In closing - I recieved the Letter from Santander Consumer Finance on Friday saying they had reactivated the agreement and that the repossession order had been rescinded and all 'charges' had been dropped! THANK YOU SO MUCH! My Mac is back and if it hadnt been for this forum (and WannaBe in particular) I would not have my car... so thank you! This case has been WON!

Thank you!! xxx

Wannabe, you have been an absolute angel - thank you SO much for all your advice it has been absolutely invaluable - if it wasnt for you and this forum, I would have handed over my car *not* knowing any better... I have you to thank for now still being in possession of my car! So I dont have to wait for something in writing before I drive the car? I have definitely now paid ALL arrears and default charges, as well as this months installment ( I was told on the phone as well that I was completey up to date with payments) - OH I am so excited to be able to go and pick up my 'boy' again! I have missed him so much...!! Do I need to inform Crystal Collections, the repossession agents, or just leave them be? I would assume Santander will contact them...?

Alright, the money has definitely cleared... I called Santander Consumer Finance to make sure the money had reached them etc. and they confirmed the account was now up to date and OPEN again (it was termed Cancelled when I last spoke to them), however I have recieved nothing from them in writing... Any advice? I dont want to drive the car until I know this is resolved... as a by the by, with them now having accepted the arrears payment AS WELL AS this months payment, I am definitely now over 1/3 paid for the car.

It is an HP agreement...

Right, so I sent off all the documentation and a letter to Santander Consumer Finance summarising essentially all that was said here (after moving the car onto Private Property), along with a cheque for the full amount PLUS this months payment for the car (total of £780). The cheque has now been banked, and Im waiting for it to clear (I can see its due to come off my account - the funds are there so it will clear). My question is now, once the cheque has officially cleared - what do I do then? It would mean I have now paid over one third of the car, so I know this means they now definitely need a court order to repossess the car (although I will leave it on private property for the time being anyway). Do I wait for them to send something to me in writing (I did put an addendum into my letter to them saying if they DID accept the cheque payment I would take this as proof that the agreement was still active - because they had said it was cancelled- and that the repossession order was null and void. *BUT* we all know assumption is the mother of all 'mess' ups...) OR do I write them again, with the bank statement attached saying the cheque has cleared my account, could they please confirm in writing that agreement is now active again and all repossessions orders are cancelled...(this would obviously be sent recorded mail)? Wannabe - your advice would definitely be appreciated

The car was moved onto private property last night (several miles away from where I live) and I have spoken to the Repossession company and told them what is happening and that they will need a court order for the removal of goods before I hand over the car... They have requested I send a copy of everything I will be posting (via recorded mail, naturally) to them as well - as a courtesy, I will do so... I will keep you updated of how things pan out... I can only hope and pray I manage to salvage my car and what is left of a reputation after this! I can only hope anyone that reads this serves as a warning of what NOT to do!

I dont have much to add other than I am also dealing with Santander Consumer finance... I've managed to move the car onto private property, far away from where I live and am now trying to deal with it a) directly with Santander, and b) through the Financial Ombudsman... All I can say is Good Luck and I hope you manage to sort something out.

Crystal is acting on their behalf, they are a car repossession company, that would sell the car on at auction and then presumably send the money onto Santander Consumer Finance. That does help calm my mind - I assume it would take longer for Santander Consumer Finance to actually get the court-order for return of goods? And they would only be after both their and the Financial Ombudsman's investigations are over, which would be at least 8 weeks time. The car has been moved onto a private property, a fair way away from my address - I'll call the repossession company tomorrow (wish me luck, *THAT* is not going to be a nice call) and get everything off to Santander in writing as well... Again THANK YOU

Another quick question: Who has to get the court order? Crystal Collections or Santander Consumer Action?

You have been an aboslute angel!! Thank you for you help - I will move the car immediately - and will be having a chat with Crystal tomorrow, and writing to Santander Consumer Finance tomorrow, enclosing the cheque with full arrears tomorrow as well and see what happens...

Yes I can have the car moved off the road, and onto private property (quiet away from where I live, so they would not be able to find it). Do I then tell the Repossession Company all of this, and then send off the letter to Santander (I know I did write to them on Friday and complained, and they are investigating that - however, I have not told them to get a court order for return of goods OR told them I have involved the Financial Ombudsman, who believes we do have a case) - presumbaly, Crystal Collections *will not* be happy and hound me until this is resolved (or rather, if it can be)?

Also, what should I being saying to the Repossession Company - Crystal Collections - they are due to pick up the car tomorrow?

Thank you so much for your feedback... Would they need to get a court order for return of goods even though I *havent* paid off 1/3 of the repayments yet? I was led to believe they are legally allowed to repossess then even without a court order? It is all very confusing (and I really am not trying to shirk my responsibility in this - I am happy to pay the arrears, the default charges AND continue to pay off the car) - and btw, I have just rechecked *everything* and I definitely have not recieved a final notice OR a letter of termination. All I have are default notices...

I would like to keep my car... nevermind all the negative repercussions against my credit record, I love the car!

Yes, I have made/was making payments, but still had two outstanding payments from last year - i.e. there are arrears of about £600 on the finance...

I have recieved default notices, yes - which I added onto the payments I have been making... However, I dont believe I have recieved a Termination Letter (I have gone through ALL the mail just to check) - I was simply told on the phone, when I contacted Santander Consumer Finance on Friday to try and make the arrears payment *in full* (£600) that the agreement had been cancelled and could therefore not make the payment - the repossession was going through... And yes, it was a regulated HP agreement

Hi, I am new here, but had spent some time reading through the threads. My sad tale of woe is made sadder because I simply have no one else to blame but myself really... I got a car through Santander Consumer Finance in Oct 2008 on HP - made payments regularly without issue until Oct 2009 when I lost my job (was made redundent due to recession) and wasnt able to find work for about 5months - in those 5months there have been 3 missed payments. When I was employed again I resumed payments and when I had extra cash, made extra payments - however, there are still 2 payments outstanding. Anyway, Crystal Repossession company contacted me last week to say they had been handed an order to repossess the car on behalf on Santander. I panicked on Friday, contacted family members, found out how much was in arrears, and got the money together. I contact Santander on Friday to tell them I was able to pay arrears PLUS charges in full, if they could halt the repossession order. They told me unless I could pay in full (£6500) they were not interested as they had cancelled the contract. I called several times trying to make the arrears payment because this would have taken me over paying 1/3 of the car but they would not accept the payment (I was told to do this by an insolvency debt helpline, because then Santander Consumer finance would need a court order to get the car). We then contacted the Financial Ombudsmen, and Santander Consumer Finance to lodge compliants - subsequently, I have held off the Repossession company until tomorrow, when they want to pick up the car. My question is, I have recieved a letter from Santander Consumer Finance Customer Services department, with my agreement number on it, saying they are investigating my compliants (but this can take up to 4weeks to resolve), as well as recieving confirmation that the Financial Ombudsman has contacted Santander as well (but they have to allow 8 weeks for Santander to repsond) - my question is: Do I allow them to take the car and wait for a resolution? Or do I 'hide' the car on private property, contact the repossession company and tell them I will not reliquish the car until all investigations are complete...? I still have the total amount in arrears ready to pay, but was told by Santander Consumer Finance, last week, that this wasnt good enough... *cookies for anyone that got through all that and understood my rambling* Any advice would be appreciated Thanks Dani