Car finance worry

[Security33]

Finance company has terminated my agreement
My car has a warranty issue for the last 7 months.which will have an ombudsman complaint submitted.

I have not paid the finance for the last 7 months..Did.not feel I should under the circumstances.

Now they said I have to wait for the solicitors letter which will lead to court.

I want make a payment to catch up or be slightly ahead
Will this be enough as they said they want the full amount which is tottaly unreasonable?

If it goes to court will the judge be asking why im at court if I have already caught up with payments.

Just one thing to add..funnily enough I received a 250 pound compensation from the finance company just a month ago.. As wen I told them I had issues with the dealership they failed to register my complaint which they are obligated to.investigate.

Please help with any advise

Thanks

[Security33]

Re: Car finance worry

Please any input would be helpfull

[des8]

Re: Car finance worry

Hi and Welcome.
Not a good idea to stop paying finance.
If you had a problem with the vehicle you should have taken action against the dealer/finance house

I don't think that info is much use to you, but I know someone who will have more useful advice [MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION]

[Security33]

Re: Car finance worry

Hi and Welcome.
Not a good idea to stop paying finance.
If you had a problem with the vehicle you should have taken action against the dealer/finance house

I don't think that info is much use to you, but I know someone who will have more useful advice [MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION]

I.simply could not afford to pay both car finane and the 35 pound a day taxi to my work.. What could I do

Also As far as I am concerned they broke t he terms of the contract by refusing warranty work

[R0b]

Re: Car finance worry

As Des has mentioned, not paying simply because you have an issue is never a good idea. The result being that if you are considered to be in the wrong, then you are going to owe much more money and no doubt have a default or CCJ on your record for the next 6 years.

As for making up the payments, that is not going to be possible as the contract sounds like it has been terminated. You can't go back once a contract comes to an end, the lender will have to enter into a new contract.

Can you explain what the warranty issue was and did it prevent you from using the car at all?
Did you report this issue to the lender/dealer and what was their response?

The likelihood is that you will receive a letter from their solicitors but will need to follow certain protocols first before a court claim can be issued. This is probably a good time to start gathering all your evidence you have which proves you are in the right and they are in the wrong. If you are confident that you are on solid ground, you could bring a counter claim for wrongful termination by the lender by failing to remedy the issue - if you also paid by credit card when you purchased it such as a deposit you should also consider putting them on notice and adding them as a party to the claim.

Their solicitors should not be initiating court proceedings however where there is an ongoing complaint. If the complaint was submitted to the lender before they terminated then that could potentially play into your hands in relation to their duties under the FCA Rules.

[Security33]

Re: Car finance worry

Oh... Its just I have read in another forum about a guy who was taken to court for missing payments..

In the mean time he had caught up with payments and the judge simply said why have u brought it to court when hes paid to catcg up already and then the ternination was reversed

Is this tottaly is not going to be the case then is there any point in me attempting to catxh up with payments?

Scottish courts

[R0b]

Re: Car finance worry

From a strict legal perspective, the contract would be terminated if you have breached the contract and not remedied the issue within the required timescales. I can't really comment on that issue and why the judge said that because you can't reverse something where it has already been terminated. In the English courts, it has been made clear that once a termination notice has been given, it cannot be unilaterally withdrawn - there's an argument that the termination notice could be withdrawn with the agreement of the parties, but once the date for termination of the agreement has come and gone then in my view you cannot resurrect that agreement. You would need to enter into a fresh agreement.

You could of course try to ask the company to continue paying on the same terms as before if you bring your account up to date but they are under no obligation to do so and would be well within their rights to seek the full amount under the contract.

[Security33]

Re: Car finance worry

Very stress full and worrying.
When they talk about selling the car at auction and I pay the differences... Wtf!

Any idea how long this whole proccess will take before the time comes that I need to return the car?

Hopefully a good few months!

[R0b]

Re: Car finance worry

I'm afraid these are the circumstances you have put yourself in but they have a right to sell the car as it is legally owned by them and since the hire agreement agreement has come to an end, you would not be authorised to use it. Generally the way in which damages are calculated for a breach of contract under a HP agreement is the price of the goods less:

1. the sums paid to date;
2. the proceeds from the sale of the goods;
3. the option to purchase price;
4. and a discount in respect of returning the car early.

The above points were determined by the Court of Appeal case Yeoman Credit v Waragoswki 1961. There is also the argument that as the lender will be claiming general damages, they should be under a duty to mitigate their loss and attempt to obtain the best price for the car however lenders will simply sell it at auction which is more than likely going to attract the lowest price possible - or they should at least make an attempt to obtain the best possible price, particularly if the car can be sold to a dealership or privately.

Couldn't say how long the process takes as it will vary from lender to lender and whether they engage solicitors immediately to recover the amount. This is why you need to get your ducks in a row and assuming you still have the car, have you considered obtaining an independent report on the car which could help assist you in defending any claim if one is issued?

You may also be able to argue that there has been an unfair relationship in the way the lender has exercised their rights. You said that they sent you a cheque for £250 for failing to register a complaint, but did you complain before or after the termination of the contract? All of these points are potentially things that could disrupt or hinder any claim they have against you.

Obviously you want to avoid going to court where possible as that is a last resort, but this is in the hands of the lender and so you need to be fully prepared.