Car Hire / Purchase Agreement

[samat]

Hello. I am Sam

 

I hope someone can help me with my problem with VW Finance.

 

I purchased a car last yr on hire/purchase. I part exchanged my car as deposit (£3,400.00) and am paying £155 per month.

 

Due to unforeseen circumstances I am bankrupt from Feb this yr. Last wk debt collectors turned up at my door without any warning wanting the car back on behalf of VW Finance. I refused and still have the car but cannot drive it as I have been warned that if they see it they will clamp it and take it.

 

I have not missed any monthly payments. I can easily manage these payments. Only reason they want the car back is (according to them) because I am now bankrupt. I have paid almost £4500 for this car and only had it for 9 months. I feel they are taking full advantage of my situation. Please Please Help !!!

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome, samat.

 

I'll move this thread to the appropriate Forum, where hopefully you'll get some help.

 

EDIT: Thread moved.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Prolix]

Do they have a court order to repossess? Is your agreement a regulated agreement under the Consumer Credit Act?

 

If so you can invoke their complaints procedure and then complain to the financial ombudsman. In the meantime it may be worth giving the ombudsman a call for some advice initially.

 

I'm no debt counsellor so I'm not sure what the position is when you are bankrupt, but certainly under normal circumstances that cannot repossess your car without an order from the court and if you haven't missed any payments then they certainly have no right. Maybe speak to a debt counsellor to see if the bankruptcy is having a bearing and definitely speak to the ombudsman.

[samat]

Hi Prolix, Thanks for replying to my thread

 

1. VW Finance have no Court Order.

2. Yes, the agreement is a Hire / Purchase Agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

VW did not not provide me with any written notice of their intention to repossess my car. they instructed a debt collection agency to collect the car. I had no idea until they turned up at my door one morning. Luckily the car was in a garage.

[raydetinu]

If you are continueing to pay I can see no reason why they want to repossess the car and I doubt they would get a court order, unlees in the agreement it states that if you are declared bankrupt they can repossess?

You can VT the car once you have paid 50% of the agreement costs which may be worth considering in your circumstances.

[samat]

Hi there Raydetinu

 

In the agreement there is a paragraph about Bankruptcy. stating that "they may terminate the agreement if bankruptcy occurs" but only after giving me a written notice. They have not put anything in writing (No written Notice) but instigated the repossession of the vehicle. I have sent them the following letter to clarify the situation.

To Whom It May Concern:

 

Reference: - Hire / Purchase Agreement Number 000000000000000

 

Note - Do not contact me by Phone or E Mail. All Communications to be made via written letter only.

 

I received the copy of the Finance Agreement on 00.00.00, which I requested on 00.00.00.

 

According to the agreement you should have given me written confirmation of your intention to terminate the agreement. You did not give me a written notice.

 

Without any written notice, prior warning or a court order you instructed ------------------ to seize and remove my vehicle. They visited my home on 00.00.00. You took action to remove the vehicle without notice.

 

I have currently paid approximately £4,500.00 for the vehicle. This amounts to over 1/3 of the purchase price. You continue to collect the monthly payments from my bank account.

 

You insist on pursuing my vehicle even though I am not in arrears and my intention is to continue with the agreement. I have been told on the phone by you that if ---------- ------------ locates the vehicle “the vehicle will be clamped and taken away”.

 

I am stating to you that I have not and will not miss any monthly payments as per agreement. Regardless of my Bankruptcy status I can easily afford the monthly payments.

 

 

1.I need you to send me a new D/D mandate in order for the monthly payments to continue as per agreement. I want to ensure the next payment due on 00.00.00 is not missed.

 

2.I also need you to put in writing what your position is and what steps you intend to take in this matter.

 

3.I need full details of payment dates and amounts paid towards this vehicle.

 

After I have received the above three Items in writing, I can respond accordingly following consultation with my solicitor.

 

It is my intention to challenge your decision to terminate this agreement. I will continue to seek legal advice from my solicitor and when necessary in the courts to decide whether this agreement is bias and also if it is enforceable.

 

If it is proved in court that you acted unlawfully then I will be seeking: -

 

·Compensation for the anguish and stress you have caused me.

 

·Financial Loss of not being able to work due to restricting me from using my vehicle.

 

Thank you

Yours Sincerely

 

Signed ……….. Samat

 

 

I feel VW are taking advantage of my situation and want to walk away with £4,500 of my money which I have paid upto now. And they will also have the car. A win win situation for them

[Helford]

Interesting fact sheet here:-

 

http://www.bdl.org.uk/images/16_ew_hirepurchasedebt.pdf

[samat]

Hi Helford

 

Thanks for the fact sheet

 

Much appreciated

[samat]

Hi Raydetinu

 

In your previous reply to me you sent the following advice to me

 

"If you are continueing to pay I can see no reason why they want to repossess the car and I doubt they would get a court order, unlees in the agreement it states that if you are declared bankrupt they can repossess?

You can VT the car once you have paid 50% of the agreement costs which may be worth considering in your circumstances".

 

Sorry but I forgot to ask you what you meant by the above underlined text. It may be obvious but what is VT ?

[Helford]

VT is Voluntary Terminate i.e. Give the finance company formal written notice (See template letter in the link that I posted above) that you are cancelling the agreement by giving them back the car and the arrangement ceases - WITHOUT any adverse credit markers.

 

H

 

p.s. I did the same last week

[samat]

Hi Helford. Thanks for replying

 

My financial status is beyond any possible 'adverse credit marker' as I am bankrupt. My Bankruptcy is the 'excuse' VW are trying to take my car off me. VW wants the car back and also want to keep all the money I have already paid (£4,500). I want to continue with my contract for the whole 3 yr duration and then to make a full purchase of the car. I need to take steps to prevent them from taking it. Any ideas ?

[samat]

Hello All

 

I sent the following letter to VW Financial Services (UK) Ltd on Tuesday 5th May 09. Should I have included a paragraph informing them to provide me with the requested information within 7 or 14 days. I have not received a reply from them yet and Iv got a feeling they will not reply back and just wait for car to be seen on a public road where they will just clamp it and seize it. Advice will be very much appreciated. Thank You.

To Whom It May Concern:

 

Reference: - Hire / Purchase Agreement Number 000000000000000

 

Note - Do not contact me by Phone or E Mail. All Communications to be made via written letter only.

 

I received the copy of the Finance Agreement on 00.00.00, which I requested on 00.00.00.

 

According to the agreement you should have given me written confirmation of your intention to terminate the agreement. You did not give me a written notice.

 

Without any written notice, prior warning or a court order you instructed ------------------ to seize and remove my vehicle. They visited my home on 00.00.00. You took action to remove the vehicle without notice.

 

I have currently paid approximately £4,500.00 for the vehicle. This amounts to over 1/3 of the purchase price. You continue to collect the monthly payments from my bank account.

 

You insist on pursuing my vehicle even though I am not in arrears and my intention is to continue with the agreement. I have been told on the phone by you that if ---------- ------------ locates the vehicle “the vehicle will be clamped and taken away”.

 

I am stating to you that I have not and will not miss any monthly payments as per agreement. Regardless of my Bankruptcy status I can easily afford the monthly payments.

 

 

1.I need you to send me a new D/D mandate in order for the monthly payments to continue as per agreement. I want to ensure the next payment due on 00.00.00 is not missed.

 

2.I also need you to put in writing what your position is and what steps you intend to take in this matter.

 

3.I need full details of payment dates and amounts paid towards this vehicle.

 

After I have received the above three Items in writing, I can respond accordingly following consultation with my solicitor.

 

It is my intention to challenge your decision to terminate this agreement. I will continue to seek legal advice from my solicitor and when necessary in the courts to decide whether this agreement is bias and also if it is enforceable.

 

If it is proved in court that you acted unlawfully then I will be seeking: -

 

·Compensation for the anguish and stress you have caused me.

 

·Financial Loss of not being able to work due to restricting me from using my vehicle.

 

Thank you

Yours Sincerely

[tiaposy]

bump

[samat]

After sending the above letter and getting Trading Standards invloved,

VW Finance have now agreed to continue with the HP Credit Agreement.

Trading Standards made one call to VW, VW then agreed to "allow me to continue".

 

Advice to all readers is - Always challenge the decisions of all financial institutions. Never accept what they tell you, they never have the customer's interest in any decisions. all they want is to sieze the goods and also keep all the money you have paid.

 

Thank you to all the people who have given me advice on this site. Very much appreciated

[samat]

VW Finance in their wisdom sent their chosen recovery company who came and clamped my car on 09.07.09 This was despite having a letter from VW finance telling me that I could continue with my agreeement. The recovery staff were very chuffed with themselves when they clamped my car as they had been trying to locate my car for over 2 months.

 

The guys got back in their truck and decided to ring VW, presuming to ask where to drop car off. This is when their little brain switched on. After the conversation they came out and unclamped my car as quickly as they had clamped it. I have to give credit to the man in charge as he was very civil and also apologised.

 

It transpired that there was a lack of comunication between VW and the recovery company. VW hadn't bothered to tell the recovery company that this case was now settled i.e. no need to chase the car.

 

I was left with a major embarassment as all this happened at school closing time and i live near one. as you can imagine there were a lot of people around watching my car being clamped and then being unclamped.

 

From this incident I have learnt that never trust any finance company even if they trade under a reputable name such as VW Finance. They say one thing and do something completely different.

 

A question to all you folks out there, do I have a case to sue VW for the inconvenience and embarrasment they have caused me ? ?

 

I doubt I will get an apology from them voluntarily

Edited July 10, 2009 by samat