A Derbyshire couple are paying £650 to rent an electric van – but haven’t seen it for seven months. Jo and Darron Moody say they are “absolutely horrified” by the service they have received
A couple paying £650 per month to rent a van say they haven’t seen it for seven months – as it keeps breaking down.
Jo and Darron Moody’s leased electric Citroen Berlingo first broke down only a week after they first rented it in February 2023. After it was returned, it only took 24 hours for the van to break down again before it was sent to Bristol Street Motors – where it has been ever since.
Lex Autolease, to whom the couple are still paying a £650-per-month fee for the electric vehicle, providing them with a replacement Ford Transit van. But Jo and Darron had already paid £1,500 to install an electric vehicle charging point at their premises – money which has now gone to waste. On top of this, they now need to purchase fuel.
Jo and Darron are from Belper, Derbyshire, and need a van for the Hillary’s Blinds store which they run. Jo said it’s been “hugely frustrating” and they are “absolutely horrified by the service we’ve received. It’s been appalling. We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place”. Lex Autolease said they are working closely with the manufacturer to “ensure the vehicle is returned as soon as possible”.
The pair were critical of the company saying they took the best part of a year to deliver the car in the first place in February 2023. It was a week later, when Jo was riding down the A38 near Swnwick, that she was forced to pull into the slip road and the van went dead, DerbyshireLive reported.
As it was a national highway and the breakdown company couldn’t get her car off the road within 45 minutes she was charged £150 by the Highways Agency. After being towed to the local service station the car was eventually dropped off at Bristol Street Motors on Sir Frank Whittle Way in Derby, where it stayed for four weeks.
After it was returned, Darron was driving through a country road in Matlock when the van broke down again. Darron had to wait hours for a lift home, and the van was towed once again to Bristol Street Motors. They have not seen that vehicle since.
Lex offered to cancel the contract for the Citroen in March – but Mr and Mrs Moody didn’t accept this because it would have meant their hire car would have also been withdrawn. A spokesperson for Lex Autolease said: “We are sorry for the ongoing issues with Mr and Mrs Moody’s vehicle. A temporary vehicle has been provided and we are working closely with the manufacturer as it completes its repairs to ensure the vehicle is returned as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for Citroen said that its customer service team had been notified of the case for “urgent review”. They said: “I can confirm that Mr and Mrs Moody have been kept updated on a weekly basis, but we have found it difficult to get responses from them. We have made an offer of goodwill and are still awaiting a reply. This includes costs incurred for breakdown and recovery, 50% of the charging point cost and fuel costs for the hire vehicle.”
The Mirror have contacted Lex Autolease for further comment.
