Here’s one for you lot. Does any one know Skoda’s stance is if the uk does go into lock down ?

Maybe add a bit more content to the question. 

Edited 23 March, 20206 yr by john999boy

They’ll still expect you to pay them. 

Probably work from home like the most of us.

Had an email from Skoda Finance (I have a service plan) stating that if you had concerns to contact them at the earliest opportunity. Or words to that effect. 

We are at the end of a PCP on our fabia monte. I was going to buy it outright and then sell it on to Arnold Clark for a small profit and some convenience. However, that ship has seemingly sailed as AC have shut up shop like everyone else. Other options given to us on Saturday were to refinance or have it collected. If we were to give it back then a 3rd party would be involved. My question I'll be asking Skoda is what happens if the 3rd party cant do that and who has liability for the vehicle in the meantime. If my contracts up then I'm not insuring it or taxing it and dont want it cluttering the place up. I've no use for a car the mrs isn't allowed to drive!

Any luck contacting Skoda Finance? I've been trying for a week as the PCP finished on the 10th and the re-finance deal I took with Skoda for expediency seems to have not been processed. Any tips for getting through to them?

@Luckypants

 

Yeah, so I've been going through this the past month and it's been a nightmare trying to actually speak to someone. After a month of trying I finally got through to someone this morning.

 

My Fabia's PCP ends on the 30th of this month, I have already ordered a Kodiaq, which is ready and waiting at the Dealership, I was due to collect it the day after the lockdown began, so that put a stop to that. The Fabia is on PCP but the Kodiaq Contract Hire, so the dealership were going to 'buy' the Fabia back and just cover the final payment with VWFS. As April has dragged on I've been unable to speak to VWFS about what to do at the end of my term, as I did not want them to attempt to collect the balloon payment. I either wanted to advise them to collect, or see if they had an option to extend my term while we are in lockdown.

 

When I initially got through on the 24th March, I was told to email my situation through and I'd get a reply with what to do. That didn't really work out, only getting email replies advising to ring their number, and we know how successful that is....

 

Fast forward to the start of this week I finally received an email that outlined options for end of contract during COVID 19, they linked to a few different forms you can fill out:

 

---------------

 

At ŠKODA Financial Services our priority is to keep people driving their cars. We know that the Government’s latest advice will be concerning and causing disruption to your usual lives, but we want to assure you that we are doing our utmost to support our customers.

We are regularly monitoring updates from the Government and working with the regulator to best understand how the current situation may impact individuals and businesses so that we can support you.

As your finance agreement has either ended, or will end soon, we would like to run through your end of contract options. If you have recently made arrangements with us please ignore this communication.

Unless you are simply intending to keep your vehicle and pay the remaining balance, we advise you to contact us with your preferred option as soon as possible using the links below. This will enable us to prioritise your request and ensure you do not get charged your final balloon payment.
 

 

•	Keep your vehicle – If you choose this option the vehicle is yours to keep. You will not need to do anything, your balloon payment will be deducted from your bank account on the last payment date of your agreement.

 

•	Refinance – If you’d like to keep your vehicle and finance your outstanding balloon payment you can do this by emailing us on refinance@vwfs.co.uk

 

•

Part-exchange – Due to Government guidance our retailers are not open for business right now. If you have ordered another vehicle let us know by completing this form. We will work with you to ensure you are kept mobile until your new vehicle can be delivered and ensure your final balloon payment is not taken. In the meantime you may continue to drive the vehicle providing you have comprehensive insurance and the vehicle is taxed.

 

•

Return your vehicle – If you would like to handback your vehicle let us know as soon as possible by filling in this form. Select ‘End of contract vehicle handback’ in the reason for enquiry drop down menu. Please note that due to the current government guidelines we cannot currently collect vehicles, once we can arrange collection we will contact you.

Your agreement end date is the 30th April 2020. If you choose to return your vehicle then you’ll need to follow the important steps after this date:
 

-	The vehicle must not under any circumstance be driven*
-	Keep the vehicle safe, locked, secure and where possible store the vehicle off the road and on private land
-	Please remove all personal belongings, keys and keyless entry devices
-	In the event the vehicle is stolen or damaged by fire, you must immediately notify us and the police and obtain a crime reference number
-	If your road fund license expires before your vehicle is collected please tax your vehicle as usual and we will refund the cost of a 6 month road fund license
-	Please provide a copy of the DVLA receipt for the road fund licence to EOCqueries@vwfs.co.uk

Please note, you will not be charged your monthly payment for the period between your contract end date and collection. Standard end of contract terms will still apply for damage and excess mileage once the vehicle is collected and inspected.
 

•

Require use of vehicle – If you require short term use of your vehicle and are currently unable to pay your balloon please complete this form. We will work with you to keep you mobile. In the meantime you may continue to drive the vehicle providing you have comprehensive insurance and the vehicle is taxed.

Thank you for your ongoing understanding and patience during this period.

We’d ask you do not contact us at this stage unless it is urgent, we are providing a reduced telephony service and dealing with a much higher number of calls than usual. If you have any further queries about your finance agreement please visit customer.vwfs.co.uk

---------------

 

So I dutifully filled out the form, and waited.... What I received was an email response a day later that was not really satisfactory, I replied but have not had a response to that yet.

 

I tried to ring the number again today (between 09:00 and 11:00) - 0370 333 4449

 

The options presented are:

 

1 minute of recorded message, advising to browse the website for information.

 

Followed by the following options:

1) Make a Payment - Automated line, not able to speak to someone

2) Get a settlement - Automated line, not able to speak to someone

3) Direct Debit - Automated line, not able to speak to someone

4) Driverline - Not able to speak to someone re. finance

5) Collection\Inspection - Automated line, not able to speak to someone

6) Financial Difficulty - Not able to speak to someone, automated message that then states unable to take call.

 

However, this morning when I selected option 6, it actually rang through and connected to an agent. I was then able to discuss my situation. He pointed me towards a PCP extension form, and advised it would take a couple of days to sort out, the form is - https://customer.vwfs.co.uk/Forms/pcp-extension.html

 

So, finally, fingers crossed I'm getting somewhere. Hope the above is helpful to anyone else in the same boat!

Blimey! Thank you for the detailed reply. We have had the same difficulty as you with the recorded message, no human to speak to.

 

As luck would have it, the re-finance documents arrived by email about an hour after I posted this and not long after contacting the emergency number at the dealership - don't know if this is connected. The new agreement shows on the finance portal as well, so there is progress. The problem has been the time it has taken them to process everything. The delay looks like it caused the computer to try to collect the balloon payment on the 10th, so the old PCP shows with a missed payment / arrears on the Skoda Finance Portal. Obviously we'll be chasing to get that removed as the problem has been caused by Skoda finance - I'll be livid if that makes it onto our credit report.

 

So if your agreement ends on 30th @DBakes and you need Skoda finance to do anything, I urge you to crack on with them as it is over a month since we arranged the re-financing. A month to process something that the guy on the phone said would be through in 'a day or two'....

The dealership is going to look into this tomorrow as they have several clients in the same situation as us right now. Someone in sales is going in to the dealership tomorrow to access computer systems and check things for all affected. Obviously the dealership is closed at present.

Edited 22 April, 20206 yr by Luckypants

34 minutes ago, Luckypants said:

I urge you to crack on with them as it is over a month since we arranged the re-financing. A month to process something that the guy on the phone said would be through in 'a day or two'....

 

Oh trust me, I'll be pursuing this as much as my sanity allows. I was also given the "Submit the form, should only take a couple of days" this morning.