Currently have a car on finance with Startline, agreement started in Nov 2014, car was £7400, 57 reg Seat Alhambra, total payable being £10800.

Fast forward a few years to now, growing family and the car is no longer suitable, not enough boot space when using all 7 seats, so have looked around and found something bigger.

Finance sorted and all good to go, BUT the valuation on the Alhambra is now £1000 less than settlement figure, hence wanting to VT.

I am well over the 50% mark, closer to 2/3 of the total.

From reading various forums and sites, there seems to be varying timescales to offer when notifying the finance companies of VT, I've seen 14 days, 7 days and 0 days,

is there any requirement to give them any notice or could I write/email and terminate the agreement immediately?

I only ask as the next payment is due in 7 days.

Thank you.

there is no time limit

you are over 50% you don't need to pay further

from my notes:

Section 99 of the Consumer Credit Act gives the debtor the right to terminate a hire purchase agreement,

simply by giving written notice of termination.

.

The right to terminate applies at any time before the final payment becomes due, unless the creditor has already terminated.

.

contrary to the line taken by many finance companies,

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the debtor need not have paid half the total amount payable,

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and nor do they have to pay any arrears,

.

before exercising the right to terminate.

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Sections 99 and 100 set out the debtor's liability on voluntary termination. The sections are complex,

.

but their main effect can be summarised in brief as follows.

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.If the sum of payments made and arrears before termination exceeds 50% of the total price,

than the debtor is only liable to pay the arrears.

.

Otherwise, the debtor is liable to pay half the total price, less any payments already made.

.

so the debtor can terminate at any time if he has reached the 50 % mark

.

the debtor can terminate at any time before the 50 % mark but would be liable for payments still to reach the 50 % mark,

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does not matter if the account is in arrears at the time or request to do a voluntary termination.

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you need to specifically nail them down that this is a VT and NOT a VS [volutary surrender].

dont get caught out!!

take extensive photos of the car inside and out

and underneath and in the engine compartment ALWAYS.

if they try and charge a repo fee or collection fee they cannot:

173 Contracting-out forbidden.

(1)A term contained in a regulated agreement or linked transaction, or in any other agreement relating to an actual or prospective regulated agreement or linked transaction, is void if, and to the extent that, it is inconsistent with a provision for the protection of the debtor or hirer or his relative or any surety contained in this Act or in any regulation made under this Act.

This term is covered by the above section of the CCA 1974 in that it breaches this:

99 Right to terminate hire-purchase etc. agreements.

(1)At any time before the final payment by the debtor under a regulated hire-purchase or regulated conditional sale agreement falls due, the debtor shall be entitled to terminate the agreement by giving notice to any person entitled or authorised to receive the sums payable under the agreement

In other words nothing can stop you voluntarily terminating.

The only charges you must pay are the ones contained in the legislation and itemised in section 101, the charge mentioned is levied after the agrement is terminated and is void in any case. All it means is that no one will collect the terminated car(their car), well that is ther problem it is no longer yours , your attachment to the car has been terminated.

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although dependant on the way your agreement is written, they can charge excess mileage

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this has been accepted at county courticon level, but afaik has not been tested in a higher court

..

..............example letter..ADAPT TO SUIT.............

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You must vt under s99/100 cca1974. do not sign any of their forms, or agree to pay anything.

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The car has just to be in reasonable condition for its age.

If you have paid in excess of 50%,

with no arrears there will be nothing to pay.

.

Send them the following letter,

they MUST action your request,

you should endeavour to be present at the vehicle inspection---

.

VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT UNDER S99/100 CCA 1974

.

Account No: (xxxxxxx)

.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to notify you that I am exercising my right to terminate the above Agreement

under Section 99 of the consumer credit act1974.

.

You will understand that the aforementioned section permits the debtor to terminate the agreement

at any time before the last payment is due.

.

There is no restriction regarding the exercising this statutory right,

particularly none in respect of any perceived arrears or monies due on termination

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I understand that I shall be liable to you for the amount calculated under the formula in Section 100

of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

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**As I have/have not paid more than the amount calculated under the formula in Section 100 the amount due is £XXXX/zero.

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The above agreement will be terminated 14 days from the date of this notice.

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Please send me details of how the vehicle can be returned to you.

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You will be aware that statute prevents you from levying a charge for the recovery of this vehicle;

guidelines also state that if you require me to deliver this vehicle

it must be no more than a short (reasonable distance) from my registered address.

.

Please confirm receipt of this request in writing within 7 days of receipt.

.

-Yours etc...

..

Having VT'd on 18th May, which they accepted, they are now chasing me for the May payment which was due on the 21st May.

I'm still waiting for their collection agent to make arrangements to collect the vehicle,

having spoken to Startline on the phone earlier,

they've tried telling me I'm still liable for the vehicle until they've collected it and I still have to make the payments until then!

I queried them on it, told them that as far as I was aware, my liability for the vehicle ended on the day I VT'd, therefore so did my requirement to make payment. They disagreed with this and informed me I am now in arrears and would affect my credit file!

So where do I go from here?

they cant re write the consumer credit act

I have hi lighted the relevant section of post 2.

no they cannot mark your credit file

you terminated 3 days before due payment and you are already well past 50% mark.

Choosing to Voluntary terminate your finance agreement will not affect your credit rating. It may however be marked on your file as V or VT, showing that you have chosen to end the agreement early using this process. This mark is visible to other lenders and could impact a future applications for this type of credit.

Multiple VTs could result in refusal for credit or a higher interest rate. We’d like to hear from you if you’ve experienced this first hand.

As long as you have taken reasonable care of your vehicle, you should not be charged anything further when it’s handed back. The vehicle needs to be returned in “reasonable” condition and therefore some wear and tear should be expected

It’s not uncommon that lenders will try and charge a collection fee for a vehicle. You are not liable for any collection charges, these must be met by the lender.

When you voluntary terminate your agreement you are essentially handing back the car. You will not receive any further payments i.e. your deposit back.

The Consumer Credit Act states that once you have invoked your right to terminate under sec99, lender’s cannot impose any further liability which includes charging for collection of the vehicle or any excess mileage charges.

The vehicle will need to be returned in “reasonable” condition, taking into account wear and tear.

The right to VT your finance agreement is written in law. Your finance company can not prevent you taking this option as long as you have paid back over 50% of the total amount due.

Andy

The saga continues! T

I'm still receiving emails, letters and text messages informing me my payments are overdue, and that I've been charged £15 for a letter telling me I'm in default.

I've spoken to them and they claim it's the 'system' generating the letters and not to worry etc etc.

I've also received their damage appraisal in which they claim there is £1800 of damage to be rectified!

I have disputed this, as I feel a lot of what they have listed falls into fair wear and tear.

They've listed all four wheels as needing repair due to scuffs and corrosion, yet on the auction report for potential buyers the wheels are said to be in reasonable condition.

There are various things they've listed, from needing a valet, through to various scratches, and a headlight (didnt need a headlight when it left here, and at the most it would have needed a bulb, it had a HID kit retrofitted).

Its an 11 year old people carrier and it sounds to me as if they expected the car to be presented in showroom condition.

I'm not sure if Startline are aware the car is being held at an auction site about 20 miles from where I live, so it won't be too much of a problem for me to go and inspect the car if need be.

Hopefully this has worked, both the auction report and Startline's damage appraisal should both have uploaded.

VendorReport.pdf

2018-JUN-13$6428110.pdf

Hope you've not been talking on the phone??

Dont

You owe nothing more

Only a brief conversation where they told me they had the appraisal and I asked for it to be emailed to me, and I told the chap I wouldn't be paying it.

no more talking writing only

they are not entitled to anything