Please Help. Im Very scared.

[levirocks]

Hi All,

 

Sorry to take up your valuable time but im in a bit of a sticky situation. I have a car that I got from Southern Finance. I had a baby about a year ago and have fallen behind on payments as I cannot afford it. I cannot use the car as it needs lots of work doing to it and I have recieved a Defalut notice so they are going to take the car back. But I will still have to pay everything that is owed.

Is there anything I can do about this?

 

I have paid just under a third so I am in a bit of trouble.

 

I have written to them 6 times stating that I would not be able to pay and the car was off road. But they have just ignored every letter.

 

Im very worried.

 

Please help.

[Blossomandebony]

Hi, Levirocks,

 

How long since u purchased the car?

What sort of guarantee did it come with?

What are the problems with the car and when did they start?

 

BAE

[levirocks]

Many thanks for getting back to me. Im so worried.

 

I purchased the car in December 2007.

 

I never recieved a full service history. I only noticed that (Niave I know) after about a year when the lights on the dashboard keep going off. They are now permenantly off so I can see the speed I am going, etc. Will cost loads to fix. I asked about the service history to see if there had been any previous problems and they said to go the garage. They fobbed me off and told me that they had given me it when I know they hadnt. The book was only stamped about 6 months after the car was orginally made.

 

THink they saw me coming to be honest.

[42man]

Is the default notice correct ? is it in the prescribed format ? Is it possible you can scan/photo the default notice and post it up here (minus the personal details/amounts/reference numbers)

[levirocks]

Here are the 2 pages.

 

Thanks for helping!

[Blossomandebony]

Levirocks,

 

Good try but the images are too small to read! You may have to go on to Photobucket or similar to post them up larger.

 

Cheers, BAE

[levirocks]

Pictures by levirocks - Photobucket

 

Is that better??

[Blossomandebony]

Hi, Levirocks,

 

Yes, the image is much better!

 

 

I think what 42man is getting at is the fact that some companies have issued defective default notices and therefore lost the legal right to claim the full balance of the account.

 

My take on it is that if you can prove the default notice is defective the only amount they can claim is the amount of arrears when the DN was issued.(In your case, that would be £521.66!). I think this also relies on the account being terminated, (which it will be on 18th August). Others will clarify this.

 

Now, form the looks of it, the DN you posted is defective! It is dated 4th August and only gives you until 18th August to rectify the arrears. As the law says the DN must give you a full 14 days to rectify the situation, they should have given you, say, until 23rd August, because they have to allow for post. Even if they say the post takes two days, you should have been given till the 20th August to comply.

 

Hope this makes sense. There's a larger discussion on this at:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/170345-tale-dodgy-dn.html

 

Of course, you have to remember that there's no guarantee a judge will accept an argument simply based on in incorrect date on a DN, if it did get to the court stage. But if the only alternative is a crippling debt that will only get worse with the ridiculous amount of interest they charge, it could be worth a try . . .

 

 

 

BAE

[levirocks]

Hi, Levirocks,

 

Yes, the image is much better!

 

 

I think what 42man is getting at is the fact that some companies have issued defective default notices and therefore lost the legal right to claim the full balance of the account.

 

My take on it is that if you can prove the default notice is defective the only amount they can claim is the amount of arrears when the DN was issued.(In your case, that would be £521.66!). I think this also relies on the account being terminated, (which it will be on 18th August). Others will clarify this.

 

Now, form the looks of it, the DN you posted is defective! It is dated 4th August and only gives you until 18th August to rectify the arrears. As the law says the DN must give you a full 14 days to rectify the situation, they should have given you, say, until 23rd August, because they have to allow for post. Even if they say the post takes two days, you should have been given till the 20th August to comply.

 

Hope this makes sense. There's a larger discussion on this at:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/170345-tale-dodgy-dn.html

 

Of course, you have to remember that there's no guarantee a judge will accept an argument simply based on in incorrect date on a DN, if it did get to the court stage. But if the only alternative is a crippling debt that will only get worse with the ridiculous amount of interest they charge, it could be worth a try . . .

 

 

 

BAE

 

Thats brill. Thanks so much.

Thats sounds great to me! Worth a shot. Haven't really got anything to lose. Do you know where I should go from here?

[Blossomandebony]

Thats brill. Thanks so much.

Thats sounds great to me! Worth a shot. Haven't really got anything to lose. Do you know where I should go from here?

 

Well, at the mo', the ball's in their court . . .

 

They will probably terminate the contract on or around the 18th August. Keep everything they send and post it on here for further advice.

 

You say you're resigned to losing the car, (and you think it's useless anyway!), so I would personally deliver it to them as soon as they have terminated your contract. That way, you're shut of it, you won't get gorillas turning up to collect it from your house and they can't charge you anything for 'recovery'. Don't forget to get a receipt!

 

Then they will sell it, most likely at a knock down price, deduct this amount from your outstanding balance and bill you for the rest.

 

That is when court proceedings will be threatened - they may even issue court proceedings without further notice.

 

If you decide to defend, which is definitely what I'd do, that is when the defective DN will magically appear to save you . . . well, we can only hope, can't we!

 

If you do have to defend a court action, I'm sure you'll get lots of other opinions and advice on here besides me, too!

 

At least now, you now know what to expect, you have been given a possibility of a defence and it's a case of waiting for the whole process to get underway . . .

 

Good luck! BAE