Startline Motor Finance

[reidredride]

Hi All,

I've recently been involved in an accident and Startline have asked for the shortfall payment of nearly £3000 before the end of December otherwise they're going to issue me with default notice, however from prior emails they've sent, they have already claimed to have defaulted me on my credit file.

I've attempted to offer a payment plan as they're part of the "FLA" and surely should have to look into this, instead of going onto T&C's etc.

Is there anything that I can do that will better my chances in this not going further, all prior communication says they will "recover" the car, however they were fully aware that the car was beyond economical repair.

Any help would be amazing, thanks!

Unhappy startline consumer.

[Pezza54]

There is an article on www.moneyexpert.com titled "Written off and purchased on finance?". If you believe the insurance payout (the pre-accident value) is too low you should obtain evidence of this (adverts for similar cars) and contact the insurance company and try to persuade them to increase their figure.
Then contact the finance company and try to reach an amicable agreement regarding a payment plan.
When a car is written off it becomes the property of the insurance company. The previous owner, the finance company, may be given the chance by the insurance company to buy the car for salvage.

[R0b]

You should make a formal complaint and start that process. Assuming this is a regulated agreement then Startline will be required to comply with certain FCA rules. There is a suite of rules around debt collection they must abide by and if you throw in some key words around this and refer to those, then you would have a good chance of going to the Fincancial Ombudsman and seeking compensation as well as the removal of any defaults.

The relevant rules are laid out in CONC, particularly CONC 7. I have provided a link below for you to take a look but you should focus more around rules 7.3, 7.5, 7.12 and 7.14 which may be of interest to you as well as other rules in there. Note that anything listed with an "R" next to it is a rule and is a mandatory requirement for Startline as it is part of their regulatory obligations they signed up to when they got approval from the FCA. Anything listed as "G" is guidance only and although not mandatory, provide guidance as to what the FCA expect regulated companies to do in order to meet their obligations.

CONC 7 - FCA Handbook