NHS Car Lease agreement NHS Fleet Solutions

Kingmaker1845

6 weeks ago I applied through NHS Fleet Solutions for a lease car due to a new role within my NHS Organisation. I went for a hybrid countryman. After two weeks i enquired as to how long it would take for delivery I was informed that they would contact me when the car was available. Over the next four weeks i emailed and rang them 5 times with the same answer. Until two days ago. then i received an email from them staitng that the car had been part of a global recall due to a safety issue. I couldnt afford another option with them so decided to cancel the order via email. I rang the next day to confirm the cancellation as I had made other plans to buy a second hand car for now.

It was at this point that the agent I had been dealing with informed me that they actually had the car in stock but couldnt deliver due to the recall but if i cancelled they would charge me £600. This was the first point in the whole 6 weeks that they had told me the actually had the car in stock. prior to that they claimed it wasnt in stock but would call me when it was.

I have paid the insurance on the second hand car, and have emailed the lease company to say that i wish to go ahead with the cancellation but my question is what are my rights if any as to the £600 charge or do I actually have any?

it seems grossly unfair as NHS Fleet have no idea a) when the fault will be fixed or b) when if ever i will receive the car i originally ordered. Im really not in a position to pay £600 for a car i can't use and have no idea when i may have it especially when driving is part of my new job role.

Look forward to any suggestions.

Aylesbury_Duck

What does your agreement say about the charge?

neilmcl

Aylesbury_Duck said:

What does your agreement say about the charge?

Just had a look at their website and their FAQs mention a £500 cancellation fee.

In reality this all comes down to whether this could be classed as a breach of contract or not with them not being able to supply the vehicle.

born_again

>it seems grossly unfair as NHS Fleet have no idea a) when the fault will be fixed<

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1324607/bmw-car-recall-booking-uk-plug-in-hybrid-battery-safety
19 Aug 2020

Even BMW have not said how long it is going to take. So a fleet co will have no idea, till they get the info from BMW

Ford have a similar issue with the Kuga Hybrid. Which was also highlighted 2 months ago. They have just announced that it was contaminated batteries that was the problem. Fix is to start in next few weeks & will take till March to cover all cars sold.