£2,000 Lease Return Charges from Octopus Energy – Feels Unfair/Excessive

[Foxy200]

We’ve just returned our Tesla after a 3-year lease through Octopus Energy and have received a bill for over £2,000 for scuffs and scratches.

There is no major damage, just what we’d honestly consider normal wear and tear after three years of careful use. For example, every alloy wheel has light scuffing, and they’ve charged £240. I’ll try to attach photos, but this is definitely not a car that’s been mistreated in any way.

It honestly feels like a cash grab, and it’s left a bad taste after what had otherwise been a smooth leasing experience.

I can see from Trustpilot and Google reviews that we’re not the only customers experiencing this, but I haven’t found much detail on how people are actually overcoming it.

Has anyone else had this with Octopus or similar lease providers? Were you able to challenge or reduce the charges? Any advice or experience would be really appreciated.

I lease cars and I ALWAYS take them to a repair company ahead of hand back to get every little scratch, scuff and dent fixed as I got stung badly like this once. They literally check the car with a magnifying glass and the “wear and tear” tolerance is very very low. They should have told you the amount when you handed it back and singed the forms after the collection inspection? If you signed there isn’t much you can do now but if not, take it to get fixed elsewhere and then have it re-inspected.

Alloys are expensive to fix and easy to scuff.

I've only ever returned a car once to a leasing company. It had to be pretty much showroom ready, valeted, every tiny stone chip removed etc. They inspect all sorts of weird places too, I got a bill for paint not having been buffed in enough around the numberplate light? Must have rolled off the production line like that! Think it was £300 and that was quite some years ago.
I can see how a bill could easily get to £2000 and they don't tell you there and then what it's going to be, because they don't know.

I returned a lease car a few years ago. I spent upwards of £1500 repairing, spraying, valeting to then still be charged £1500 by the company - one of the issues being my tyres weren’t all the same brand (despite being the right spec). They are complete and utter money grabs. I had to chalk it up to experience, never again!

I wonder then because you leased a Tesla it’s more expensive for making new again?

according to google a full car respray costs between £2700 - £4000 and for a Tesla it’s £4500 - £7000

All lease companies do this. We have had it several times with company lease cars. We do always get a guy to remove dents, touch up scratches etc ourselves for ease. Definitely have had the one above where 1 tyre was a different brand, but same quality.

We always dispute the charges though and say that we believe they come under fair wear and tear. We have always had most of the charges dropped and reduced the cost.

When I used to drive company cars, any scratch over the size of a 2 pence had to be reported. Right mare when returning as there was always some scratch or dents from loose chippings. Cost me on my insurance when I left as company reported them to the insurers database - took 3 years to clear. Hire cars are just the same.

Dd put wax crayons on the back shelf of our car and they melted in the sun . I couldn’t get it all off before returning the car.
Dh put a box of tissues on the shelf and after the car was inspected he said I’ll just grab that tissue box and we left sharpish.

in the nicest way I think you going to have to suck this up. Alloy wheels here in West Wales where things are 'cheap' are 200-250/a piece plus anything else I think you've got away lightly with 2k to be honest. Im trying to be nice btw- it is what it is with leasing as others have said. I got caught 25years ago with a lease on a BMW 740i - mileage about 8k annually, 3 years later I'd done 75k. At 45p a mile I owed them a fortune - £23000 - my fault completely but they didn't charge me for for tyres and wheels - they must have felt sorry for me. mind you there were 4 brand new tyres which we'd paid for on it a week before as we've had a couple of punctures, and two were bald so they needed changing before returning it - that was another £1200.

Is there any way of negotiating it?

I know how you feel, tesla paint is crap, both of mine have dozens of chips just from motorway driving... The current one got hit by a rock kicked up by a lorry which dented and chipped a door panel - £1100 bill within 3 minutes of picking it up.... Shit happens.

Im probably going to buy this one when the lease ends to avoid the bill.