Is it normal to be charged a collection fee when cancelling a lease within the 14-day cooling-off pe

ssa007

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some advice or hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.

I recently signed up to lease a car through LeaseCar UK, which was being financed through ARVAL. When the car was delivered, it had a number of scratches on the bodywork, and as soon as I started it up, a maintenance light came on. I pointed the scratches out to the delivery driver, and he took photos to note it on their system.

I didn’t drive the car at all. Later that same afternoon, I phoned LeaseCar UK to report the issues and told them I wanted to cancel under the 14-day cooling-off period. They told me the lease could be cancelled, but I would need to pay a £200 + VAT collection fee.

I’ve gone back through the contract (the one issued by ARVAL), and I can’t find anything that mentions a collection charge for returning the vehicle within the cooling-off period. Because of that, I’m unsure whether this is standard practice or if I’m being charged something that shouldn’t apply.

So my question is:

Has anyone here cancelled a lease within the 14-day cooling-off period—either with LeaseCar UK, or any other leasing company?
If so, were you charged a collection fee, or was the return arranged without cost?

Any experiences or advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

paul_c123

Cancellation and rejection are different. You want to reject it.

ssa007

paul_c123 said:

Cancellation and rejection are different. You want to reject it.

Thanks so much for your response — I really appreciate the advice.

As soon as the car was delivered, I contacted the leasing company straight away to explain the issues with the scratches. In my email, I also stated that I wished to cancel the lease agreement, mentioning that this was due to the vehicle being rejected immediately because of its delivery condition.

Unfortunately, due to the situation and some pressure from the leasing company, I ended up paying the collection fee of £200 + VAT (£240).

As this is my first time leasing a vehicle, I’m still trying to properly understand my rights and what should happen in a situation like this.

Any guidance or clarification would be greatly appreciated.