car repossession misery

[digressdelay]

Hello, this is my first post and really I need some advice.

My car was repossessed from my driveway without a court order in August 2006, the CPC contract was two payments from the end, but these payments were obviously in arrears.

 

MB Finance took me to court (last month) for the two payments plus my liability of the balloon shortfall.

I had managed to communicate away from this outcome for almost 18 months, in an attempt to negotiate the balance they said I owed, and as there was no 'further agreement' ie. arrangement to finance the balloon element due to arrears, I did not think I would be liable for the balance requested.

The last reply from MBF solicitor was a short letter saying they would apply for a judgement within the next week, one day later the judgement arrived dated earlier than the warning.

 

Do I have any liability for the shortfall and/or

Can I claim back all that I have paid, as I have read that where the criteria of the repossession does not include a court order this is possible and what about their current judgement against me (6815.95), does this need to be set aside prior to a counter claim?

 

Does anyone know about this, please help.

[elsinore]

Hi digressdelay.

 

I've moved your post into the Debt Collection forum where I hope you'll receive some assistance.

 

Someone with knowledge of your problem should be along soon to help you.

 

Els

[lickthewallfatboy]

I'm led to believe that if you have paid more than 1/3 of the sum on the agreement,the car cannot be repossessed without a court order,and if they do repossess,and the car is on your own propert and no the public highway,you are entitled to a full refund of all payments you made....

[berniebobs]

Hi

 

They shouldnt have taken your car with only two payments left on it, the previous poster is right.

[digressdelay]

Thanks for the move elsinore, nice to hear confirmation of the refund aspect.

 

I don't know how to start it off though legally, the wording of a claim is obvoiusly very important, and I wonder if there are any successful cases?

[lickthewallfatboy]

I would begin by writing to the company concerned pointing out that they have acted illegally without a court order,and that you are demanding a refund of your money.

[NitrousOxide]

Like the others state you should still have the car.

So basically they have taken the car back and now want the remainder of the finance?

So what did you pay for then? You would own nothing but paid a full amount of finance.

I'm quite sure that actually in circumstances like this you could sue them for your money back.

[digressdelay]

encouraging comments, I can't see the logic in including the balloon figure in the amount owing, and hopefully the arrears will be countered by any claim I may have against MB.

I will write and test the waters, might be able to save the court fees. Does anyone know is it trading standards or ??

[Justforfun]

Taking out a hire purchase agreement means that the goods you have in your possession are in principle, hired until the payment for the goods have been settled at which time you will be classed as the owner of the goods.

If you fail to keep up repayments, it is possible that you will be facing repossession of those goods.

A lender can take legal action against you for the arrears you owe but they cannot enter your premises to repossess these goods without your consent, they must first apply to the court for a repossession order.

Before a creditor can take any further action, you must be served with a default notice. Once the default notice has been served, the lender can then apply to the court for a repossession order.

If you have paid less than one third of the value you borrowed the lender can repossess your goods without a court order. They cannot however enter your premises to repossess these goods without your consent. If you don't give your consent and a default notice has been served, the lender will then apply to the court for a repossession order.

If you wish to continue with payments but need some extra time, once you have received the default notice you can apply for a Time order form, N440, to give you time to get funds together to continue payments.

If you have paid one third or more of the monies borrowed your goods will then be classed as "protected". This means that goods cannot be repossessed without an order from the court.

If you wish to keep the goods you can contact the lender and ask them if they are willing to negotiate reduced repayments.

[digressdelay]

My agreement was a non regulated contract purchase, therefore not covered by the consumer goods act 1974. I can't find much detail on this type of agreement, the rights are not clearly stated as with a regulated agreement. Would it be the case that it is down to the interpretation of the agreement itself?

[lickthewallfatboy]

found this on another site-I am open to correction,but I think the fact that it is unregulated may not impinge on your rights as regards repossession.....I think!!!

 

There are two types of agreement, regulated and non regulated. If the total amount of credit borrowed is below £25k it is a regulated agreement, above that threshold is none regulated. the difference being, with a regulated agreement it is possible to calculate a future settlement figure at a particular date before entering the agreement. With a non regulated agreement, a finance company can charge pretty much what they want to a certain extent but they still have rules to follow so providing you go with a reputable finance funder you shouldn't have problems.

 

A regulated deal will display the finnce rate on the documents whereas the a non regulated deal will not. We ourselves opt to work with flat rates when quoting rather than APR because it is easier to compare quote. APR changes at the slightest of things, the more money you put down as a deposit, the higher the APR... a change in balloon payment means a change in APR. An admin fee? alters APR yet again so it is almost impossible to get like for like quotes however throughout it all no matter how much you change the figures the flat rate will remain the same so when shopping for the best deal, work with he flat rate rather than APR. If one company offers a lower APR than another, it does not necessarily mean it is a better deal!

[PaulW922]

If the agreement was for finance of less than £25k, and if it is with you as an individual and not in the name of a company, then it would be covered by the Consumer Credit Act regardless of what it says on the document.

 

May I point out that if the balloon payment (the final lump sum) was part of the payments due on the agreement then that would be included in the total amount due and as such, the 'court order required after 1/3 of payments have been made' would mean 1/3 of all the payments due including the balloon amount.

 

It depends on what your agreement actually says.

[debt4get]

is there any chance of you posting the agreement on page blanking out personal details so people can get a look at the type of agreement

[digressdelay]

I think I'm ok on the amount paid as it would be just under 1/2 even with the balloon included - I was 3 payments away from the end.

But another point is, that if you don't opt to keep the car why should you still be liable for the balloon?

The repossession denied any options in any case.

Can they have the car AND the money too?

 

I am attempting to scan the agreement for posting.

[digressdelay]

mb terms125%.pdf

 

mbfinacialdetails.pdf

[debt4get]

I had same problem car repossessed and they had the car and the money too.

[digressdelay]

Sorry to hear that for both of us,

Filed for set aside of current judgement yesterday, and fingers crossed, a counterclaim could be on the horizon.

[digressdelay]

An up-date to the misery!

 

Got a charging order for the amount of the CCJ, but as I applied for set aside, this has been vacated, with an invitation to a hearing to decide final set aside May 22 moved to my home ground I might add.

 

Its not time for the bubbly yet but it is a step back the other way.

 

Does anyone know can I now bring about my claim for the full refund ala illegal repo, or do I have to wait for set aside?

[digressdelay]

Just received a letter from the MB Finance Solicitor, asking that I withdraw my claim before the hearing. Any comments - Could it be that I have a point ? or he doesn't want a wasted day out?

[lickthewallfatboy]

I would write and ask on what grounds they want you to do this.....have they mentioned anything else in the letter?

[digressdelay]

The exact wording from the letter is - 'We are in receipt of your Application to Set aside Judgement, Whilst noting the contentions made this was not an agreement regulated under the CC Act 1974 as the amount financed was over £25000.

The contentions that the vehicle was "protected goods" is wrong at law and we would invite you to withdraw that contention'.

 

I put all the info in my court response, and have been granted a hearing, so there must be a shred of a claim. I'm just missing the key element as I can't find much info on non reg agreements.

[digressdelay]

There must be some protection in the law regardless of the amount financed?

[woodywhite]

I Recentley Part Exchanged My Vehicle For A New One,we Got Our Car And A Reciept To Say The Old Car Was Paid,5 Weeks After The Event We Started To Get Default Letters Fron Black Horse For Non Payments.i Contacted Them And Explained That We No Longer Had The Vehicle As We Had Part Exchanged For A New Car ,they Said That They Had Recieved No Payments From The Dealership.

We Then Attended The Dealership Richard Alexanders In Leeds To Find That The Administraitors Were There And Told That Alexanders Had Gone Into Recievership.our Old Vehicle Was Seen On The Forecourt For Sale ,when We Explained That To Black Horse We Were Told That It Was Our Problem And We Need To Pay Any Outstanding Monies To Them.

We Then Left The Old Vehicle At Alexanders Until This Matter Was Resolved,in The Meantime Black Horse Finance As Repossessed The Vehicle To Auction,without Our Consent Or Voluntary Termination We Have Paid Over One 3rd Of Our Agreement,do We Not Have A Legal Case Re Repossession Without Authority.they Are Saying We Abandoned The Vehicle But They Were Kept Informed At All Times Regarding Ongoing Discussions With The Administrators,and Told That Until The Situation Was Resolved The Vehicle Would Remain At Alexanders Dealership

Yours

Kevin Brook

[bolUbaby]

There must be some protection in the law regardless of the amount financed?

 

 

Hi Digressdelay,

 

Would you mind giving me an update on your progress with MB.

 

Am in a similar situation (non regulated agreement) and am more than a three quarters through the payments but due to the global financial crises if difficult to keep up. Although I haven't defaulted. I have written them to reduce the payments for a while but they refused. Can they just repossess the car like that even though I have made more than three quarters of the payment?

 

Am confused please help!!!:confused:

[digressdelay]

They will repossess as a final resort if you default, most finance companies will allow 3 months arrears before they get edgy.

You don't say the value of the agreement, if the financed amount is under 25K the CCA applies.

 

If your agreement is dated 7th April 2007 onwards you are protected by the CCA regardless of the value (over 25K), and the vehicle will be 'protected goods'.

 

My agreement was prior to that date - Judges hands were tied.

 

hope this helps and good luck