VWFS lease cancelled collections

[roadsmash]

wilbo83 said:

Ah, I see. No I didn't have my collection booked yet as the BCA portal didn't recognise my agreement number. By the time I went to call them to arrange, they had stopped collections.

Me either. I cancelled on 31st March, well after BCA stopped collections.

[IJWS15]

MattS5 said:

An open fleet policy will likely not have all the registrations of all the cars covered, but rather blanket cover for any vehcile owned by the policyholder in question.

Edited by MattS5 on Monday 30th March 15:59

Edited by MattS5 on Monday 30th March 16:03

As I understand it for a fleet policy it is the fleem manager's responsibility to ensure that all vehicles are entered and they have on-line access to do this.

[IJWS15]

My lease ends 21/4. BCA were chasing me to book a collection 2 weeks ago but with the factory closing the new one will be late so waited. Now I am working from home until lock down ends so we can manage with 1 car and if the new one is delayed significantly I can afford to hire for the days I can't use the wife's or work from home.

Tried to call BCA Friday to book collection and got helpful message to call during business hours - which I was. Tried again monday - same message. Called Skoda Driverline and they told me that BCA was closed and to email via the VWFS Website. Have told them that the car will be parked on the road on 21st (if I can't drive it it isn't gong to block my drive/garage access) and I will cancel my insurance. If they want me to insure it then they can let me use it as well.

I am 5k under the lease mileage so it won't cost them anything to let me use it until they collect it - waiting for a response.

New lease is through VWFS as well, due for delivery 21st but factory closed so won't be built next week.

[Mark V GTD]

simonwhite2000 said:

On 17th March 2020 I received a letter from Audi (attached) stating I was £374.83 in arrears and that if I didn't bring my account up to date quickly my credit rating would be impacted. Obviously given I had fully settled the account based on the quote given to me by Audi I was absolutely not in arrears.

JS0 said:

I’m in the exact same situation. Paid off in full beginning of March, cancelled direct debit a week later. A week after that they tried to take the direct debit which obviously failed. Still 2 weeks later my account is showing in arrears, I’ve not checked my credit file yet but suspect it’ll show shortly. I called and they said they’d sort it but now I’m thinking it’d be best to pay off the “arrears” then claim it back.

Exactly the same happened to me earlier this month so this is clearly indicative of a basic system failure within VWFS to deal with early cancellation of leases. In my case it was paid off in full first week of February but I purposely did not cancel the DD in order to try to avoid this exact situation - however they didn't take the payment, as the agreement was paid up, but just went ahead and recorded a missed payment on my credit file anyway! That was after several re-assurances on the phone that would not happen. Raised a formal complaint and was offered £200 off the extra mileage fees.

Then last week they took a random £650 from the new direct debit along with the deposit they were supposed to take. This time I didn't even bother to query it with them and just called the bank and disputed it under the DD indemnity scheme. Got the money back the following day.

VWFS really are an utter shambles these days and should be ashamed of themselves.

Edited by Mark V GTD on Wednesday 1st April 09:03

[Clyde_05]

Just shows in times of adversity how a company pulls together or not in this case. It’s been going on long enough for decisions to be made. Clearly they think by ignoring people they can pass on the buck. That’s why complaints need to be raised and followed up with the relevant trading bodies.

Can people let me know what options they are using when calling through. Mine are 2 for PCH then 6 and 4.

[roadsmash]

Mark V GTD and others who cancelled early and are having problems with VWFS recognising your final payment;

As per their termination letters, you shouldn’t cancel your direct debit until you have spoken with an advisor.

Once you have spoken with an advisor and they confirm your payment has been received, they will cancel your direct debit their end and also close your account, this is the vital step which ensures it all matches up.



If you only pay your termination amount and don’t ring them up, as per the letter, they’ll keep taking payments (or trying) and put you in arrears.

[RichardMMM]

Thanks for the info on this thread, it has really helped me. I received the same email as my car was due to be collected last week and I don't want to extend as I can't see the point in paying £500 a month for a car that is just sitting there except for the weekly shop for essentials. I called Audi/VWFS and they confirmed I can continue to use the car and that all I will be liable for is any excess millage but I'm well under so no issue there.

They did say a reworded email will be sent out soon to everyone. He knew all about the email and was ready with the answer.

[RichardMMM]

Clyde_05 said:

Can people let me know what options they are using when calling through. Mine are 2 for PCH then 6 and 4.

That's the same I used

[Andy665]

My Leon was supposed to be collected on 26th March and wasn't

PCH Agreement was settled (early March)

Received letter 28th March saying I was in arrears

Called Seat Financial Services this morning to query this and also the insurance situation

Was advised that no default will go on to my credit file despite the letter saying that would happen if the "arrears" was not paid

Re: insurance, first I was told it was my responsibility to keep the car insured until it was collected - when I stated that there is no connection between me and the vehicle she then advised that it needs to be insured on day of collection only. Again I queried this and asked what happens if car is left uninsured by me and there is damage / theft - she could not answer and stated that there are awaiting clarification

Whilst I appreciate these are difficult times for everyone surely its not beyond the capabilities of a large finance house to have a clear contingency plan in place that is communicated to frontline staff and to its customers

[dan12345678910]

Thanks for the updates, as I have some time to play with they give me the confidence to sit and wait for the updated policy to be sent out.

[Ursicles]

Thanks for all the advice on this gents.

On hold to skoda FS at the moment as figure I might as well terminate the lease early and save some £ rather than the car just at outside not moving.

[Paul_P1]

roadsmash said:

Mark V GTD and others who cancelled early and are having problems with VWFS recognising your final payment;

As per their termination letters, you shouldn’t cancel your direct debit until you have spoken with an advisor.

Once you have spoken with an advisor and they confirm your payment has been received, they will cancel your direct debit their end and also close your account, this is the vital step which ensures it all matches up.



If you only pay your termination amount and don’t ring them up, as per the letter, they’ll keep taking payments (or trying) and put you in arrears.

I've done exactly this, payment was due today. Lets see what happens.

[Ursicles]

This is a bit of a win!

So called to cancel my lease - £249.46 to clear it all, but they said that waiting for BCA to open, so in the meantime im able to use the car as per normal as long as its insured.

In short saved £500(ish) and still have the car to use!

Skoda guy said pretty much every other call was people calling to hand cars back.

[JS0]

roadsmash said:

If you only pay your termination amount and don’t ring them up, as per the letter, they’ll keep taking payments (or trying) and put you in arrears.

I did call to confirm the settlement payment and as above was told no further payments would be taken. Cant say for sure but reading the other comments they seem to have also called up.

Phoning to confirm is definitely needed but not a guarantee it won’t happen to you.

[Andy665]

Just remember that if you settle early and continue to use the car that your mileage limit is Pro Rata'd back to the date of termination

[IJWS15]

Andy665 said:

My Leon was supposed to be collected on 26th March and wasn't

Re: insurance, first I was told it was my responsibility to keep the car insured until it was collected - when I stated that there is no connection between me and the vehicle she then advised that it needs to be insured on day of collection only. Again I queried this and asked what happens if car is left uninsured by me and there is damage / theft - she could not answer and stated that there are awaiting clarification

Take photographs of the car on the day the lease ends, I will be.

[roadsmash]

Paul_P1 said:

I've done exactly this, payment was due today. Lets see what happens.

You may be too late, as you may need a few days for the payment to clear. If your bank uses the faster payments system though you might be OK. Suggest you call them after 2 hours to check they are in receipt of your payment, but make sure you call them before they close today.

RichardMMM said:

Thanks for the info on this thread, it has really helped me. I received the same email as my car was due to be collected last week and I don't want to extend as I can't see the point in paying £500 a month for a car that is just sitting there except for the weekly shop for essentials. I called Audi/VWFS and they confirmed I can continue to use the car and that all I will be liable for is any excess millage but I'm well under so no issue there.

They did say a reworded email will be sent out soon to everyone. He knew all about the email and was ready with the answer.

Great to hear!

JS0 said:

I did call to confirm the settlement payment and as above was told no further payments would be taken. Cant say for sure but reading the other comments they seem to have also called up.

Phoning to confirm is definitely needed but not a guarantee it won’t happen to you.

Fair point and understood. It appears you may have been unlucky and they have made further errors on your agreement.

I guess the appropriate handling of your account is down to how competent the agent you speak to is. I’m sure there are good ones and bad ones, like in all companies.

Suggest you call again and try to speak to someone who knows what they’re doing.

[allymonty]

So the week before the lockdown came into effect I phoned VW to get a 1 month extension on my audi lease and cancelled my inspection by BCA. My new BMW was delayed anyway so I wanted to have a car until it was ready. The inspection was due on the Friday, the lockdown came into effect the following week. I phoned and rearranged collection as I wasn't going to be able to use the vehicle now anyway. VW then told me that I was still liable to pay for the extra month even though BCA subsequently cancelled the rearranged inspection as well.

So I jumped the gun a bit in getting the extension but it seemed sensible at the time. Do I have a case for refusing to pay for the extra month or should I just suck it up and pay it even though I can't use the car or get it collected?

[Paul_P1]

roadsmash said:

Paul_P1 said:

I've done exactly this, payment was due today. Lets see what happens.

You may be too late, as you may need a few days for the payment to clear. If your bank uses the faster payments system though you might be OK. Suggest you call them after 2 hours to check they are in receipt of your payment, but make sure you call them before they close today.

I paid it off on Friday, payment received their end and they claim to have cancelled the DD....

[roadsmash]

allymonty said:

So I jumped the gun a bit in getting the extension but it seemed sensible at the time. Do I have a case for refusing to pay for the extra month or should I just suck it up and pay it even though I can't use the car or get it collected?

If it’s been officially confirmed that the extension was to go ahead, then I’m confident you’ll most likely need to suck it up.