Voluntary termination - finance co misleading me?
Discussion
Hello,
I wrote to my finance provider on the 1st June asking to VT my car as it wasn't being used and I had paid over half the outstanding amount. After a few days someone called and explained that due to Covid they may take a while to collect which meant I couldn't terminate immediately but that they would give me a 3 month "payment holiday" and they would collect asap.
I wasn't thrilled with this but he insisted that it was the only way to handle the situation so I agreed. They were also insistent that I had to continue to insure the car comprehensively until they could collect it and that this is a contractual requirement, which I did. I later read the contract which says I can terminate the contract by writing to them (which I did) and that I have to be willing to deliver the car to any location they reasonably ask (no mention of collection at all), which I was. There's nothing in the contract that specifically says when the agreement ends under VT.
They collected the car (or rather Manheim auctions did) on the 22nd June and the collection guy generated an automated "collected" email but he had ticked "no" to whether keys/logbook/service history were present. I asked him about this immediately and he said he didn't have the option to tick "yes"! I have photos and video of all the keys, docs and every panel of the car and asked him to sign a printed copy of his email to say that they were actually all present which he did. I then sent this signed collection note to the finance company explaining the situation.
I checked my credit file yesterday and the account is still open and was updated by the finance company on the 5th July, five weeks after I requested termination. I emailed them yesterday to ask them to confirm that my account is now closed and they have replied with the following which makes little sense in English but appears to say that they won't close my account with them until they have been paid by the auction company that they chose to use...
"Please be advised at this stage XXXX are unable to confirm clearance as yet as the Voluntary Termination has not completed as yet, XXXX has not received any funds from the auction of the vehicle.
Once the Voluntary Termination has completed, XXXX will be able to provide clearance."
This is a fairly mainstream lender, part of a big company and I assume has done a few of these.
Their phone lines are off due to Covid and they normally take 5-7 working days to reply to any email but I have a couple of questions before I decide what to do next:
1) Can they link the auction result to the closing of my account with them? If they can and for some reason the car achieves a lower value due to having the keys/log/book/service history marked as missing (despite them all being given to the collection agent and the car being marked as perfect, which it was) then given how they've behaved so far I'm concerned they'll try and penalise me in some way.
2) Am I correct in understanding that the account should be terminated either as soon as I request it formally or as a minimum when they collect the car from me - it's up to them what they then do with it? Definitely not when they get paid from whatever means they choose to dispose of the car?
Sorry for the length of message - it feels to me like they've tried to manipulate me at every turn to their own advantage but because they are almost impossible to contact and bending the rules all the time I feel like I want to make a formal complaint. Just want to get a feel as to whether I'm right to do so.
I understand we're in a pandemic and it's tricky (not just for them but for me too) which is why I didn't push back too hard on the time to collect or the extra insurance but I'm moving house and going through a mortgage application and I want this agreement off my credit file.
Thanks if you got this far, would appreciate views.
I wrote to my finance provider on the 1st June asking to VT my car as it wasn't being used and I had paid over half the outstanding amount. After a few days someone called and explained that due to Covid they may take a while to collect which meant I couldn't terminate immediately but that they would give me a 3 month "payment holiday" and they would collect asap.
I wasn't thrilled with this but he insisted that it was the only way to handle the situation so I agreed. They were also insistent that I had to continue to insure the car comprehensively until they could collect it and that this is a contractual requirement, which I did. I later read the contract which says I can terminate the contract by writing to them (which I did) and that I have to be willing to deliver the car to any location they reasonably ask (no mention of collection at all), which I was. There's nothing in the contract that specifically says when the agreement ends under VT.
They collected the car (or rather Manheim auctions did) on the 22nd June and the collection guy generated an automated "collected" email but he had ticked "no" to whether keys/logbook/service history were present. I asked him about this immediately and he said he didn't have the option to tick "yes"! I have photos and video of all the keys, docs and every panel of the car and asked him to sign a printed copy of his email to say that they were actually all present which he did. I then sent this signed collection note to the finance company explaining the situation.
I checked my credit file yesterday and the account is still open and was updated by the finance company on the 5th July, five weeks after I requested termination. I emailed them yesterday to ask them to confirm that my account is now closed and they have replied with the following which makes little sense in English but appears to say that they won't close my account with them until they have been paid by the auction company that they chose to use...
"Please be advised at this stage XXXX are unable to confirm clearance as yet as the Voluntary Termination has not completed as yet, XXXX has not received any funds from the auction of the vehicle.
Once the Voluntary Termination has completed, XXXX will be able to provide clearance."
This is a fairly mainstream lender, part of a big company and I assume has done a few of these.
Their phone lines are off due to Covid and they normally take 5-7 working days to reply to any email but I have a couple of questions before I decide what to do next:
1) Can they link the auction result to the closing of my account with them? If they can and for some reason the car achieves a lower value due to having the keys/log/book/service history marked as missing (despite them all being given to the collection agent and the car being marked as perfect, which it was) then given how they've behaved so far I'm concerned they'll try and penalise me in some way.
2) Am I correct in understanding that the account should be terminated either as soon as I request it formally or as a minimum when they collect the car from me - it's up to them what they then do with it? Definitely not when they get paid from whatever means they choose to dispose of the car?
Sorry for the length of message - it feels to me like they've tried to manipulate me at every turn to their own advantage but because they are almost impossible to contact and bending the rules all the time I feel like I want to make a formal complaint. Just want to get a feel as to whether I'm right to do so.
I understand we're in a pandemic and it's tricky (not just for them but for me too) which is why I didn't push back too hard on the time to collect or the extra insurance but I'm moving house and going through a mortgage application and I want this agreement off my credit file.
Thanks if you got this far, would appreciate views.
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