Car lease damage charges

cfq1718

Hello all,

I handed back a lease car in March and was given a £390 bill for damages by the assessor that collected the car, which I disputed on the tablet thingy he had with him.

A few weeks later I received an invoice for £390 from VW Financial Services. I wrote a letter back saying that I agreed with £110 of the damage charges (pretty obvious accidental damage) but disputed £280 (minor wear and tear that can only be expected after 3 years of daily driving a car). I also pointed out that I had increased the mileage allowance shortly after starting the contract but a change of circumstances meant my mileage went down and they were approx. £1400 up in mileage charges which should cover any damage. I don't know if this is relevant.

Anyway, I enclosed a cheque for £110 for the undisputed damages and in my letter I stated that the cheque was being offered as full and final settlement. I sent the letter on 15 April and the cheque was paid on 26 April.

On 9 May I received a template letter saying I owed £280. Is this enforceable now that they accepted my cheque as full and final settlement?

DullGreyGuy

Ultimately up to the courts but generally any payment should be taken as interim payment as part of the legal obligations to mitigate losses else they'd be entitle to charge you the statutory interest on the whole amount despite having the means to have reduced it via the cheque. 

Mileage is also irrelevant, you pay for up to X miles a year, it's not a guarantee that you'll hit it and you dont get a refund if you dont hit it. Their pricing will factor in that most vehicles are returned with below stated mileage. 

TELLIT01

Define what you consider to be 'minor wear and tear'.

cfq1718

TELLIT01 said:

Define what you consider to be 'minor wear and tear'.

I agree with the nearside wing and paid them for it. I think the others are ridiculous especially the first one in the boot, which probably would have brushed off if I'd even noticed it myself.

Aylesbury_Duck

cfq1718 said:

I wrote a letter back saying that I agreed with £110 of the damage charges (pretty obvious accidental damage) but disputed £280 (minor wear and tear that can only be expected after 3 years of daily driving a car). 

As others have said, the mileage matter is irrelevant.

As for the bolded part, you may think it can only be expected, but what does the contract say?  Does it say that expected minor wear and tear isn't chargeable?

TELLIT01

I tend to agree that the one in the boot is picky, but the other bodywork scuffs will have to be attended to before the car can be sold, and that takes labour and therefore money.  I worked with a guy who actually said (to paraphrase) that he didn't care what damage was done to the lease car as it wasn't his.  It's that attitude which ends up costing everybody money.

IvanOpinion

The BVRLA guidelines consider chips of up 3mm, dents of up to 15mm and scuffs/scratches of up to 25mm (on paintwork) to be acceptable. Above this, you have to expect a charge to be made.

Personally I think they are over-restrictive and go beyond fair-wear and tear into the realms of a car that has been wrapped in cotton wool and not used.

cfq1718

IvanOpinion said:

The BVRLA guidelines consider chips of up 3mm, dents of up to 15mm and scuffs/scratches of up to 25mm (on paintwork) to be acceptable. Above this, you have to expect a charge to be made.

Personally I think they are over-restrictive and go beyond fair-wear and tear into the realms of a car that has been wrapped in cotton wool and not used.

It's ridiculous. I replaced the lease car with a £800 Honda Jazz that is already so badly scuffed I don't think I'd even notice if someone crashed into it!