BCA collection of lease car £150 per minor scratch!

[shaftshaker]

So my lease car was collected yesterday. It had been on a 3 year lease but I kept it going nearly 2 years more. So been paying 5 years almost.

Guy comes yesterday and does his thing round the car then tells me it will be £350 for repairs. I say why, and he shows a couple of very minor scratches (see images).

I say that although I agree there's a scratch or two, the repair cost I don't agree with as it's extortionate. He then says they will probably wipe the cost off back at the depot if the scratches come out easy. He then said if I didn't sign and any more damage occurred enroute back then I would be liable for it!

I feel totally shafted by this company and I cannot find any way to appeal??

[MarkJS]

Look up BVRLA code of conduct and see if they are operating within the guidelines - or if the damage that has been inflicted on the car whilst in your possession falls within or outside those guidelines.

You should have received a booklet/PDF when you took delivery of the car, I think.

Arguing with the actual charge per scratch etc, I’m not too sure about.

[Pegscratch]

Terms and conditions are in plain English and explained very clearly every time about vehicle condition. Most if not all also provide cards to measure said damage by, and on top of it all if it really is just “minor scratches” then why didn’t you fix it?

You borrowed someone else’s stuff for a period of time and damaged it beyond reasonable wear and tear. I’m afraid sympathy on this forum will be quite light.

[mbwoy84]

Repair cost seems more than reasonable to me.

[Pistonheader101]

5 years? surely you'd have paid more than the cars value

[shaftshaker]

Pegscratch said:

Terms and conditions are in plain English and explained very clearly every time about vehicle condition. Most if not all also provide cards to measure said damage by, and on top of it all if it really is just “minor scratches” then why didn’t you fix it?

You borrowed someone else’s stuff for a period of time and damaged it beyond reasonable wear and tear. I’m afraid sympathy on this forum will be quite light.

The original lease company was changed to another half way through the lease so I dont have a clue abot T&C's.... I paid literally more than the car was worth and they are charging me £150 per T'cut rub. I didn't have time to fix it but I thought they might charge a reasonable sum per scratch. And if you think that's £150 a pop then I must be insane cos I don't.

[shaftshaker]

Pistonheader101 said:

5 years? surely you'd have paid more than the cars value

I think I did, that's why I object a little to being shafted right now.

[shaftshaker]

mbwoy84 said:

Repair cost seems more than reasonable to me.

Yeah, 30 minutes £300.. More than reasonable, silly me.

[shaftshaker]

MarkJS said:

Look up BVRLA code of conduct and see if they are operating within the guidelines - or if the damage that has been inflicted on the car whilst in your possession falls within or outside those guidelines.

You should have received a booklet/PDF when you took delivery of the car, I think.

Arguing with the actual charge per scratch etc, I’m not too sure about.

The lease company changed half way through the lease so not sure what I signed up to!? But the guy that picked it up said they are normally asked to stick £500 minimum charge per car they pick so he was doing me a favour by only costing it at £350. It's legalised robbery plain and simple.

[sociopath]

Only 30 minutes to fix you say.

Didn't have time to fix it you say.

Which is it?

[OldGermanHeaps]

if you object to being shafted why did you lease a car? You gave your consent to be the sub in the relationship when you signed on the dotted line. Why does this keep surprising people who agreed to it?

[Dr Jekyll]

Leasing companies hate having cars on their books that aren't on lease, they want to turn your their car into cash ASAP. So it's not just a question of repair cost or effect on resale value, it's also the delay while they get it fixed or wait for someone who wants to buy a scratched car.

[Wacky Racer]

I leased a Mazda 6, they wanted to charge me £285 for three tiny scratches the size of your thumbnail.

I appealed and they reduced it to £150 which I wasn't too happy about.

After three years (imo) it was "fair wear and tear"

[MarkJS]

shaftshaker said:

MarkJS said:

Look up BVRLA code of conduct and see if they are operating within the guidelines - or if the damage that has been inflicted on the car whilst in your possession falls within or outside those guidelines.

You should have received a booklet/PDF when you took delivery of the car, I think.

Arguing with the actual charge per scratch etc, I’m not too sure about.

The lease company changed half way through the lease so not sure what I signed up to!? But the guy that picked it up said they are normally asked to stick £500 minimum charge per car they pick so he was doing me a favour by only costing it at £350. It's legalised robbery plain and simple.

You will have received T&C’s from the/each lease company. I’d find them, then read them, then do what I said in my original post.

[johnnyBv8]

If it's really just "a T Cut rub" then you could've fixed it in less time than it's taken to post about it on PH! It seems fair enough that they've said they'll wipe the fees if it's as easily remedied.

Frustrating, but I doubt there's anything more you can do now it's gone.

[R2x]

shaftshaker said:

So my lease car was collected yesterday. It had been on a 3 year lease but I kept it going nearly 2 years more. So been paying 5 years almost.

Guy comes yesterday and does his thing round the car then tells me it will be £350 for repairs. I say why, and he shows a couple of very minor scratches (see images).

I say that although I agree there's a scratch or two, the repair cost I don't agree with as it's extortionate. He then says they will probably wipe the cost off back at the depot if the scratches come out easy. He then said if I didn't sign and any more damage occurred enroute back then I would be liable for it!

I feel totally shafted by this company and I cannot find any way to appeal??

I never cease to be amazed by how unhelpful some of the replies on PH can be when someone asks for advice or help. To the guy who thinks £350 is acceptable, I guess you must get shafted a lot throughout your day to day activities. “£9 for a pint of milk? Sounds great!!”

£350 for 2 scratches is steep. What kind of car was this, and who was it financed by?

As an example, VWFS charge between £55 and £110 for a scratch, the latter being for anything above 25mm that’s down to bare metal.

Furthermore, if you refuse to sign to accept the charges, it doesn’t mean they can damage the car on the way to the BCA depot and insist you handed it to them with the bumper hanging off. The report should show “customer refused to sign” acknowledging that you dispute the charges, while still recording the condition at collection.

Sounds like your inspector was taking the pi$$.

You will receive an invoice from your finance company with the final charges. You can then formally dispute the charges

How do I backup my statements above? I’ve had numerous leases, 3x VWFS, 1x Alphabet and 1x Arval, all collected by BCA at the end. One of these collections involved disputed charges where I refused to sign; the finance company agreed with my complaint and wrote the charges off after a single call to them.

[anonymous-user]

R2x said:

I never cease to be amazed by how unhelpful some of the replies on PH can be when someone asks for advice or help. To the guy who thinks £350 is acceptable, I guess you must get shafted a lot throughout your day to day activities. “£9 for a pint of milk? Sounds great!!”

Wait until you read the replies on the guy who was stiffed 100% on the 'statutory removal costs' for breaking down

[loskie]

I have a lease car.

The thing that I cannot get my head round with "fair wear and tear" is say I had a 12m x5000m lease or a 36m lease at 20000m per year. The "fair wear and tear" is completely different for both BUT they work off the same matrix. For the 20000m lease the renter is paying a lot more, this surely covers the extra wear.


Maybe I'm wrong is fair wear and tear related to miles and age or not?

[Sheepshanks]

loskie said:

Maybe I'm wrong is fair wear and tear related to miles and age or not?

Exactly - a 3yr old car is going to have some marks on it. At 5yrs old charging for marks is seriously taking the piss.

I suppose the inspector might not have that leeway, but could be the lease company won’t pursue.

[CaptainSlow]

shaftshaker said:

The lease company changed half way through the lease so not sure what I signed up to!? But the guy that picked it up said they are normally asked to stick £500 minimum charge per car they pick so he was doing me a favour by only costing it at £350. It's legalised robbery plain and simple.

Unless you signed a new contract the old contract would have been novated across to the new lessor so the original terms would exist.

From the photos imo the damage looks like w&t for a 5 year term. Tell them to jog on.


GE/Arval?