Hello,

We recently rejected a motorhome which was on finance with Barclays Partner Finance,

as part of the rejection the dealership reversed the deal back to the part exchange vehicle and reopened the Blackhorse finance on the part ex vehicle without contest or confirmation from ourselves.

They also reopened a direct debit in my name.

Can Blackhorse do this even if I have not agreed to it,

as soon as the account was reopened (we had a settlement letter from them) we were put straight into arrears which affected my credit rating.

We are told the dealership told Blackhorse we had simply changed our minds however this was not the case.

Is it legal, moral, right for them to act in this way ?

The morality of it doesn't come in question. It seems to be completely unlawful.

I think the first thing you should do is to send the dealer an SAR and also one to Blackhorse. You can also contact your bank and invoke the direct debit guarantee. Make sure that you explain to the bank in writing what has happened and the fact that the direct debit has been set up without your authority. I take it that you had cancelled the previous direct debit. Is this correct?

You say that someone told you that the dealership had told Blackhorse that you change your mind. Who told you this?

title updated and thread moved to Blackhorse forum

Thanks BankFodder,

I am aware of GDPR from my line of work but can you explain what an SAR will achieve in this instance ? I cancelled the previous direct debit and I cancelled the new direct debit when I found out about it, so we actually didn't pay the new direct debit and made transfers over the telephone, to stop the credit being affected.

It was Blackhorse who told me that the reason they reopened the direct debit was because the dealership told them we had changed our minds, however they are investigating this so I assume I will get another response when they come back to me.

If we re part exchange for a new vehicle we would likely be using Blackhorse again as they are the main finance company in the Motorhome / Caravan world, could this hinder further dealings with them ?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks

Did Black cause tell you this in writing or on the phone?

If they told you on the phone then presumably you didn't record the call. In that case read our customer services guide and afterwards call again and tried have the same conversation. You could also try to have a conversation with the dealer – making sure that you have it all recorded as well.

Further dealings with Blackhorse or anyone else would be hindered if you have something negative on your credit file. If this is the case then you will have to try and undo the damage – and it won't be easy. These things are all rather mechanical and even if Blackhorse appear to be sympathetic towards you, they won't be able to do much to alter their systems.

I hope you have put it in writing to Blackhorse as to what has happened. You need to make sure that you let down a paper trail – everywhere. Make sure that Blackhorse understand that a new finance deal has been started without your authority.

Who's the dealer?

I've just read the SAR info, am I right in thinking that whatever was agreed between the finance company, dealership and myself on my account number has to be sent to me. Will I see details of all conversations, documents, files etc ? This could be good information and will show the failures if I am correct.

Once I have this information what can I do with it ?

Additionally Barclays Partner Finance (rejected motorhome) had a few failings in recouping the money from the dealership who "gave them the run around". If I requested an SAR from them it will show the issues too I suppose.

But again what would I gain from this ?

You won't know what you gain from it until you put in the SAR and have a look at what they give you. You should look at the disclosure carefully for what it includes – and also what it doesn't.

It's free of charge nowadays and so you should take the attitude – why not?

The dealer is Wandahome South Cave, I have a full timeline of events with embedded documents (copies of emails) I tried to do everything with the dealership on email but didn't record my Blackhorse calls.

I would record calls with black course if I were you. You may find them sympathetic – but once their systems kick in, they might start becoming very unimaginative about their approach.

You may eventually have to begin making a formal complaint about the fact that they have accepted a finance application made on your behalf and without your authority.

Can you explain a little bit more about why this has impacted on your credit file