Finance company sent agent to repossess mums car despite being told not to.

[nickc]

Hi All,
Long story short, mum in arrears regarding HP payments for her car.
Default Notice issued.
I (son) call RCI on two occasions to try and help sort out the problem and offer to pay the arrears but they absolutely refuse to take a penny.(Say they will now send an agent to mums to recover vehicle).
During each of these telephone conversations, mum called RCI and explained as she was ill, she would rather they discussed the matter with me. She went through the various security checks and then passed the phone to me.
I warn them in the clearest possible terms of the very real problems they will encounter if they repossess the car as mum has paid off over 1/3/ and has no intention of voluntary surrender.
Two days later their agent turns up at my mum's home - she is 76 and disabled - and demands the keys, demand to know where the car is, who is driving it and wants it back now.
Fortunately I had told mum not to hand over the keys to anyone unless there was a court order.
Anyway, I write to RCI asking why they attempted to repossess car despite my very clear warnings and they have now written back to mum saying:"We have reviewed your agreement and note that we do not hold any third party authority for your Agreement.
"On a number of phone calls , you have completed the necessary data protection questions with RCIFS and then asked us to speak to your son in respect of the Agreement.
"Whilst we have been able to discus the Agreement with him under the circumstances, RCIFS is not able to accept confirmation of your intentions, or any Agreement changes without speaking to you directly"
I have written back to RCI and said I do not accept this explanation as it makes no sense; Why not just tell mum:" Sorry can't talk to your son about this - are you voluntarily surrendering vehicle or not?"
My question is is there any action I can take against RCI for the attempted repossession or do they actually have to take the car, not just attempt to take it?

[enquirer]

Re: Finance company sent agent to repossess mums car despite being told not to.

The car is their property and your mother defaulted on the agreement. However, without seeing the Terms & Conditions, it is difficult to offer further advice.

[bluebottle]

Re: Finance company sent agent to repossess mums car despite being told not to.

If you mother is not well enough to deal with this at present and gives her consent for you to deal with the matter, the finance company have to like it or lump it. You are her nominated representative and debt collection guidelines make it clear the nominated representative is not by-passed.

As regards the attempted repossession without a court order, this is unlawful, I would report this to the police, giving them a description of Neanderthal Man who turned up and a translation of the grunts he came out with. It may be advisable to report the finance company to OFT and Trading Standards.

If Neanderthal Man turns up again without a court order, call the police.

[smileyculture]

Re: Finance company sent agent to repossess mums car despite being told not to.

The above bluebottle is spot on. If 1/3 paid, they really do need a court order. But don't panic, as they would have to apply and issue a summons. Normally after the thug tactic failed and well done for informing your Mum correctly, they will issue the summons within 2/4 weeks. The Court date however, could be 1 or 2 months. Make sure you have a record of all attempts to sort this out with them, as the Court will look very heavily against them if they have failed to come to a mutual agreement. In the meantime, put your offer in writing and make sure you send signed for delivery, its on record then. Another option open to you is to send the finance company a Subject Access Request on behalf of your Mum. There should be a template on the site and enclose the £10 fee. This will show all payments made and any charges that have been included which you may be able to claim against as unfair charges. Get all your paperwork in order and make an offer that you are comfortable with in the meantime. Don't worry, there's plenty of people who will help guide you through what feels worse than it really is. If they had towed the car without the keys, you could have claimed all the money paid, back? Another thought is, is the car worth the hassle, when its a buyers market for a cash buy?

[labman]

Re: Finance company sent agent to repossess mums car despite being told not to.

Have they actually terminated the agreement? The default notice normally gives 14 days for the a/c holder to bring the a/c up to date.