Help - car repossessed

[springroll]

HELP!!
I'm after some advice if possible... (I see others have had similar issues with RCI - have read all posts and threads)

RCI collectors arrived out of the blue and repossessed my partners vehicle this morning.

We received no letters informing us this was happening or default notices.

My partner did have a default notice in January (Renault car dealer transposed two bank numbers so the direct debit never worked!)He repaid all arrears and interest.

He has been making monthly payments via the online payment facility - the same amount as initially agreed - as they messed up the direct debit initially.

He got the car in August last year - monthly payments £209 and he is up to date.

We moved since the agreement - he is sure he informed them (I'm not so if we didn't receive any letters)

He called RCI this morning to find out what's going on... response it's with the solicitors and they will apparently write to us, he asked if they had correct contact details, they hung up! :tinysmile_hmm_t2:

Help!! Does this mean a CCJ has been issued? Will we be able to get the car back? Will we have to pay the full balance plus any charges? Is it too late?Thank you.

[WendyB]

Re: Help - car repossessed

Did you get the name of the solicitors? Might be worth a call to them. You need to get it in writing from RCI/solicitors exactly what the situation is, what steps have already been taken etc, exactly why your car has been repossessed. Then there might be a way to remedy the situation once all the facts are clear.

[springroll]

Re: Help - car repossessed

Hi Wendy, thanks for you reply.
We don't know the name of the solicitor - RCI will not give that information - they respond "it's with the solicitors, they will write to you" and then hang up.
He has tried again to speak with them but they wont divulge who the Solicitors are.
It's the not knowing which is causing anxiety - we're giving it till Tuesday for a letter to arrive then start calling RCI again.

[WendyB]

Re: Help - car repossessed

In the meantime I would get a strongly worded letter to RCI demanding that they tell you exactly what is going on. It might well be with the solicitors but it is RCI who instruct the solicitors so it is ultimatley up to them to know what solicitors are acting on their behalf.

If you do contact RCI again insist on speaking to management. Might be worth emailing and getting a "read" receipt.

There are people on here who know much more about this than me, I'll bump it up for you, hopefully someone else will be along soon.

[springroll]

Re: Help - car repossessed

Thanks Wendy.
I'll get a letter in the post today and when P returns from work he can give them a call and demand to speak with a manager.

[Woolfie]

Re: Help - car repossessed

First of all sorry to hear about your problems.

Can you answer some of the following questions? Where do you live? (Scotland or England) what time did they come for the car? Was it on the street or in the drive? did you hand over the keys? how long was your agreement? did they have a court order?

Thats a start anyway!!

[Celestine]

Re: Help - car repossessed

Hi Springroll

RCI use a number of different firms depending on region.

If you are in England then they will use

Matthew Arnold & Baldwin,
Watford

or/

Bermans
Cardinal House
20 St Marys Parsonage
Manchester
M3 2LY

or/

Lester Aldridge
Russell House
Bournemouth
BH88EX

I'll have to google phone numbers.

I just spoke to RCI and they were happy to give me their full list of solicitors. (but then again I did tell them I was recording the call and worked for a large consumer website lol)

[scottishlass]

Re: Help - car repossessed

Hi Springroll,

I am sorry to here your story, RCI must be one of the worst companies to contact by phone they are a nightmare.

I hope you get this sorted out

SL xx

[TUTTSI]

Re: Help - car repossessed

RCI- have been very pro-active recently in repo's of cars.

I once had a repo of car from VWFS about 7 years ago and I learned after the event that they took my car without all the necessary court order documents and they co-erced me into giving them the keys at 6;45am in the morning.

Taking on these companies is very difficult, so to know your facts can be a great asset. The National Debt Help line has a section on this and the relevant sections of the act. I was taken totally by surprise and in those days there was not sites like this where so much help can be gained.

It is worth remembering that they cannot take the car if:-

1. You have paid a third or more, without a court order.
2. Even if you have not paid a third or more they cannot take the car without a court order from private property.

ps I could not find the National Debt Help Line but the following link should give you some helpful info:-
http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/...chase_debt.php

[springroll]

Re: Help - car repossessed

Thanks everyone for replying we really appreciate this.

Where do you live? (Scotland or England) England

what time did they come for the car? 7am

Was it on the street or in the drive? Private drive

Did you hand over the keys? Yes

How long was your agreement? 3 years

Did they have a court order? Yes - I haven't seen this, my partner went out to deal with them.

The company was Anglia UK - I googled them - thought it was a bit of a sick joke.

Celestine, thanks so much for providing the solicitor names - we'll get on the phone to them.

The main thing really is if my partner is issued with a CCJ it will have an adverse impact on his career. He swears it is all up to date. The only logical thing is that they have the wrong address on system hence no warnings of this. Really we just want to rectify it all so that it isn't a huge blot on his credit history and the adverse impact on career. Oh and obviously the bruised ego!!

[TUTTSI]

Re: Help - car repossessed

Hi Springroll,

So we can get a better understanding and get all the facts, if you post up more details we will try and help you further.

Thanks everyone for replying we really appreciate this.

Where do you live? (Scotland or England) England

what time did they come for the car? 7am If you check the OFT's guidlines, for Debt collectors, they may have broken the rules - and they may not be fit and proper peeps to hold the licence.

Was it on the street or in the drive? Private drive Unless they actually had a valid court order, not just a piece of paper from RCI - they should not have taken the car.

Did you hand over the keys? Yes I would imagine they co-erced your partner to hand the keys over.

How long was your agreement? 3 years How much had your partner paid and how many months had he paid and what deposit was put down.

Did they have a court order? Yes - I haven't seen this, my partner went out to deal with them. Are you able to post up the court order - without personal details please.

The company was Anglia UK - I googled them - thought it was a bit of a sick joke. Also check to see if Anglia hold a valid Licence.

Celestine, thanks so much for providing the solicitor names - we'll get on the phone to them.

The main thing really is if my partner is issued with a CCJ it will have an adverse impact on his career. He swears it is all up to date. The only logical thing is that they have the wrong address on system hence no warnings of this. Really we just want to rectify it all so that it isn't a huge blot on his credit history and the adverse impact on career. Oh and obviously the bruised ego!!