Moneybarn took my car

[Erin81]

Hi I’m really hoping someone can help me
we had a little 2011 fiesta from Moneybarn purchased in 2017
total costs including interest £14578 so we struggled through lockdown and left the car sitting absolutely no one contacted us. We then decided to try and pay it off as we didn’t want it affecting the credit score so got a time to pay order and we started paying
the last 5 months have been hard and we now had £3000 left to pay managed to pay £500 for two months leaving £1900 outstanding. I explained we were struggling paying the £500 a
month and could we have longer but this wasn’t to be they didn’t reply and wouldn’t answer emails. So to date we have paid £12578 for a old fiesta worth 5000, the car has disappeared we think Moneybarn have taken it. We have had no one contact us about repossession no emails no phone calls no letters the worst thing is my bag etc was in the car along with ID cards.
can anyone help or tell me if we have a leg to stand on with regards to this situation thanks

[R0b]

Hi,

When you say a time to pay order you mean a time order under the Consumer Credit Act? Can you tell us when you actually applied for this order and were there any events that happened with Moneybarn before you made an application for a time order e.g. Moneybarn issued a default notice, or they commenced proceedings to recover the vehicle or some other circumstances?

Also, did the time order mention anything about consequences of failing to pay such as Moneybarn having the right to repossess the vehicle if you fail to pay on time?

My immediate thoughts are to report the car as stolen to the police, get a crime reference number and then contact Moneybarn and ask them whether they have taken steps to repossess the vehicle or instructed any third party to collect it. Sounds very dodgy that your car has simply disappeared and I would suspect Moneybarn have done this unless some random stranger has decided to tow your old fiesta away which seems pretty far fetched given the circumstances.

Depending on your answers above, you may have a remedy in that the general rule under the Consumer Credit Act is that Moneybarn cannot repossess the vehicle without a court order if you have paid at least 1/3 of the total price payable under the agreement. It sounds like you have well exceeded that but be nice to confirm.

Here's the kicker, if they have repossessed the vehicle and you can confirm that and there's no court order allowing them to repossess, the consequences of doing that means they are in material breach and the CCA essentially says they have to repay you all of the money you have paid to them and you are released from all liabilities. The fact that they might return the vehicle to you afterwards in realising their mistake is irrelevant as the damage is done and the consequences automatically follow the action.

So before you get any hopes up, try to get some confirmation from Moneybarn if they have repossessed the vehicle. Try to get them to confirm in writing by email that due to non-payment, they have retaken the vehicle. Obviously if they have a court order allowing them to do so then what I've just said doesn't apply.

As a side note, Moneybarn are terrible and in case they somehow want to lie to you, I would suggest making a subject access request and asking for them to supply you with all personal data they hold about you include your account history/summary and any notes added.

Let us know how you get on.

[Erin81]

Hi thank you very much for your reply

I am going to call them this morning and I have written email asking for the court order

can you tell me if a court order should have been shown to me or do I have a right to see this ? Although I did see a time to pay order but not sure if this is the same thing

as for the car it sat for about 1/2 years unpaid with no correspondence until after lockdown and that’s when we decided maby we should pay this off and keep it, after that they sent us paperwork to fill out and I was left with payments I managed them but then ended up behind myself as it was too much and the car was constantly needing fixed which meant the car payments were falling behind. I keep thinking that a court order is something that is sent to you but not sure if I ever seen it fair enough if they actually sent it looking back on my emails they have also sent me someone’s full details ie a letter with the gentleman’s address and his figures and money breakdown etc but also noticed an email only last night telling me to delete it straight away which I didn’t obv but sent it back to them asking them why they are so incompetent absolute rouges I shall get onto them and the police this morning. All that money paid for nothing

[atticus]

Are you sure that the vehicle has been taken by Moneybarn and not stolen?

[Erin81]

Hi

Moneybarn collected the car and admitted this that they did it without any correspondence whatsoever nothing they said we should have gotten a letter or email but we did not Hence the reason we thought it was stolen
They had a time order since 2020 and told us because we fell behind again they had every right to take the car I explained that times were bad ect and I couldn’t afford the £528 pm to pay it off as they wouldn’t give me any more time I had to have it all cleared for the 1st of October 2022, they told me it probably will go to auction and that will hopefully clear the balance, the outstanding is actually £2k and we have paid 12789 to date ( makes me sick )
I explained that it was pretty poor to do this to someone considering we have paid it nearly all off … when I complained about their incompetent work with regards to sending me and email with someone else’s financial details and personal details they told me to delete the email straight away but I feel I can use
to explain their incompetence when I go to the ombudsman that may sound petty but what they have done and how they have acted just shows they are the worst lot to deal with .. don’t know where to go from here or even if the ombudsman will take notice but these people need brought to an end

[R0b]

Well, at least you have the clarification you need. The question now for you is, what is your end goal?

Personally, you would be wasting your time trying to tell the Ombudsman that they wrongfully sent you details of another customer. The Financial Ombudsman is not the regulator for data breaches as that is the Information Commissioner's Office. Also, if they did send you an email about the mistake and you didn't read it or failed to respond, then I think it's fair to say you could be equally responsible for failing to act. I do think its petty and not worth the hassle but if that's what you want to tell the Ombudsman, which is your choice but don't expect to get much out of it.

You said that MB have a time order but earlier posts are suggesting you don't have a copy of that time order which is strange. A time order is a court order allowing you further time to repay the instalments and would have normally required a court hearing to determine how the balance is repaid, how long and how much etc. You should have been given a copy of the time order by the court and also notice of any court application, unless MB made an application without giving you notice, in which case that's potentially fatal on their part.

As I said before, they cannot repossess the vehicle if you have paid 1/3 of the order without a repossession order from the court. It's possible there might be some wording in the time order that allows this but again, it seems you were not given notice of that at all.

I would suggest you make a subject access request against MB for all information and records they hold about you, copies of letters and other correspondence they claim to have sent out and make it specifically clear you are seeking a copy of the time order from the court which you have been told was obtained by MB.

I've already given you one solution to this problem which is to bring a claim against MB if they are found to be in breach of the Consumer Credit Act. You may also go via the Ombudsman but my experience is that they are pretty much useless in terms of making awards, and if your lucky, you might get a couple of hundred quid compensation which is probably not the result you want even if you ask the Ombudsman to write off the debt.

[Erin81]

Hi

thanks for your help, yeh I was pretty angry and annoyed but I have calmed now and I will definitely ask for the paperwork etc to be sent to me they did mention that we should have the paperwork but I haven’t seen it and they keep saying I have to get it from the court and they might not have it available so I will get it eventually sounds very dodgy as to why they would say that surely they would have this on file I will let you know the outcome of this

thanks again

[R0b]

I would suggest you keep the pressure on this. If they obtained a court order then they most definitely should have it on file and secondly, you can't speak to the court without a claim number so they should also have that on file too. If they're suggesting they don't have either of these despite having gone to court for a court order, that should ring alarm bells.

Moneybarn are a sub-prime lender and my experience of them are that they like to play dirty and don't always follow the rule book, more of an act first think later type of company that no doubt gets them into trouble from time to time when the odd debtor decides to stand up and take action.

[Erin81]

Hi

again thanks for the reply really appreciated

so after fighting with them they have sent me what seems to be a court order but it doesn’t even make sense also the date on it is the 12 Jan2021 they told me it was ordered in 2020 which is strange can I give you a code would you be able to see it and I can copy and paste it just doesn’t tell me much
Thank you

[R0b]

All we need to see really at this stage is the contents after it says "IT IS ORDERED THAT" and then the paragraphs staing what the court has ordered.

Do you remember signing anything like a consent order that looks similar to this court order at any time around 2020/2021? IF you didn't sign anything then MB would have had to apply to the court and normally you would get notice of the application, unless they made a without notice application but that is not the norm and there should be exceptional reasons for doing this.

Let's see what the order says first and work from there. Something still doesn't add up and if you haven't already then you really should make that subject access request.

[Erin81]

I’ve managed upload what they emailed although says my Cv it isn’t

[Erin81]

Actually forget that I have just sent my Cv sorry I’m rubbish at this

[atticus]

Can someone delete the OP's cv please.

[Erin81]

Sorry about that

[atticus]

No order, then?