Car Service Plan - Financial Agreement or not?

[danny1105]

Any views on this welcomed. When i bought my new car 4 years ago I took out a service plan through Essex Ford that i paid monthly. I now have a problem because i cancelled the service plan over the phone back in February but they never cancelled it their end. I am due a refund and should have had it in accordance with the terms of their contract by the end of March. They have now cancelled it and say I will get my money by the end of June. It is nearly £300. They admit their mistake and that they are in breach of their terms but wont pay up any quicker. Is this sort of agreement covered under FSA rules and can I complain to the Ombudsman?

[Conniff]

Sometimes these businesses can take some time to get themselves sorted. I believe regulation gives them 30 days to do a refund.

 

 

If you are thinking of going the ombudsmans route, you will have to exhaust the complaints procedure first and by the time you have got there, it will be the end of June and you should have your money refunded.

 

 

If the payments were by direct debit, there is a direct debit refund scheme which means you bank must do a refund.

[danny1105]

I cancelled the direct debit so there is no issue there. it is just the residue of my payments that had built up in "the pot" after service costs had been taken out. My issue is not only with the fact that nearly £300 of my money is sitting there in their account and they acknowledge it shouldn't be, but getting to the bottom of whether this agreement is a financial product. I am having the agreement perused by a barrister under the Direct Access scheme to clarify this. There is no point in complaining to the FSA if it is not deemed to be within their remit. There is nothing on the document to say it is a credit agreement.

[Surfer01]

Claim it back under the DD guarantee.