Cant afford Welcome any more! 4 months in arrears!

[iceboy]

Hi guys;

 

I would really appreciate if you could help me on this matter! My brother bought a car with Welcome Finance. His monthly payment figure is £160~

 

His account balance as of today is £4240 and he currently is in arrears for £650~

 

However, him being a student, is unable to pay the amount owed! All he can affor is £50!

 

Does anyone have any idea what should he be doing?

 

The thing is, he doesnt have the car anymore! He had an accident and the car was sold and he tookthe money to buy another car (paid cash) but carried on paying for the finance up until 4 months ago!

 

He still wants to pay the debt, however, he doesn not own the car anymore. Is he still in risk of his car being possessed?

 

What steps does he need to take to avoid any bailifs or defaults on his credit reference files?

 

Many Thanks...

[bigegg]

When you say accident, then car sold - do you mean the insurance company paid

out and claimed the car?

 

info rqd:

How long was the agreement over?

How much has been paid?

Does the agreement say "hire purchase agreement"?

A scan of the original agreement (remove personal details) would be useful.

 

Technically speaking, I don't believe it was lawful of your brother to dispose of the car without informing

welscum - and they should have been paid out of the sale price.

On the other hand, I hate welscum with a vengeance, so anything which p's them off is OK by me.

[Sand-Dancer0191]

Technically The balance is owed on the car. So the car is or could still belong to welcome.It must have been sold privatly as a garage would have checked outstanding HP..

[bigegg]

or it was never secured on the car in the first place - wouldn't be the first time wf had their paperwork wrong.

[Sand-Dancer0191]

So if the finance was for a car and the original agreement has no mention of car finance (is that a free car?)

I would check if mechanical insurance was included with a veiw to reclaiming

[bigegg]

could have been put through as just a loan

[iceboy]

Hello guys;

 

Thank you for your respond. To clarify some things, the car that was in an accident was ridden off and sold by the garage, my brother had a satlement figure from the insurance and bought a new car with that money. So, he didnt sold it himself...

 

Bigegg, here is the respond from my brother to your questions:

 

yes it was a hire purchase agreement.

 

I have looked around but I cant seem to find the original agreement.However if you really need it i can look further and scan it over to you. I have the statements from it so here are the details I have:

 

First agreement was started on 29 Dec 2006 with a monthly charge of 234.85 with 10% interest. The amount of credit provided was 11272.80. The agreement was for 4 years with a minimum duration of 48 months.Looks like I have paid 1498.20 for this period.

 

Second agremeent started on 19 July as I said that it was too much for me to pay.so they started a new agreement. On this contract, amount of credit provided was 9774.60 (so 11272.80 - 9774.60 = 1409.20 paid on the first part of the agreement). Interest rate on the second agreement was 7%, minimum duration of agreement 60 months. and montly charge of 162.91 (so 162.91 x 60 = 9774.60)

 

And from the last notice they sent me it looks like I have paid 5540.20 to this date. and outstanding amount is 4277.10 with extra late payment charges etc. but i dunno if this includes the interest.

 

This is all i got from him for now.

 

Could anyone please tell me what steps to take next. I rreally appraciate all your helps.

 

Many Thanks...

[bigegg]

Looks as though the second agreement is for a loan then, not a hire purchase. otherwise insurance wouldn't have paid out for it.

So your bro is in the clear over selling someone elses (welscums) car.

 

plenty of options in this case -

chances are welscum have already fubard bro's credit file - they do this as a matter of course

(allegedly ) so if you need a loan in the future you have to go back to them.

 

Make a realistic offer of what you can afford - if that's a pound a month, then that's what it is.

as long as it's been paid.I doubt a judge would order more... you'll (bro rather) wil get some nasty phone calls from welscum for which they'll add £25 a go to the account.

These can all be claimed back, however -

Send an SAR to welscum, ask for *everything* relating to your bro.

It'll cost a tenner.

Then post back here with their reply

[iceboy]

No;

When he changed his agreement to the second one, he still had the same car. Paying £234 was too much for him so he agreed for another contract with a reduced monthly payment of £162.

 

So, both agreements are for the same car. (when i mean both, he doesnt have 2 aggrements, only one... But it was like upgrade, started from beginning withthe second one!) He had the car all that time than had an accident and got rid of the car and he was paid by the insurance company as the accident was other party's fault. With that money, he bought another car (cash payment)

 

Now, his agreement with Welcome is still carying on but he cant afford it and he is not scared of them possessing his car since the one he is driving now is not secured on the loan.

 

If SAR is neccesary, could i please have a template? Also, does SAR also include CCA? Or do i have to send seperate letter for CCA with £1 postal order?

 

HERE is a tamplate letter for making an offer. Could you please tell me if that looks and sounds ok? Also, should i send the offer letter first or the SAR first?

 

Thanks...

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I am currently in financial difficulties due to periods of unemployment, and in a serious effort to get finances under control.

 

After payment of priority household bills and day-to-day living expenses, I have £80 per month with which to make repayments to all my creditors.

 

On a pro-rata basis, I am therefore able to pay you a regular amount of £50 per month on the condition that you agree to freeze interest and other charges on my account, to give me a realistic chance of reducing this debt. This is the most I can offer in my present circumstances.

 

In anticipation of your acceptance, I enclose a cheque (number xxxxxx) in respect of the first instalment, of which shall be taken as acceptance of my offer.

 

I would be grateful if you would also confirm this in writing.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, the enclosed cheque no XXXXX should only be banked if you are accepting my proposal and in all other circumstances it should be returned to me without being banked.

 

I shall of course contact you immediately if my circumstances change to arrange a modified payment based on the changing circumstances.

 

Yours faithfully"

[iceboy]

I have also found an SAR letter thanks to Martin3030...

 

Data Protection Act 1998

Subject access request

 

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx (or multiple numbers if more than one account)

 

Please supply me with copies of all the data which you hold on me in relation to my business with yourselves.

Please note that I require disclosure of any

personal data

which you hold on me for the entire period of my business with you.

The Subject Access is not limited to my transaction history and it is not linited merely to

6 years

of historical information.

Additionally, where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff, or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my financial business with you.

I require all information on details of all insurance products supplied by welcome financial services. This is to include the statement of means, statement of price, details of all insurance premium tax paid, and underwriting sheets.

If mortage indemnity insurance has been added to the agreement, i require all details on who this premium was paid to, and who underwrites this insurance.

 

If you are unable to supply this data because there has been no such manual intervention, then please be so kind as to confirm this in your response.

 

If you intend to send a reconstituted copy of an agreement you must declare the reason why it has been reconstituted and if the original exists, the type of filing system or archive the originals are stored on.

 

If it is the case that any of the requested documents can not be supplied because they have been destroyed,please indicate;

 

1.The date the document (s) was/were destroyed.

 

2.The method used for destruction.

 

3.The position of the individual/individuals tasked with destruction.

 

I enclose the statutory maximum fee of £10. You have 40 days in which to comply. Furthermore, if I discover that you have levied disproportionate penalties or charges which are invalid under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations against me, then I shall be reclaiming them together with any

interest

charges which you have levied on them.

As it is your wrongdoing and mishandling of my account which has created the necessity for this Subject Access Request, I shall also be reclaiming the enclosed £10 Data Protection Act subject access request fee.

 

If there is specific information which you require in order to satisfy yourself as to my identity, please let me know by return. However, please note that the above address is the one which you normally use to communicate my private business to me and which you have hitherto found to be acceptable.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

[iceboy]

However i am not sure... Should i send SAR and CCA as well as an offer of payment?

 

Does SAR cover the CCA too?

 

Since the agreement was signed before 2007, is there a possibility it might be unenforcable?

 

Also; my brother just told me that they sent someone to his house regarding the debt! Unbelieveable!

 

Many Thanks...

Edited October 29, 2010 by iceboy

[bigegg]

A SAR *should* get you copies of the agreements - no need to send both.

I agree that you say the second agreement *should* be secured on the car, but is it possible that

welscum f*'d up?

It'd be better for your bro if the 2nd agreement was a loan, not a HPA. Otherwise he's going to have a LOT of aggro with his insurers, the garage, not to mention welscum.

The insurers will say that their payment to your bro should have been given to welscum. They're likely to come chasing him for it back!

 

As to the welscum monkey visiting, theirs a letter template on here somewhere about "doorstep callers". Print some copies out. Give them to the next Welscum monkey. Then shut the door in his face - if he hangs about after that, take a photo of him and phone 999.

[bigegg]

Don't make ANY offers until you've sorted out the SAR and had a reply. if it gets to court, it could be seen as an admission of the debt - All letters should now start "I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY, OR ANY COMPANY YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT".

 

The SAR letter looks OK - virtually word for word the one I used.

 

Actually, upon reflection - I recommend sending a CCA request as well.

That will throw the account into dispute and will stop any harassment for the moment.

It also adds some ammunition, because welscum will have added a charge for coming to visit tonight - if they add a charge for same thing (or phoning) whilst account is in dispute then you can report them to trading standards, the FOS, and several other bodies.

[iceboy]

Thank you bigegg, i really appreciate your help...

 

in this case, i will send an SAR request by Monday as well as CCA. And i will take your advice on doorstep caller.

 

I am saying"i will" but literally, i will only send emails to my bro so he can print them out and send them away, recorded.

 

One other thing; do i put DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY, OR ANY COMPANY YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT on both SAR and CCA?

 

Many Thanks...

[bigegg]

both.

[Sand-Dancer0191]

Also I don't think a repo is possible as you've paid more than the minimum requirement......(this point needs a second opinion)

[iceboy]

Hi Sand Dancer, sorry but i didnt understand what you mean by repo is not being possible?

 

I am sending the SAR and CCA out tomorrow...

 

Thanks...

[Sand-Dancer0191]

If you have paid more than a certain ammount of the debt then they can't repossessed without a court order.

[iceboy]

Thank you...

 

Letters sent out today...