In November of last year, I was laid off from my job as a warehouse supervisor.
I have also been seriously ill as a result of a stroke and am worried about my finances.
To help reduce my costs, I requested the return of my BYD Atto 3 electric car that I obtained through a lease contract with Santander.
The bank says I have to pay around £8,376 to end the lease early. That would be almost all of my severance pay. Please help.
RG, Bridgend, South Wales.
Polar lease: Santander is charging reader more than £8,000 for ending his car lease early after he was made redundant
Sally Hamilton responds: You have been through wars. Not only did he suffer the stroke he refers to in November 2023, but three months later he suffered sepsis and underwent a life-saving operation.
In order to get around and so that his wife could visit him more easily in the hospital, he decided to buy a new car.
sign a five-year lease for their electric vehicle in December 2023 at a cost of £446 a month.
Then, due to the loss of a colleague, you returned to work in February to cover him, even though he still needed a catheter and a stoma and needed crutches to get around.
Then other health problems arose that complicated life. Finally, in November 2024, his company broke the news that it was making his supervisor role redundant.
Shocked by the huge impact not having a job would have on his finances, I can only imagine his added fears when Santander told him the redundancy fee would be almost as much as the £9,000 his employer promised in redundancy payments.
Leases are popular because they mean drivers can get a new car and spread the cost over the years at a manageable level before returning the vehicle to the supplier. The longer the lease, the more affordable the payments will be.
But there are disadvantages for those who want, or need, to end an agreement early, as many leasing companies do not allow the contract to be canceled or impose a hefty fine, usually half of the outstanding payments, as in your case.
I was sorry for his situation and asked Santander if there was anything I could do to help him in his difficult circumstances, at least reducing the sentence.
The bank investigated your case and a few days later, I am pleased to tell you, they went further and decided to allow you to end the lease without any penalty.
A Santander spokesperson says: ‘We are sorry to hear about the difficult personal circumstances RG is currently facing. Due to these circumstances, we have made the decision to waive your fee as part of our commitment to supporting our customers through difficult times.’
In the meantime, he still needs some form of transport and has applied for a vehicle through Motability, a charity that rents vehicles and electric wheelchairs to people receiving eligible disability benefits, with benefits paid directly to the charity to cover the lease.
You have been awarded the highest rate mobility element of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) of £75.75 per week, which you claim will cover your tenancy and all other costs including maintenance, services, MoT, cover breakdown and insurance.
How can we make a fuss over stolen perfume?
My 97-year-old mother ordered an £88 bottle of perfume online from Boots last August and received it within a couple of days.
She had gone out at that time and the package was left at her door. When he picked it up on his return, the package was open at the bottom. There was no perfume inside.
Boots has refused to refund the money. Can you help?
JN, Horley, Surrey.
Sally Hamilton responds: You spoke of the efforts your mother went to to get her money back or another £88 bottle of Miss Dior perfume.
The story smacked of stubborn customer service and left you and your mother furious.
After several weeks of back and forth with Boots, her mother was told that the “digital operations” team had investigated and were confident that the package had left their warehouse intact and had been
delivered successfully and therefore I would not give you a refund.
She accepted that the package had been delivered, but in no way could this be called successful.
It was evident that it had been taken by some opportunistic thieves.
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a retailer must ensure that products reach customers in one piece. If a package is left outside the front door and pinched, as in this case, the retailer must offer a replacement or refund.
If a customer previously specified that deliveries could be left outside their door, then it would not be decided whether a refund should be made. But this was not the case with your mother.
You told me that she rarely orders anything online apart from her Tesco food store and that if she were forced to name a safe place, it would be her neighbour’s house and not her exposed front door.
You lodged a complaint on your mother’s behalf, including a letter to the CEO of Boots. But the company continued to deny him a refund.
I have asked Boots to look again at their handling of your mother’s complaint. This time the retailer agreed that it was their fault.
A Boots spokesperson said: ‘We always strive to offer a high level of service and regret that we have not met our usual standards on this occasion. We contact the customer directly to arrange a full refund.’
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk; include the phone number, address, and a note addressed to the offending organization giving them permission to speak. to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot be responsible for them. The Daily Mail cannot accept any legal responsibility for the responses given.
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