Letter from Finance Co... Help!

[DavidKent]

Well basically i bought my car on thge 3rd of feb, privately for £1400.
Its a 2000 'W' Reg Furio.

I recieved a letter on saturday, and 2 the same since From Black Horse (think they're trying to get their point across!) and this is how it goes:

Agreement number 149******
Citroen Saxo Hatchback 1.4I Furio 3D W***BJX

Dear Sir / Madam

We believe that you have obtained the goods shown above which belong to us under a hire purchase agreement. Our customer does not have the right to dispose of the goods until they are paid for in full.

Please complete and return the enclosed questionnaire as quickly as possible. If you need any help in completing it, please telephone us quoting the agreement number shown.

The information that you provide will be held by us on our computer system. This information will be used only for out own investigations regarding the sale of the vehicle.

In the meantime you must not dispose of the goods until our investigations are complete.

Thankyou for your help.
Yours faithfully
Richard Lord

Basically, i would like to know where i stand with this!
The Guy i bought the car from, bought it in november in need of a couple of bits doing to it, ie clutch was slipping etc, and so he bought it, did the work, put some alloys on it, used it for a bit, and advertised it on ebay.

I found the car, and bought it on the second of feb... Not thinking to do any HPI checks or anything, with it effectively being an 'old car' now, and for the price i paid, i know its not usually something i'd think of, and this is something thats never happened to anybody i know...

Any ideas what i can do?
I've basically done the questionnaire, ie where was it advertised, how much i paid, when i bought it etc... I also included a copy of the Ebay Auction (Luckily i got it just before the 90 days is up.. tomorrow!)...

I really don't know what to do, i'm 17, I have a car here that i've just spent time and money on sorting it all out, and i've been looking for quotes to get the spray work needed done and everything, and now this... I haven't paid for it all yet!

Any ideas Guys? I'm going to be devistated if the car gets re-posessed through no fault of mine, leaving me with money to pay back and no car!

Much appreciate any help
David

[craig180]

Don't have a leg to stand on, I'm afraid.

If it has finance outstanding on it, it still belongs to the finance company and they have a right to take it back!

Should have done an HPI for the sake of 8 quid!

[Luke]

Should of had an HPI check done mate, that's the first thing you do I suppose no matter how old it is etc.

I don't know what to suggest really, but rightfully that car is theres so I'm pretty sure they could come back for it.

[DavidKent]

Yeah, i know that now looking on hindsight, but i dont know anybody who has ever had this, and to be fair, its 7 years old, and if i had finance on a saxo that old, it sure as hell wouldn't be a 1.4!
Its not the thing you think to check at the time, and 9/10 cars that age wouldn't have finance... i just had to go and pick that 1/10 car didn't I
I have no idea what to do, they have told me it doesn't usually work out badly for the innocent third party, ie me, but i'm still not sure!

[laura_g]

Ouch that sucks mate yep hpi is the most important thing to do when buyin a new car i had mine done for £30 but its better then havin to deal with this, how much is left to pay on the car ?

[Payney]

Can't you just payed whats owed? (If its not alot)

[Easty]

it will probably come down to paying the finance company what they are owed, or giving them the car unfortunately.

[Luke]

Why don't you phone them and see where you stand?

Once you know, take it from there.

[DavidKent]

I rang them, and the bloke basically did not want to know, and i was just getting wilder and wilder and so said thanks for your help and politely hung up lol...
I have no idea of a name of the person, i have no idea how much is owed, which i should imagine is going up due to all of these letters and so on...
Usually there's also a negotiation factor on what is owed too, but thats still not ideal..
At the end of the day, i have a car that stands me in at around £2k after all of the work done to it, that isn't mine... im screwed!

[Mark51]

get a HPI check done to see what is owed on the car. could you not just sell it? then it has nothing to do with you anymore

[SNewham]

find out how much finance is outstanding? maybe you can pay the finance instead of having the car repossesed?

[Luke]

I can't see you getting out of this to be honest.

Let us know the outcome.

[Easty]

I can't see you getting out of this to be honest.

Let us know the outcome.

me neither.. lose lose situation for the sake of a 20 quid HPI check :(

pisses you off really, but you learn from your mistakes.

[DavidKent]

Well i have been told that the bloke is in iraq in the army, and apprently the army don't take to kindly to this kind of thing, so i was tempted to report him... shame i don't have a name... bollocks...
Where can i get an HPI Check done? Online?

[DavidKent]

Yeah - HPI will be on the priority list for every car i buy for a long time now..
Not having this hassle again - Will try calling them now, see if they're open... Doubt it, if not, will be tomorrow...

[Luke]

www.mycarcheck.com

What's £9.99 compared to losing your car?

[Luke]

Ignore that link, it doesn't do finance I don't think.

[DavidKent]

More than likely probably £9.99 wasted - Probably too late - i'm on the phone now though, apparently the agents are all busy - May be that i can get an answer shortly...
Hope so anyway - Will post up if i get an answer, and maybe use the HPI check site above.
Cheers

[Mark51]

thats a right site luke

[DavidKent]

No chance of any answer, i think it just says that when they're closed too...
Joke...
Ah well will try tomorrow, might even get a letter back tomorrow, posted the one back a few days ago now...
Hope its all fine though ...
And that site doesn't say anything about finance, thanks though!
David

[Ste]

If the cars under finance unfortunatly you have fallen into a crack in the system that means you get fuck all...

And if its confirmed get someone to nick the car and burn it out and get an insurancce pay off otherwise youll get nothing.

[jarroyo]

I fail to see why there would be finance on a 7 y/o car... smells wrong that!

Ask them (if you have not had proof) for proof of what exactly the car has outstanding (may vary from all different finance services), between who is the finance agreement and to what total is the outstanding..

Sorry but just because they are a finance company don't believe them until you have solid proof...

If all else fails seek legal advice (does not have to be a costly matter and may be worth it after what you have spent).

[boz]

go to the citizen advice bureau matey, see what they say.

i would report it to the police or something similar. he has aquired money from you under false information.

[johnny_vts]

The Consumer Credit Act states that the first 'innocent private purchaser' of the vehicle gets 'good title' (meaning ownership). Innocent purchaser means someone who did not and could not reasonably have been expected to know about the outstanding hire purchase/conditional sale agreement. The finance company would not be able to repossess the car from you and should pursue the person who took out the agreement.
If you had known or had suspicions about any agreement, and didn't ask any questions, you would not be considered to be an innocent purchaser - ownership would not pass to you and the car could then be repossessed. The court will not easily believe that you were innocent, or that you were too naive to ask any questions.
You should always consider carrying out checks before you buy a car. There are agencies, such as HPI, who will search their databases and let you know whether the car has a finance agreement registered against it, or whether it has been declared an insurance write-off, and also whether it has been reported stolen. Incidentally, stolen cars (in common with other stolen goods) will always remain the property of the person from whom they were stolen.
Something interesting to note is that with Hire Purchase agreements (unlike a loan) the car belongs to the finance company right up until the last payment is made.

Since you have discovered during ownership that it has outstanding finance, then it is a combination of speaking to the seller and the creditor to get it resolved (with the option of free legal advice from Trading Standards) that is required. I am not aware of any recent case law to document what should be reasonably done by a buyer before making a purchase to check for outstanding HP. Mostly these matters are dealt with unreported in County Court cases. The authoritative definition is held in statute as opposed to precedent, however, see Part 3 of the Hire Purchase Act 1964. I do not think that the 'test of innocence' would require any more than asking the seller if there is any outstanding finance and checking the car's paperwork at time of purchase. If you were to speak to a previous owner or conduct an HPI check then you would certainly have covered yourself.

To summarise: get in touch with Trading Standards - DO NOT relinquish the vehicle until you have done so.

[xclairex]

I fail to see why there would be finance on a 7 y/o car... smells wrong that!

Ask them (if you have not had proof) for proof of what exactly the car has outstanding (may vary from all different finance services), between who is the finance agreement and to what total is the outstanding..

Sorry but just because they are a finance company don't believe them until you have solid proof...

If all else fails seek legal advice (does not have to be a costly matter and may be worth it after what you have spent).

My car is on finance and its 7 year old, garages do finance on all ages of cars, most of them are part x's that they want rid of

[D_G_SAXO]

Sell the car asap for what u can get mate or u will have nothing. there is nothing thay can do if u sell it. u dont owe the finace so thay carnt come after u.

thay will fuck u mate so fuck them first.

[johnny_vts]

Sell the car asap for what u can get mate or u will have nothing. there is nothing thay can do if u sell it. u dont owe the finace so thay carnt come after u.

thay will fuck u mate so fuck them first.

If you listen to this 'advice' I can guarantee you'll end up in court. :homme:

[Bodvts]

Sell the car asap for what u can get mate or u will have nothing. there is nothing thay can do if u sell it. u dont owe the finace so thay carnt come after u.

thay will fuck u mate so fuck them first.

You'll end up in even more shit selling it on its a offence to sell it on

[b0t13]

id have it stolen than lose the car + money, strip it for expensive parts and have it dissapear..

[DavidKent]

Rang Black Horse today - they've basically told me what Johnny VTS Said.
So in the real world, i should have nothing to worry about really, i've co-operated as much as i can, and now have a name for the guy, so might try and track him through the army...
Should they decide to reposess it, the car might go missing, and might be found stripped somewhere burnt out, but i don't know, that would just be lucky (for me anyway!)! lol...

Thanks for your help guys.
David

[saxo2tone]

strip the car and tell them to come and collect it when i mean stripit take everything off it

[DavidKent]

Yeah strip it gutless and get them to collect it... then buy another Mk2 in need of work and put my stuff on it 8-) lol...
HPI Check it before hand too!

[argylefan1985]

sell it lol

[Bodvts]

my mate lost his job and had just bought a 206 gti when they first came out it got reposessed company turned up to drive it away ony problem was on 4 bricks. He'd sold original wheels and bought some 18's which we took off and kept in another garage it was funny watching them getting it picked up

[b0t13]

haha id do the same...

[DavidKent]

lol!!
Well i thought they'd usually come and pick it up on a truck anyway - they won't be having my set of keys, and as thats the only set, they're pretty buggered!

[Tobs]

fuck em just dont talk back

or go live in france