THOUSANDS of drivers are being asked by used car dealer Cazoo to hand back their vehicles after the company decided to end car subscription deals early, it has been reported.

An article published by cardealermagazine.co.uk on February 1 says customers have received emails from Cazoo this week telling them their deals will be terminated within the next 90 days.

The online used car dealer is said to have given the reason as ‘the economic situation’ and that customers should return their vehicles to one of its customer centres.

But 15 of the 22 customer centres are likely to close as part of recent cuts. If customers don’t return the cars themselves they’ll ‘have to pay for collection’ instead.

Last month, Cazoo announced it plans to close 15 of its 22 customer handover and four of its seven vehicle preparation centres in the UK with thousands of jobs at risk.

They include the company’s vehicle preparation centre on the Northacre Industrial Estate in Westbury, Wiltshire, which employs more than 150 people.

It is not known how many monthly subscription customers have received notifications from the firm but their number is likely to run into thousands.

It recently announced that Cazoo sales forecasts for the UK for this year would be slashed to just 40,000 compared with about 65,000 in 2022.

The company is also consulting 3,000 employees about potential redundancy as it trims back its network of centres.

Cazoo has been contacted for comment. So far, there has been no response.

The company disclosed in June last year that it would be running down its ‘cash intensive’ subscription schemes.

It splashed out tens of millions of pounds acquiring firms in the UK and Germany as part of a rapid growth plan.

Cazoo customers reported in December they had been told the cancellation fee would be removed from their contracts if they wanted to end them early.

The company’s removal of the £500 penalty can now be viewed as the first step to entice customers out of their deals. 

Staff in Cazoo’s information technology team in Southampton and London head office are also under the threat of redundancy.

The consultation period ends on Saturday, March 4 when Cazoo is expected to announce which sites it plans to close.

Employees in Wiltshire are beginning to receive details of their redundancy packages but those will less than two years’ service are only expected to receive four weeks’ salary.