Vehicle Repossession over balloon payment

[chesterpants]

Hi and thanks for reading

 

So I have an Unregulated Credit Agreement with Audi Finance and I've been unable to find the balloon payment that was due at the end of February 2012 despite trying to sell the car on two occassions through Auto Trader. I asked Audi Finance to refinance the balloon payment over a 3 year term but they refused because I'd fallen in arrears in the past though had caught up again. This particularly grated as I have 10 years finance experience with Audi/VW Finance haven't missed a payment ever before the financial crisis.

 

Anyhow I appealed the decision and sent them a letter which they ignored and then appointed their collections team to keep ringing me. On 28th March 2012 in one of these calls they said they were intending to give me a 7 day notice of termination letter. I received nothing until 20th April 2012 when two letters dropped through my letter box.

 

Letter 1 - dated 21st March 2012 but franked 19th April 2012 is a FINAL REMINDER -

"Unless we receive payment of the full arrears of £xxxxx within 7 days of the date of this letter we will have no option other than to issue the required documentation to allow us to commence repossession of our vehicle"

 

Letter - dated 18th April 2012 and franked again 19th April 2012

"We note that you are either unable or unwilling to make paymets on the date specified under the terms of the above agreement"

"In Legal terms you have repudiated the agreement"

etc

 

Also, we are still awaiting details of the appeal letter outlined above and received a response from Volkswagen Financial Services customer support:

 

Letter - dated 24th April 2012 from Customer Support

"We have noted the issues raised and have started to investigate the matter. We will respond once our enquiries have been completed and do hope that w will be in a position to do so shortly. However, depending on the complexities of the issues raised it may take longer than we would wish and therefore request your patience and understanding if this is the case"

 

As of today (9th May 2012) we are still waiting for a response to our appeal letter but this morning at 07:30 the repossession company arrived to take the car. I told them I wasn't handing it over as I am still awaiting a response to our appeal.

 

So, looking at the above, I'd consider we have some kind of grounds to sue against wrongful repossession (can somebody point me to any information in that respect please) and would appreciate your advice and observations.

 

Thanks again

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

Why is it wrongful repossession? The agreement has come to an end, you haven't paid so they are contractually entitled to recover the vehicle. You do not have any of the protection of the CCA. They have no obligation to consider, let alone allow, a refinancing of the balloon (even though its commercially dumb since they are missing out on the opportunity of getting more revenue from you). But if they insist on recovering the vehicle can't see any remedy for you.

[chesterpants]

Why is it wrongful repossession? The agreement has come to an end, you haven't paid so they are contractually entitled to recover the vehicle. You do not have any of the protection of the CCA. They have no obligation to consider, let alone allow, a refinancing of the balloon (even though its commercially dumb since they are missing out on the opportunity of getting more revenue from you). But if they insist on recovering the vehicle can't see any remedy for you.

 

Fortunately it isn't that simple. Whilst the agreement is indeed an Unregulated one the way they have conducted affairs is very much in keeping with that of a Regulated agreement. Why have they done this when like you say they needn't bother? That's the grey area that needs exploiting but unfortunately my legal eagle partner isn't around to expand upon that. I believe something to do with Unregulated agreements closely resembling Regulated agreements in form are an issue. I also believe there are other circumstances in which an Unregulated agreement actually becomes a Regulated one and not just for varying the terms contained within.

 

I've been down this road before with Mercedes Benz Finance who conducted the matter in a very similar way for an Unregulated agreement and made similar mistakes along the way. On that occasion they took the car back in full and final settlement and to be honest it was a blessing in disguise as the agreement was again coming to the end of its term. I've proposed to Audi that they do the same and am awaiting their response.

 

Anybody out there with real world/first hand experience of these kind of issues please?

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

So what you are really after is advice on how you can argue that your agreement which appears to be unregulated is, in fact, regulated. Why is it unreglated? High net worth individual? It is a matter of law that determines whether an agreement is regulated or not. Behaving as if it were a regulated agreement doesn't make it regulated if in fact it isn't. Many creditors use the same form of agreement for regulated and unregulated business but the unregulated stuff is still unregulated.

 

If you can't get VWFS to reconsider or raise a loan elsewhere to pay the balloon then your only hope is to argue that the agreement is, and always was, regulated in which case we need to know why it has been done as unregulated.

[chesterpants]

Good news I suppose. Finance company have agreed to take the car back and full and final settlement.

 

One less debt to deal with now.

[major debtor 2010]

Hi

 

Thanks for a very informative thread.

 

I have a similar situation albeit with Barclays mercantile, but the difference between my balloon and approx value of the car is £13k, what was the difference in your case, that Audi Finance have written off?

 

Thanks