Problem with VW Finance

ruperth

Hey guys, 
Really hoping someone will be able to help. 

I haven’t paid my car finance since last April 2020 due to being affected by covid-19 being self employed and being forced to close. I have then been back and fourth trying to sort this out and it’s taken them 8 weeks to sort anything out/even reply to any of my emails. This had gone on for nearly a year now without sorting anything out. I’ve made a couple complaints after being mis told information and again these have taken nearly 8 weeks to sort. Their customer service is appalling to a point they had to listen back to a conversation stating I was on a 5 month payment holiday and my contract was being extended by 5 months having been told by one of their employees and being told by another I was never on a payment holidays. The battles with them have been non stop and due to their awful customer service and long waiting times for a response these issues have dragged on until now. 

They finally sent me a income and expenditure and I said I can start paying my finance but I am unable to clear my arrears at this present moment due to still be in a lockdown and I cannot work. They told me that I then had 3 options
-  part exchange
- sell
- voluntary termination 
They have told me I either have 1 year to pay my arrears. They have told me I have to pay a voluntary termination figure and clear my arrears. However they won’t come to an agreement with the arrears to pay less money per month but over a longer period of time to make it affordable.

Im not sure where I stand - there are probably hundreds of people in the same situation as me and I’m wondering what they are doing/agreement they have come to With vw finance. After looking at reviews on trustpilot I don’t think they even know what they are doing themselves! 

I’ve had enough and just want to hand the car back. Does anyone know where I would stand with this - I hope this explains my situation. I am extremely grateful for an my advice - Many Thanks 

AdrianC

There is no statutory right to have the contract renegotiated.
There is an industry standard to have up to six months "payment holiday", but the rules of such schemes usually require you to be up to date at the time of applying. The scheme started at the end of April as a three-month holiday, but has been extended. You are now ten months in arrears...

I presume you have a PCP. Your options to end the PCP early are to buy the car for the settlement value then sell it, if you have positive equity in it (unlikely), or to VT (which will require you to pay up to 50% of the total financed, including the balloon).

One way or another, you will have to pay to get out of the contract - and the sooner the car goes back, the less it will be all-in. You still have somebody else's very valuable, rapidly depreciating asset in your possession.

Flight3287462

You have had a payment holiday but that amount plus interest will still have to be repaid.  You need to start making payments or sell / voluntary terminate the car.  If you do nothing your debt is going to keep growing.

So find out what your car is worth WBAC will give you a bottom valuation and gives you something to work from.

There are going to be thousands in a similar situation.

(Just a quick one it looks as if you are on a PCP deal and not a lease hire two very different beasts)

neilmcl

Just to be clear regarding VT. Yes once you've paid 50% of the total amount payable you can hand the car back and walk away from the agreement, however this amount does not cover the arrears, and these will have to be paid back in full regardless.

There's no statutory arrangement to for the finance company to extend an arrangement for you to pay back your debt, which this is now, so you may wish to look at speaking to a debt management company, maybe they will be better placed in negotiating with VWFS on your behalf to work out a more comfortable payment schedule.

Also, let's be clear, this isn't a problem with VWFS as you state in you thread title, this, unfortunate as the situation is, is your problem (and many others) for taking out finance where you had no contingency should problems like this arise.