British Credit Trust problems

[2708andy]

I purchased a car with finance through British Credit Trust, borrowed £6800 over four years in 2008.

I fell into financial difficulty after being made redundant and out of work for over six months.
During this period BCT did nothing but hound me hassling me to make payments I couldn’t afford.
I borrowed money from family to cover payments of £280 per month.
As I was only getting £60 a week in benefit from the Job Centre.

They never really offered any help or follow any of the OFT guidelines in regards to my debt.

Eventually I got things back on track for a short period only to suffer more finance issues as my wife fell seriously ill with Meningitis and her salary stopped.

At this point I had paid back more than a third of the loan so was entitled to hand the car back
but wanted to keep hold of it as we needed it as my wife suffered severe walking difficulties from her illness.
Again they hassled for money.

Then one day I received a letter stating that BCT had now been taken over by Target Loans in Wales.

They contacted me to try and resolve the arrears but never suggested that I should hand back the car
and that would be the end of the account as I had paid enough off the loan.

This went on for about a year, not many payments were made

in the end I had no choice but to give the car back.

But as a Default Notice had been issued I still had to pay back £5600 to clear the balance, even though I had already paid over £7000!
The car was auctioned and only raised £1200 at auction.

I had offered to BCT/Target to sell it privately as this would have sold for at least £2500 but they refused and said they had to sell it.

I cannot afford to pay back the £5600 at a reasonable amount each month, it would be a bare minimum payment.

Having done my calculations it would take another 10 years at least to clear.

Can I write to BCT/Target explaining their lack of help when my finance troubles started and ask them to write off the debt, considering the amount I have already paid.

Having this on my credit report really doesn’t help matters either.

Or am I stuck with the whole amount and an eternity of monthly payments?

Any useful advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

[miliitant]

Re: British Credit Trust problems

if you handed the car back through a voluntary terminaton then you walk away owing nothing, but that is the 50 % mark on the agreement. you do not have to reach the 50 % mark to hand the car back through a VT, but you would still be liable until you reach the 50% mark without the vehicle

the third point on repayments is the reposession point, they cant take back the car without a court order if you have reached the third point in repayments

if you did a voluntary surender, then you would be liable for all outstanding amounts

voluntary termination
voluntary surender

two different procedures, so when the vehicle went back ,was it
(A) a vt or (b) a vs

the default notice has noting to do with the above situation and can be ignored for now

[stevread1]

Re: British Credit Trust problems

I would just pay the bare minimum payment for now as it will keep them off your back. If you don't it will eventually go around the collection agencies then the courts etc with loads of charges. Don't forget you can always pay more off when you get back on your feet.

The first thing I would do is write to them explaining your present situation and with a financial statement. There are some sample letters/templates available off the internet.



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