car back early, HELP!

hdavies1994

Hi All,
I took a car out with NHS fleet in 2018 on a 3 year scheme were i pay for the car via salary sacrafice and it comes out before tax, but at the end i do not keep the car.
I am now unable to afford the car as my tax code has gone up and my wages are low as a result and my banding in work has reduced from a band 6 nurse to a band 5. However i have contacted the company to ask how to send it back and they have said as per HMRC one of the following lifestyle changes must be met: 
Pregnancy, Divorce, Marriage, Redudancy, Significant illness affecting work, Death; and you must provide evidence. I am really struggling here, does anyone have any experience or advice on how i can do this? 

Thanks in advance  

Mercdriver

Unfortunately, it looks like you don't meet the criteria.  

AdrianC

You took on a three-year contract, with very limited rights of cancellation.

You do not meet those cancellation situations. Sorry.

Dr_Crypto

Why did you band change? Could the reason for that be a reason within the contract? For example if you became ill and you dropped down a band as you gave up responsibilities? 
Also what has your tax code gone up? NHS payroll are well known for getting tax codes wrong so maybe check this as well. 

Car_54

OP, has your salary (pre-tax) been reduced by the banding change? If so, then I would have expected you to have been given the option of taking redundancy. Did that happen?

Even if the option wasn't taken up, it would seem to meet the HMRC guidelines.

Green.Lander

Hi, My wife is with the NHS and as i understand it you can give back the car but with a penalty payment which decreases over time so you need to check this. 

Manxman_in_exile

Car_54 said:

OP, has your salary (pre-tax) been reduced by the banding change? If so, then I would have expected you to have been given the option of taking redundancy. Did that happen?

Even if the option wasn't taken up, it would seem to meet the HMRC guidelines.

I doubt it.  Within the NHS one band up or down is pretty much automatically considered to be a "suitable alternative".  Virtually no chance of getting redundancy.

What I don't quite understand (and has not been explained) is why the OP's tax code has increased if they've moved from a 6 to a 5?

Manxman_in_exile

Dr_Crypto said:

Why did you band change? Could the reason for that be a reason within the contract? For example if you became ill and you dropped down a band as you gave up responsibilities? 
Also what has your tax code gone up? NHS payroll are well known for getting tax codes wrong so maybe check this as well. 

They're certainly well known for getting your pay wrong!  I'd definitely be checking with payroll why my tax code has gone up if I've been re-graded down a band.