Outstanding finance on car

Flyboy152

corbyboy wrote: »

But the car was bought from the same garage when it was brand new. They would have to be totally stupid to not check the finance they originally supplied was not paid off.

It is highly likely that they had. But the finance company hadn't removed it from the HPI register. How often do we see on here, people complaining that their credit history still has an old debt on it.

blameyourelf

Thanks for the replies! Fortunately the insurance company phoned this morning and have said that they are going to settle the claim and we will get the money. :beer:

Not sure exactly what has changed (girlfriend spoke to them), presumably they contacted the finance company again, and either a clerical error was identified, or they have accepted we are not liable for any debt.

I was never intending to accuse the dealer of wrongdoing, I had assumed it was a previous owner trying to con them, and indirectly us; but clearly the dealer has an obligation to check that there is no outstanding finance before selling the car on.

Incidentally, how do insurers work out the value of a car when settling a write off claim? What is the best website to check a value? Whatcar suggests that for a car of the age and mileage of ours, the dealer and private price is several hundred pounds more that what they are offering us, however another valuation website suggests a price much closer to what we have been offered. Is there an accepted way to get the maximum amount possible from the insurance company?

Flyboy152

blameyourelf wrote: »

Thanks for the replies! Fortunately the insurance company phoned this morning and have said that they are going to settle the claim and we will get the money. :beer:

Not sure exactly what has changed (girlfriend spoke to them), presumably they contacted the finance company again, and either a clerical error was identified, or they have accepted we are not liable for any debt.

I was never intending to accuse the dealer of wrongdoing, I had assumed it was a previous owner trying to con them, and indirectly us; but clearly the dealer has an obligation to check that there is no outstanding finance before selling the car on.

The most likely explanation is that it was the finance company's fault for not updating the register, it happens more often than you would think.

Incidentally, how do insurers work out the value of a car when settling a write off claim? What is the best website to check a value? Whatcar suggests that for a car of the age and mileage of ours, the dealer and private price is several hundred pounds more that what they are offering us, however another valuation website suggests a price much closer to what we have been offered. Is there an accepted way to get the maximum amount possible from the insurance company?

Most insurance companies use Glass's Guide, some use CAP. But the best guide for you is Autorader, your local dealers and newspapers. Your insurance company is obliged to give you the amount of money it would cost you to replace the car you have lost. Now, it would be impossible to find an identical car, registered on the same day with exactly the same mileage. So, they will make you an offer based on what they think you might accept. Never, ever accept the first offer, or the second and sometimes not even the third or fourth.

Go to a dealer from whom you want to buy a car, it doesn't have to be the same car, you can chose anything you like. Tell him exactly what position you are in, talk about the car you want to buy, but let him know that it will be dependent on what the insurance company will settle at. With this in mind, the more you can get from the insurance company, the better it will be for him as well as you. Ask him to look in Glass's Guide to give you the retail book price of your old car (in the majority of cases, Glass's will give a better price than CAP).

You have then got the ammunition you need with which to battle with the insurance company. Also look at what the same car in your area is selling for. If it is above book price, copy those adverts to the insurance company and work off of those.

It may take a few days to come to an agreement with the insurance company, but make sure that you get the details of the person you are speaking to and that they confirm the settelemnt by e-mail (or post, if they won't e-mail you). Then you go and buy your new car.

vaio

^^ what he said except that the FOS say the starting point is the average of the retail prices in glasses, cap & parkers guides http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.u...luation.html#9

I'd get those numbers so you have them to hand when you get the offer which often comes by phone with implied (or actual) pressure for an on the spot decision, if you appear informed you’ll likely have abetter outcome

I think the guides will give approximate values for free but you have to pay (£3) for exact values taking into account extras, mileages etc

thenudeone

Flyboy152 wrote: »

To qualify for a section 75 claim, it doesn't matter how much is paid by credit card.

I am aware that as long as the ITEM costs over £100 and at least £0.01p is paid by credit card, s75 applies.
However, banks are adept at fobbing off s75 claims, so for the sake of an extra few percent handling fee on £100, I'd rather take away one of their possible (albeit incorrect) defences, to speed up any eventual claim.

cardinalbiggles

thenudeone wrote: »

-Get the garage to write "No outstanding finance" or "outstanding finance will be cleared by us" on the receipt (this is essential if you want to claim under hpi's guarantee)

Waste of time as soon as you buy it from the garage the cars yours, outstanding finance or not and its their responsibility to clear any finance problems if they arise, absolutely no need for the consumer to worry about it.

Flyboy152

thenudeone wrote: »

I am aware that as long as the ITEM costs over £100 and at least £0.01p is paid by credit card, s75 applies.
However, banks are adept at fobbing off s75 claims, so for the sake of an extra few percent handling fee on £100, I'd rather take away one of their possible (albeit incorrect) defences, to speed up any eventual claim.

Although I understand the sentiment, it doesn't take long to quote them section seventy-five of the CCA. I had to do that to HBOS a couple of years ago, it resolved the matter in about five minutes.

reduceditem

blameyourelf wrote: »

Wondering if anyone will be able to shed some light on our rights/options here.

Bought a car in August 2010 from Verve (VW dealer in Glasgow) for about £5000. 2005 plate, 2 prev owners, full service history, the car had been bought initially from the same dealer, and then presumably part exchanged a few years later and sold on to someone else (via verve I think) before being part-exchanged again. Then we bought it, outright. Dealer did all the checks etc (or said they did) and because we were buying from a reputable dealer, we didn't do our own detailed checks.

My girlfriend wrote the car off over Christmas. Insurance company has been taking a while over things, and we phoned them today. Apparently a finance company is owed £4800 on the car. The write off value is £4600, and with our £250 excess, that leaves us owing the insurance company/finance company money! Apparently the car had a different, private, registration plate at the time the finance agreement was taken out, although the original registration plate was on it when we bought it, presumably explaining why the finance wasn't picked up when we bought the car. The registration plate fits nicely with the name registered as the previous owner, although oddly the address is c/o the Verve garage.

Presumably there's been fraud somewhere along the line here. We're going to phone the garage/finance company and probably the police tomorrow. From what I understand the dealer has a responsibility to ensure there is no outstanding finance on cars they sell unless they explicitly state that they do. What do you think our chances of having any legs to stand on are here? Are the insurance company obliged to pay the finance company first even if we are the innocent victim; as I understand it they cannot repossess a car that you have bought in good faith and with reasonable research into its history, don't know if the same applies to insurance claims.

Cheers,
Jamie

This may help you:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2847822

Flyboy152

That scenario is very different t what he OP is experiencing. You friend bought a car from a private individual who hadn't settled their finance on their car. The OP has purchased a car from a dealer. That transaction has a different set of rules.

reduceditem

Flyboy152 wrote: »

That scenario is very different t what he OP is experiencing. You friend bought a car from a private individual who hadn't settled their finance on their car. The OP has purchased a car from a dealer. That transaction has a different set of rules.

I know that, which is why I said it ''may'' help.

My discussions with the finance company might well be of interest to the OP.