Car Loan From Hell!

Kroikey

Ok, deep breath...

Girlfriend (gf) got a 206 from a local Peugeot garage with a loan. At the first service the very helpful (not) salesperson managed to talk my girlfriend out of the 206 and into a 107 by bamboozling her with talk of depreciation and how much cheaper a 107 would be. She came and asked everyone whether it was a good deal and everyone said no, they're talking BS. Of course she'd already signed her life away and was left £100 out of pocket with the exact same deal she had on the 206 for the 107! They said it'd be cheaper to run with petrol and tax, both of which have no relation to the actual value of the car... ho hum, women eh?

She paid off around half of the value of the loan, which was extortionately high for a 206 never mind the 107, but was then was laid off whilst on maternity. Her jobseekers allowance was stopped after the new 180days or whatever it is so she has nothing but my working tax credit coming in. I'm working in a tax bracket that stops her recieving any help whatsoever.
I've struggled myself for around 8 years to clear myself of all debts and I'm not happy at all with this situation and the impending likelihood that I'll have to pay for her stupid mistake.

When she spoke to Tesco Finance (original loan company) about her situation before she'd missed a payment, they agreed between them to reduce it to £20 a month which I would pay. She waited for the payment book and associated letter to be sent out and had to chase it twice over the next couple of months. They then sent a letter saying she'd missed two months payment and had to pay the amount in full. When she rang them they refused to accept the £20 or acknowledge it was their mistake that they'd not held the account properly as discussed.

When she wrote a letter (not recorded delivery) saying what I'd offer to pay for her they never responded and then sold the account on! So now we're getting the same demands from a company called Triton. The again demanded it in full, but this time I wanted proof they owned the contract before I would agree to pay the same amount, £20. They said they couldn't accept this and 'We' had to prove our income and expenses. As far as I know I don't have to prove anything to do with my finances as this is not my debt!

I'd like clarification on this if possible.

Anyway, I told my gf to ring them and tell them the offer and what they had to provide and they bullied her into saying she'd pay £60! I rang them straight back and acting on her behalf told them not to contact us by any method but writing, and she'd not be paying £60 because she has next to £0 coming in. I read somewhere (probably here) they can't bully anyone in writing, and I guess its true because they then sold the contract on...

So now we're dealing with another company and this time I got my gf to send the same proposal by recorded delivery, although I'm now not even offering £20 but £5. They said if we want the contract or to make an offer of monthly payment we'll have to contact the parent bank RBS.

After contact RBS they said they don't deal with it at all and the debt company is again talking BS. We've contacted them again and told them this and they denied they can do anything or accept anything. They have signed for the agreement though as we checked online, but when questioned about the contract they keep saying to my gf 'I don't understand why you want this?'. Even after my gf tries to reason with them. They say we need to pay £1 to get the contract, which is clearly a delaying tactic as £1 is a drop in the ocean.

I hear they have 40 days to provide this or the debt is void. Is this true? Its the main reason I'm chasing the contract for her, because I won't be dragged through the hedge on some smarmy salesmans evil doing or my gfs naievety.

I'm sick to the teeth of the situation, I really didn't want to hear about this car loan again after she got the car, but my gfs inability to deal with these sharks successfully is dragging us both down. She's already paid well over the cars worth, the rest is just debt to fill that salesmans pocket.

I'd appreciate any help anyone can provide. I've told my gf to start putting stuff together for the ombudsman as she should not be left feeling confused when talking to the company about a single debt and a simple situation.

Thanks in advance.

ILW

Can you be a little more specific as to where you consider the sales/finance companies have broken any rules.

Kroikey

I just wanted advice as this is getting ridiculous.

Salesman acted unethically, but it was her fault she took it on so there were no rules broken.
Tesco accepted the £20 reduced payment then demanded it all in full because she'd not paid anything while we waited for THEM?
Selling the contract on over and over and leaving her in limbo?
Bullying tactics on the phone? delaying processing?
Selling the contract on just because they don't like the agreement?
Not providing the original contract within 40 days?

I really don't know, I'm asking for help on this.

Kroikey

Am I liable for her debts? Do I have to provide my income and expenses to her creditors?

I'm almost at the point where I'll ask her to claim bankruptcy to clear this mistake from our lives. She's staying in education for the foreseeable future so I think it may be an option.