Welcome VT HP - Outrageous Inspection Report!

[kpmatthews]

Hi,
I too am in the process of voluntarily terminating a HP agreement with Welcome. I have paid over 50%. I was supposed to have an RAC check last Thursday. I said to the lady that called to arrange the inspection, that as my wife has to take and collect my children to and from school, the mechanic will need to call first to make sure someone is in. He didn't call, turned up when no one was in and now Welcome are trying to charge me £40. Is there anyway I can successfully argue against this charge.

Also.... I had the inspection done today. The report lists:
engine starting fault, further investigation
rear wing left - dented
rear lamp assy left - damaged
rear bumper - damaged
front wing right - dented
front door right - dented
bonnet - dented

total repair cost inc vat - £1036.50

Now, this car is actually in very good condition. The "dents" the rac report mentions are between 95% and 100% invisible and are more "marks" or "dinks" than dents. Plus they were there when I bought the car. "Dents" is an amazingly strong word. The starting fault is mine and the cracked rear light cover is mine, although it passed an mot. Will Welcome take this report at face value and try and charge me the whole amount, or will I get a chance to dispute this? I was almost shocked when I read the report- I thought he'd inspected the wrong car!!

[calvi36]

Hi KP, you must be nuts, sorry u have prob heard that a billion times lol. Ok lets look at the 40 quid, no you will not be liable as you had informed them that you required a call prior to the inspection being done, did you get the name of the person you spoke to on the phone?
The vehicle would not be expected to be in showroom condition when VT takes place but fair wear and tear is allowed for see BVRLA web site for fair wear and tear allowances. Dents are not allowed but these can be a greay area, small dent repair by cosmetic dent repair co, say £45 ex vat. You have 3 dents so max of £150. If the dents required painting then say another £40 per repair, £120. Just remember that they will be quoting you authorised main dealer bodyshop repair prices and not cosmetic repair prices. However I know for a fact as i have worked in this area long enough to know that they will normally not do any repairs at all before it goes to auction or that they will do only cosmetic repairs to make it look like the dogs gonads to achieve more at auction. before you agree to settle this inform them that you will have the repairs done yourself and then wish the vehicle re-inspected, you may have to pay for this. If the car has already gone then insist on a valid invoice from the company that did the repairs stating a complete breakdown of their charges for labour and materials. If the vehicle has gone through British Car Auctions or Manheim then they have inhouse cosmetic repair teams and believe me the finance house will not be paying main dealer prices, they will be paying trade prices, so it's back to bank charges, unless they prove to you that their actual costs are what they are requiring you to pay then it's a no no, ask them for proof of the payment they made for the repairs, see if it matches with the job sheet/invoice/estimate from the repair company. BET U A QUID IT DOES NOT! Hope I have helped in some way bud. Yup another edit, replace the rear lights yourself if it's still there and have the starting prob fixed too.


calvi

PS I had to edit coz i type too bloody fast

[Paulyx]

I have had very same problem.
Tell 'em to show you the pre delivery inspection report so you can compare. There wasn't one was there! Tell 'em to take you to court and you'll settle there.
I've been asking BCT to take me to court for 3 yrs nothing at all. when they ring (and they do) i ask have you got the date yet? and just repeat myself. They comeout with all sorts of hot air threats ..bankruptcy, attachment to earnings etc....tell em 'have you got the court date yet?' nothing will comeof it. It's a big con!
don't worry and don't pay em a penny! stick to your guns.
Paul