car under HP agreement - almost beyond repair

[o0oliambeeo0o]

Hi, now im not sure where I stand but hopefully someone out there can advise. I am from Scotland and bought a car (T reg 1999 Peugeot 106 Quiksilver) in Feb 2004 financied by Black Horse.

Due to personal probs I ended up not working for about 4 months and missed 3 payments, I now make payments to a solicitors acting for BH and everything seems fine.

The car over the years has had a few problems but a few weeks ago I was just about to turn into my street and it broke down, I have a mate who works as a mechanic for Peugeot and he came out with a laptop type device which runs a diagnostics check, he tells me the ECU is f*ed basically and also there are several other major problems, no fuel getting fed through. Basically this guy is telling me It should be sold for spares as it would prob cost more than the value of the car to repair.

My problem with this is, the car is still under this HP agreement, it was for a term of 4 years which I am about half way through, could anyone give me any advice/suggestions as to what I should do?

If im being honest these lawyers im dealing with were going on that if I dont keep up payments they will take the car off me, I feel like calling them on Monday and telling them just to take it, lol, I just dont know my rights here and feel lost?

I have my copy of the agreement in from of me but again im totally lost?
Any help would be much appriciated

[nathal]

i am in same situation. car is hp'd and i waterlogged car at beach. Car will rust and isnt wort keeping so im letting finance company take it back. I was thinking of get comp insurance along with gap insurance and writing car off, but it would be such a shame to crash a car on purpose.......

well its only a bundle of metal

[elppa]

i have just read through almost all the advantages and disadvantages of HP agreement. if your finance company is registered with FLA (Finance and Leasing Association) and is will be more likely be authorised by FSA (Financial Services Authority). under their regulations, if you have already paid half way of the cost of the car, you can able to terminate your agreement under their termination right and all you need to pay will be the missed payments and any damage to the car. i would rather pay up the missed payments and damages than carry the whole loan for the rest of my life. please read more on the FLA and FSA websites.
good luck

[petrolhead]

what are the p-codes the ecu gave you? i cant believe an electrical fault would make a t reg car uneconomical to repair. a replacement ecu would cost around £20 from a scrapyard plus around £45 to recode the immobiliser to it. the quality of wiring on pugs isn`t the best and wiring faults/bad earthing points can give the exact same symptoms as more serious problems. no fuel coming through will just be a symptom of your electrical problems most likely. even if your ecu and immobiliser and other related electronics are gubbed there is another way around, you can fit a megasquirt engine managment system and just do away with all the standard managment, but this option requires a skilled person to do the work
of course if you truly belive it will cost more to repair than the car is worth provided the body isnt too bad and the engine passes a compression test with acceptable values I could maybe take the car off your hands for a small sum if you have no luck with the finance people.

[petrolhead]

nathal what you suggest is fraud and could easily land you in prison if you do something daft like advertise the fact your going to do it on a public internet forum. mind you if you enjoy spending time in a cell and getting bummed in the showers you`ve found a money saving way to get a free full board holiday. well done.

[nathal]

thanks for your opinion

[ED1237]

As you are having to make your payments to BH's solicitors you need to check if you were served with a default notice. If you were, you do not have the same rights under the agreement. I was in a similar position last year. I was served a default notice in 2003 and despite my account being up to date for 12 months prior to handing the car back in 2004 the HP company (1st response) demanded the rest of the money as if they had repossed the car. I refused to pay and we went to court with me claiming the default notice was not valid any longer. Unfortuantly the court found in thier favour and I ended up with a large CCJ.

[AY1000]

Hi Every one

I have bought car for Hp from a garage, when I bought the car I had another car which was also Hp—the remaining balance on my car was £3.500 and the one I was about to purchase was £6.898. I have agreed with them by placing deposit of £2000.00, so I would be paying £4.898 and remaining on my current balance for my car will paid to Black Horse finance. I have paid the £2.000 to deposit to the garage and I was asked to come back next day to get the car ready, over the phone they told me that , they don’t deal with black horse finance any more, so is it okay if we recommend you Britannia finance as they are less APR and I said yes —I have been approved and when I collected the car , was ask to come back next week as the car navigator chip was missing for replacement , by the way the vehicle is Lexus IS200.. Two weeks letter I have received agreement letter from Britannia finance showing that I own £8.898. APR 25.8%. I went back to the garage asking them to refund my deposit—They agreed and was asked to come back the following day and I left the car in the garage.. Following morning I have received a phone call from the garage asking me to collect the car as they will help me to sell it for me, but still I have to make payment to Britannia finance every month –If the Vehicle get a buyer and they pay less then Britannia is demanding, I have to make up the difference. I was not happy and had no choice, but to try to sell the car private –I couldn’t cause the car mileage was 98.000 and no one would ever buy for that price or near. I made complaint over the phone to Britannia finance the company didn’t want to understand my situation, they where demanding for payment of £253.00 a month as was my previous payment with black horse was £156.00 a month. During the time my car was in garage, my driving mirror was damaged as well as the navigator chip was missing from the day of purchase —I was told to come back next week, when I come back the following week they have moved from their address—
Can some one help me –what to do and where to go from here help – I have been struggling for long time.

[Rich44]

Best of to start your own thread where it will be clearer for ppl to help you rather than hijacking someone elses

[patdavies]

Originally Posted by petrolhead

I could maybe take the car off your hands for a small sum if you have no luck with the finance people.

This to is fraud as the car belongs to the HP company

[jo5ephedward5]

Originally Posted by patdavies

This to is fraud as the car belongs to the HP company

As its black horse check its not a personal loan, i thought i had a HP agrement but its a loan - they have still put the car on thre HPI register so they can take it back etc - i'm fighting to get this removed so i can sell it etc due to no longer needing a car.

Be very carefull with them as if its on a loan even if you get it off the HPI register you cant give it back and if you sell you still owe them full loan value - i hate them! (see link in my sig...tho if i'm honest the garage are at fault most as they didnt explain what i was signing...)

Hopefull its a HP agrement you have and indeed you can hand it back and work out a payment plan for any missed paymenst and damage to the car etc

[petrolhead]

pat it is not fraud at all in the slightest, it is perfectly legal, and is done by many people every day. the seller gives the buyer a signed letter explaining that they are aware there is outstanding finance and that they take full responsibility for the outstanding amount and that they undertake to settle it in full, then the car legally belongs to the buyer and the finance company cant reposses it they have to pursue the seller for the money. i was merely offering that if he had no luck handing the car back that i would buy it for more than he would get for it scrapping it which would help a bit toward the payments.
At least that is my understanding of how it works, I was first told this by one of the call centre workers at Cardata when I was doing an hpi check on a car I was buying which had outstanding finance on it, they even dictated to me the wording to put in the letter over the phone, was very helpful of them. I phoned the CAB and they confirmed it was legal. thats scottish law though, check if it applies in england. this was 3 years ago but i havent heard of any changes being made.