Renault Battery Lease Hostage

Simonjt

I bought a 2016 Renault Zoe secondhand in 2019. I’d had a 2017 Nissan Leaf from new on a 2 year lease prior to the Leaf and was very happy with electric cars, so decided to buy the secondhand Zoe outright after the Leaf went back, and signed up for the £89 battery hire as  I didn’t know much about battery hire, so agreed and went ahead with it; I also took out the £799 4 year extended warranty, even though after many years of constant problems with the car; Renault often reluctant to pay for problems under the extended warranty, saying ‘it’s wear and tear’ etc; never buying Renault again due to their awful customer service, and general poor quality of Renaults. The car on a good day, after a full charge, gave me a range of 75 miles on average, depending on the weather, which was fine as I only do local distances, and use my wife’s car for 100+ journeys. I’m finally looking into getting a new one on a 2 or 3 lease due to the Zoe’ range dropping to 58 miles after a full charge after the last few recent charges. I regularly use an OBD-II reader and the Canze app to check my cars holding charge, and it is currently saying it’s on 80% and has been for the last few charges, and know Renault will not replace the battery until it has dropped below 75% holding charge I believe, and they would also want me to pay £150 for them to check the battery's holding charge before replacing the car’s battery, as they won’t accept my figures obtained from the OBD-II reader. I’m going to a local MG dealer on Friday to discuss getting a new MG on 2-3 year lease, and explained about my Zoe, and they’d said they assess it regarding a part-ex price, but am not expected much, or indeed anything particularly due to the battery hire, as I’d resigned myself to just running it until it gives up completely.Any thoughts on a new makes/models and buying on lease? My Dad has recently bought a BYD EV outright and seems happy with it, but not sure of the quality etc.

diveunderthebonnet

What happens to the lease if the car is written off in an accident or catches fire ,if they cannot repair the vehicle then the battery becomes obsolete , not suggesting you go out and have a crash or torch your car only curios.

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81870560#Comment_81870560

If the vehicle is written off in an accident, then the insurance pays the owner for the car, and Renault finance for the battery.

born_again

I guess we can take it that the Op sorted the issue, given not been back for 3 months 🤷‍♀️

diveunderthebonnet

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81872141#Comment_81872141

Is that the end of the lease then?

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81873742#Comment_81873742

You can end the lease by buying out the battery.

Lisa1211

Hello I would love to know where you are at with this and what was the outcome please? I am in a similar situation where I sold the car, and now they want to charge me £750 as a lost asset… they say they have reached out to the new buyer but she is not responding.

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82147912#Comment_82147912

If the lease wasn't transferred, then your name will still be on it, which makes it your problem.

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82147912#Comment_82147912

Did you not get the new owner to sign the lease paperwork on sale?

have a look at EVM on U-Tube, he & new owner are having a issue over this, thankfully for EVM new owner is playing ball & paying him back.

Mob_Barley

We also have a Renault Zoe (2015) which is beyond economic repair stopped working in April 2025 so we want to scrap/sell it. Any comments welcome, we are sympathetic to anyone else stuck in this hole.

Looking into buying out the battery lease, we wrote to ask RCI in June 2026, and after 4 months we got the following reply last week, with a surprising £399.60 offer.

But it contains some unusual conditions (time limited offer, invoice will be on different paper!?)

I wonder ...

If we agree this: How long till we can stop the Direct Debit?

The car is dead, so we should pay nil/nominal amount to end contract: Counter-offer £20?

Can we have a refund for the time it was beyond repair?

Can we deduct from this any costs of scrapping the car/battery?

Could we buy out the battery under duress and then send them a money claim online (MCOL) for money back, and argue we are doing it this way to minimise the costs we are claiming?

Could we put in a formal complaint for (a) useless car and (b) 4 months until RCI replied?
NOTE:Financial Ombudsman needs 8 weeks from formal complaint before filing complaint with them.

The email is below:-

"I'm sorry to hear that the battery is beyond repair.
To end the battery lease against the vehicle. I can suggest the battery buyout price to you should you go ahead with buying the battery.
The purchase price for the battery for your vehicle is £399.60 including VAT and is valid for 14 days.
Please note, there is a year’s warranty in place once the battery has been purchased. <<IRONIC !!
You can either purchase the battery through a participating dealer or directly through us (as long as you are happy with the implications laid out below).
Due to the fact this is a leased asset, we cannot sell the battery directly to a customer - it must be processed for invoicing purposes through a third party.
If you were to pay us directly, the invoicing for the payment would be done through Renault Retail Group London West and if you required an invoice it would be on Renault Retail Group rather than Mobilize Financial services headed paper. If they require a copy of this invoice (which will have your name and address on it) for invoicing purposes then we will have to share it with them. As long as you are happy with this then you can make payment to:
Bank: NatWest
Account Name: RCI Financial Services Ltd
Account Number: 10616098
etc....
Sameer Sajjad
Customer Services Advisor
Rivers Office Park, Denham Way, Maple Cross, Rickmansworth, WD3 9YS
0333 009 0233
mobilize-fs.co.uk
Mobilize Financial Services is a trading name of RCI Financial Services Limited ... "