Mis sold car finance

Naaman

Hi I just wondered if any one can help me with the following problem.

I purchased a car through Audi in Aug 2007 and was told at the time by the salesperson and the business manager who organised the finance through capital bank that i was getting a PCP where i pay a deposit and then 35 payments and there is then a balloon payment that you can pay or you can just hand the car back.

Recently i have stopped using the car due to personnel circumstances and wondered what my postion was so i contacted the Audi dealership and they advised me that as i had paid over 50% i could voluntary terminate the agreement. So i rang Capital who arranged the finance who lo and behold tell me there is no termination on this kind of agreement.

So i went back to Audi and the Same gentlemen who organised my finance is still there so i spoke to him and told him this is what capital bank are saying, to be told by him that they were trying to worm there way out of it and just insist that i wanted to terminate, After more phone calls to Capital it now turns out that i was sold a personnel loan with a balloon payment and there is no finance on the car (we have done a HPI check and there is none)

So i contacted Audi again and have a email from them saying sorry yes this is right how this happened we don't know but come in and we can value the car and see where you stand. So i went along to Audi and they tell me that they will give me £10,500 for the car but the Outstanding on the loan is £12,200.

After various arguments and may discussions they will not change their postion on the case and say i signed the agreement and i should have known, my argument is the business manger who sorted all this out still thought was a PCP up until a week ago so what chance did i have of knowing.

I just wondered if anyone can help me and let me know where i stand

The phone calls with there business manager i have are on tape as i work in a office where all calls are recorded and in one of these converstations he even says "we have never sold that type of agreement"

any help would be brilliant

many thanks

somethingcorporate

What did the agreement say that you signed?

jonjamie1970

Actually I am in a similar situation with BMW. Except my car was over £25k and therefore unregulated which I wasnt told about and subsequently found out afterwards. My ballon payment is due November and will be around the cars value so I will either refinance and keep the car or sell privately.

Unfortunately the car is currently worth similar figures to yourself, in negative equity.

What could you get privately, I would recommend selling on Pistonheads.com which is perfect for Audi / BMW etc and free.

zppp

Naaman wrote: »

Hi I just wondered if any one can help me with the following problem.

I purchased a car through Audi in Aug 2007 and was told at the time by the salesperson and the business manager who organised the finance through capital bank that i was getting a PCP where i pay a deposit and then 35 payments and there is then a balloon payment that you can pay or you can just hand the car back.

Recently i have stopped using the car due to personnel circumstances and wondered what my postion was so i contacted the Audi dealership and they advised me that as i had paid over 50% i could voluntary terminate the agreement. So i rang Capital who arranged the finance who lo and behold tell me there is no termination on this kind of agreement.

So i went back to Audi and the Same gentlemen who organised my finance is still there so i spoke to him and told him this is what capital bank are saying, to be told by him that they were trying to worm there way out of it and just insist that i wanted to terminate, After more phone calls to Capital it now turns out that i was sold a personnel loan with a balloon payment and there is no finance on the car (we have done a HPI check and there is none)

So i contacted Audi again and have a email from them saying sorry yes this is right how this happened we don't know but come in and we can value the car and see where you stand. So i went along to Audi and they tell me that they will give me £10,500 for the car but the Outstanding on the loan is £12,200.

After various arguments and may discussions they will not change their postion on the case and say i signed the agreement and i should have known, my argument is the business manger who sorted all this out still thought was a PCP up until a week ago so what chance did i have of knowing.

I just wondered if anyone can help me and let me know where i stand

The phone calls with there business manager i have are on tape as i work in a office where all calls are recorded and in one of these converstations he even says "we have never sold that type of agreement"

any help would be brilliant

many thanks

Unfortunately, you will be bound by the contract/agreement at point of sale, so whatever is included in this agreement stands. Regarding the tape you have got with a recorded call - don't even go there - unless you have permission of the individual on tape, it cannot be used as permissable evidence in court.

I would suggest that you post the relevant terms up on this site, or take the whole agreement into Citizens Advice. You should be able to tell what type of agreement it is, as credit agreements are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, whereas hire purchase agreements are under the Hire Purchase Act 1964.

iolanthe07

I don't know whether you have much luck claiming that you were miss sold the finance. Presumably you read the agreement before you signed it, so the dealer could claim that you should have known that the deal was for PCP and not Hire Purchase, even if the salesman didn't know what he was talking about. Might be worth pursuing on 'good will' grounds, though.

standupguy

Legally you signed a personal loan type of Finance and therefore you are responsible for the monies due and cannot vt as would be the case with HP/PCP.

Your potential redress is with this particular salesman and his company.

Although you did not read what you were signing - which everyone will tell you you should have done - he did lead you to believe it was PCP rather than loan, he further re-iterated that (when he said they were trying to worm their way out) and the recorded phone conversation supports your case as it appears he didn't know what he was selling you.

The good news is that you are not too short on the equity front and I think a deal could be done.

The dealer will buy at £10500 and the settlement is £12200 - so £1700 difference.

In order to settle a dispute where the dealer contributed to the issue by the unclear sale of a financial product the dealer could offer more to buy the car back and he may also have some sway with the Finance company to reduce the amount of settlement they require (in order to stop a complaint escalating to FOS.

I would suggest you find out the name of the dealer principal at the Dealership and make an appointment to see him/her - tell them you have a serious complaint that you wish to discuss regarding the mis-selling of a financial product.

Between the dealer, the finance company and yourself you should be able to find a compromise solution for all parties.

If they won't play ball then at that stage you could threaten to take the matter further such as the OFT - to complain about their business practices and therefore unsuitability to hold a consumer credit licence, the Finance company - as the dealer is acting as their agent under the sale and they have responsibilities, the Financial ombudsman service if the dealer/finance company cannot resolve your complaint satisfactorily, to Audi regarding their sharp business practices, etc, etc.

You should accept some responsibilty for not reading what you were signing, but I think if you speak to the right person (the dealer principal), in the right manner then a compromise may be reached which would cost you less than the £1700 at the moment.

Xbigman

Is the current valuation from Audi what they are willing to pay you? You should look at selling privately because you might get more.
Regards



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