Lease agreement altered after I signed it

[tangoman]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post and I need some advise.

we have a lease agreement on a Van, purchased on a 5 year non regulated lease.
Our small limited company can no longer afford the repayments on this vehicle. We requested a copy of the signed agreement, and noticed that the details of the goods had been altered.

my copy which is an original stated that the vehicle was NEW.

The copy that Capital Bank have sent shows that somebody has crossed out new and written USED at the side.

has anybody had any experience with this, is the agreement valid and enforcable.

Look forward to some replys.



Tangoman.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Was the subject vehicle new or used at the time your company acquired it?

[calvi36]

Was the vehicle classed as used because it was an ex demonstrator. I have dealt personally with capital, BOS vehicle management and BOS LCV. If the vehicle is sold or leased upto one month after it has been registered then it is classed as new. If over this it is used. dealers operate pre registration schemes to hit targets, so if your van was a pre reg then it could be over 1 month old and would be classed as used. If the vehicle was sold or leased within the first month after registration but had more than 200 miles on the clock then it would also be classed as used, for the purpose of finance docs.

What type of lease is it as their norm is finance lease on commercial vehicle max of 5 yrs and max of 4 yrs on contract hire(operating lease)

[tangoman]

We asked for and thought we had bought a new vehicle, it had approx 110miles on the clock when delivered, and was registered 7 days before collection. It did not however arrive at my dealers until 2 hours before I collected it. So how could they have registered it?

The lease is a 5 year finance lease.

[calvi36]

It does not have to be physical at the dealer for it to be registered, although it is not common practise to reg a vehicle unless it's there. I put 200 miles in the post above, this was a typo and should have said 100, apologies. Is there a final payment to be made at the end of the lease (balloon payment) or is it a fully amortised lease (no balloon payment)? You do realise that even at the end of a finance lease the vehicle must be sold and that you cannot take ownership. How long are you into the agreement? Who supplied the vehicle and who exactly is the finance with? What is the van just out of interest and what are the monthly payments, just want to gauge if you have been stung. You can pm this info if you wish, would also be helpful for you to scan and send me a copy of the agreement, just blot you name and address out etc Tango.

[calvi36]

The standard terms for ending the lease early will normally be 50% of remaining rentals + any balloon payment + between 3% and 5% of any profit that is made over and above the balloon payment when the vehicle is sold. You will have to get permission to sell the vehicle and provide a proper invoice/bill of sale. If you are vat registered you will have to charge vat on the vehicle as it is a commercial. The balloon payment is excluding vat too.

[delboytrotter]

But if Capital Bank have changed the document does that not mean the contract is void, no paperwork no contract......i think changing the contract after purchase would be a little bit unlawful.....

[calvi36]

Hi Del. I hear you loud and clear. If I was in this situation with a set off finance docs then I would have spoken to the customer and informed them it would show used on the docs because of the mileage. I think its been a bit iffy to amend the docs. I have been in this situation and all I did was asked the customer to initial and sign at the amendment, no big deal but it just keeps things straight.

If the vehicle had been a dealer transfer then the customer should have been told, the vehicle will be driven from dealer a to dealer b. One question worth asking is who is the first registered keeper, finance house or dealer A.

[karen654321]

Hiya we have something similirar at the moment. We had a car repossed about two years ago. Still trying to come to some payment arrangement. When i was looking through the paperwork the car company where we got the car had altered the mileage on the original application form. My husband contacted them and they said they had to otherwise the company wouldnt have gave us the credit on a car that had done so many miles..

anyone got any advice...

[delboytrotter]

Karen, i would think they would be on dodgy ground "falsifying documents" is pretty dangerous, you could try and have a word with trading standards, at the end of the day i think the garage are bound by certain terms (that include not ripping of the finance company) to ensure they are truthful

[calvi36]

Hi Karen, can you prove what the mileage actually was on delivery? Did you get a vehicle inspection form upon delivery? As Delboy says, to falsify the finance documents is a definite no no and FSA would come down on the garage like a tons of bricks. The other issue here is that the finance company have indeed been stitched as the lease is worked out on the mileage you will be doing. It is however acceptable that if the vehicle has to be driven to the delivery point then on the delivery note it should give the mileage and if you are in a contract hire agreement say on 10k per annum then your 10k start from the delivery mileage. If it is a finance lease this is very different as you are taking the risk on the future residual value of the vehicle and any balloon payment is worked out on the miles you say you will do. So you could find yourself in a negative equity position at lease end.

[delboytrotter]

The proof part is always the hard part but if you can prove it you should have a case