Black Horse DCA - Two Conflicting Letters

w.ashcroft

What a mess! Submitted my DCA info request to Black Horse earlier this year (a couple of times via two different email addresses), had a letter back confirming there was a DCA (Tesla) on my agreement number so they converted it into a complaint pending FCA outcome.

Last week (several months later), another copy of the same letter arrived but under the second request reference, this time saying there was not a DCA on my agreement number.

I called them - on the call said they said the first letter indicates they found a DCA and to ignore the second letter, I said that's not good enough without explanation. They've just called me back and this time they said the second letter is a more recent check and to trust that one instead.

Thoughts/suggestions? How do I get proof and reassurance on whether there was or wasn't DCA on my agreement?

dunstonh

How do I get proof and reassurance on whether there was or wasn't DCA on my agreement?

At this stage you don't.

Plus remember that the existence of DCA is not necessarily a problem.   The regulator is focusing on negative DCA but neutral DCA and positive DCA are unlikely to result in anything but until the FCA publish its report in 2025 (probably getting pushed to 2026 or 2027 due to court cases and appeals) then firms cannot do anything else and neither can you.

In the meantime, firms are making the data more accessible to their staff and its likely that the FCA will ask firms to bring archived data back onto systems (as it did in the end with PPI and that is still seeing cases where people were rejected now being reviewed with new info becoming available).    But it all takes time and being premature and expecting perfect results isn't necessarily going to be helpful.

For now, you wait until the FCA report and then ask Black Horse again, unless they automatically contact you again with new information. 

y3ddd

I also have now received 2 conflicting letters from Black Horse the first in June stating the agreement involved a DCA and now (November) just received a second stating no DCA! This was also on a Tesla car agreement from 2019. So I guess as previous post states wait and see.   

helium_splicing

I also had a finance agreement on a Tesla from 2020 until it ended earlier this year. 

As with the posters above, I got a letter from Black Horse a few weeks after I asked them to investigate, confirming I did have a DCA applied to my agreement, and then I got a second letter about 5 months later completely contradicting the first letter which said they were still investigating. 

Finally, and possibly more concerningly, a few days ago I got an email stating that my complaint was closed.

Something odd is definitely going on. Maybe this is specific to Tesla owners who had agreements with Black Horse.

dunstonh

It may be down to different interpretations of DCA and information available at the time.   There can be neutral DCA, positive DCA and negative DCA.

Initial checks may show that the dealership had a contract where DCA was available to use.    However, later checks may show that DCA wasnt used in your case (neutral - i.e. available to use but wasnt).  Or it was used positively where they lowered the interest rate.    The FCA issue was focused on negative DCA where the interest rate was increased.