BCA lease car return process
Discussion
My lease car is due to be collected this week and this extract is taken from the return procedure:
[i]'You will not be asked to stay with the agent whilst they inspection the vehicle to ensure social distancing is followed.
We also won’t ask you to sign anything as the agent will sign on your behalf using the reason: Signed on behalf of the customer COVID 19.
We will email you the results of your inspection. The agent will call and ask you for your email address once they have completed your inspection and are ready to take your car away.'[/i]
Do they actually follow this procedure as it appears I'll not be permitted to confirm/inspect any issues they might find, let alone comment on my acceptance (or not) of them on any paperwork (as I wont get any at the time).
As it'll be my first one I don't know if this is normal.
Seems a recipe for disagreement down the line to me.
[i]'You will not be asked to stay with the agent whilst they inspection the vehicle to ensure social distancing is followed.
We also won’t ask you to sign anything as the agent will sign on your behalf using the reason: Signed on behalf of the customer COVID 19.
We will email you the results of your inspection. The agent will call and ask you for your email address once they have completed your inspection and are ready to take your car away.'[/i]
Do they actually follow this procedure as it appears I'll not be permitted to confirm/inspect any issues they might find, let alone comment on my acceptance (or not) of them on any paperwork (as I wont get any at the time).
As it'll be my first one I don't know if this is normal.
Seems a recipe for disagreement down the line to me.
Watchthis said:
Regardless what they want, you should stand and watch him. That's what I did in October when my BMW was going back to alphabet
Yep - did the same when my lease went back - it was 'spotless' and I mean not a single mark on it (well one)The one mark was a 2mm scratch/mark on a wing mirror. You would think it was written off given the inspectors version of it.
One call and an e-mail later they (the lease/finance co) accepted no charges
I have returned several lease cars to BCA over the years.
One experience many years ago was rubbish where the guy didn’t let me view his report, didn’t ask me to sign, and I got a bill in for £400 for a missing service book (the service log was electronic, so this charge was cancelled after a chat with the finance company).
Every other collection since - both during and before Covid times - I have been able to stay with the guy while he does his inspection. I don’t talk much though so as not to distract him.
The outcome report has been shown to me, and I’ve been given the option to sign, or not to sign if I dispute the report. During Covid times, I believe the report was marked “customer did not sign” or similar, to avoid contact.
Make sure you take photos or a video of the car all around before it drives away, as there are some isolated cases where BCA find some expensive damage “once the car got back to the depot”, and it’s useful to have photos to dispute this.
One thing I did notice when I had a car collected in January was that the BCA guy drove my car to 3 dealers across the region (the tracker on my car app hadn’t been disabled so I was able to track the car movements) which I assume they don’t tell people when sending them extra damage charges after getting back to the BCA depot.
One experience many years ago was rubbish where the guy didn’t let me view his report, didn’t ask me to sign, and I got a bill in for £400 for a missing service book (the service log was electronic, so this charge was cancelled after a chat with the finance company).
Every other collection since - both during and before Covid times - I have been able to stay with the guy while he does his inspection. I don’t talk much though so as not to distract him.
The outcome report has been shown to me, and I’ve been given the option to sign, or not to sign if I dispute the report. During Covid times, I believe the report was marked “customer did not sign” or similar, to avoid contact.
Make sure you take photos or a video of the car all around before it drives away, as there are some isolated cases where BCA find some expensive damage “once the car got back to the depot”, and it’s useful to have photos to dispute this.
One thing I did notice when I had a car collected in January was that the BCA guy drove my car to 3 dealers across the region (the tracker on my car app hadn’t been disabled so I was able to track the car movements) which I assume they don’t tell people when sending them extra damage charges after getting back to the BCA depot.
Did you guys get an inspection report before they left?
The way I read their process they're looking to drive off the second they e-mail it.
There's a few stone chips to the front of mine (I've touched up the worst ones). I guess I could get stung for them.
Apart from that the rest of the car is unmarked.
I was thinking of making a detailed video of the car on the day of collection, given the proposed process. As suggested though I'll make sure I'll stay as close as possible. I'm not really sure how Covid is being cited as the reason for me having no input, given that it's all done outside (and likely in a howling gale where I live)
The way I read their process they're looking to drive off the second they e-mail it.
There's a few stone chips to the front of mine (I've touched up the worst ones). I guess I could get stung for them.
Apart from that the rest of the car is unmarked.
I was thinking of making a detailed video of the car on the day of collection, given the proposed process. As suggested though I'll make sure I'll stay as close as possible. I'm not really sure how Covid is being cited as the reason for me having no input, given that it's all done outside (and likely in a howling gale where I live)
MikeB444 said:
Did you guys get an inspection report before they left?
The way I read their process they're looking to drive off the second they e-mail it.
There's a few stone chips to the front of mine (I've touched up the worst ones). I guess I could get stung for them.
Apart from that the rest of the car is unmarked.
I was thinking of making a detailed video of the car on the day of collection, given the proposed process. As suggested though I'll make sure I'll stay as close as possible. I'm not really sure how Covid is being cited as the reason for me having no input, given that it's all done outside (and likely in a howling gale where I live)
Do your own inspection/videoThe way I read their process they're looking to drive off the second they e-mail it.
There's a few stone chips to the front of mine (I've touched up the worst ones). I guess I could get stung for them.
Apart from that the rest of the car is unmarked.
I was thinking of making a detailed video of the car on the day of collection, given the proposed process. As suggested though I'll make sure I'll stay as close as possible. I'm not really sure how Covid is being cited as the reason for me having no input, given that it's all done outside (and likely in a howling gale where I live)
I saw the report and signed it refuting most of it
MikeB444 said:
Did you guys get an inspection report before they left?
The way I read their process they're looking to drive off the second they e-mail it.
There's a few stone chips to the front of mine (I've touched up the worst ones). I guess I could get stung for them.
Apart from that the rest of the car is unmarked.
I was thinking of making a detailed video of the car on the day of collection, given the proposed process. As suggested though I'll make sure I'll stay as close as possible. I'm not really sure how Covid is being cited as the reason for me having no input, given that it's all done outside (and likely in a howling gale where I live)
The video is the best idea to protect from unexpected charges.The way I read their process they're looking to drive off the second they e-mail it.
There's a few stone chips to the front of mine (I've touched up the worst ones). I guess I could get stung for them.
Apart from that the rest of the car is unmarked.
I was thinking of making a detailed video of the car on the day of collection, given the proposed process. As suggested though I'll make sure I'll stay as close as possible. I'm not really sure how Covid is being cited as the reason for me having no input, given that it's all done outside (and likely in a howling gale where I live)
I was able to view the report on their tablet before they drove away, the email copy did not arrive until a few minutes later.
The vehicle is assessed against fair wear and tear, so you won’t get punished for not being in a perfect condition.
To be blunt though, you do not have any input into this inspection. The inspector notes what he sees, and you either accept and sign, or challenge the outcome with the finance company.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it though, some scratches and chips which I expected to get charged for on two separate cars were within tolerance, so they are usually reasonable.
Be careful about the touch ups though, these could cause an issue. The greatest costs for remedial work is often to correct what BCA assess as sub-standard repairs.
Well that was fun!
Got back late last night so planned to do my own video this morning.
The car, was of course covered in frost.
BCA also rang at 8am to say they were less than an hour away.
Cue mad rush to wash frost off and video the now wet car.
I managed it in the end with about 10 minutes to spare.
After all that, the BCA guy did all his checks, photos and videos and the grand sum on the report was...£0
He did point out a few wear and tear spots which I was aware of (all stone chips) and didn't even mention the more minor ones.
All in all, not a bad experience.
Got back late last night so planned to do my own video this morning.
The car, was of course covered in frost.
BCA also rang at 8am to say they were less than an hour away.
Cue mad rush to wash frost off and video the now wet car.
I managed it in the end with about 10 minutes to spare.
After all that, the BCA guy did all his checks, photos and videos and the grand sum on the report was...£0
He did point out a few wear and tear spots which I was aware of (all stone chips) and didn't even mention the more minor ones.
All in all, not a bad experience.
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