Car finance settlement problem

ljc86_2

Hi, I traded in my car at the end of january for another model. I bought the new vehicle from the same place i bought the one i already had and was told that they would settle the finance outstanding on my old vehicle as part of the new agreement for the new one.

Now I thought nothing of this, canceled my direct debit and what not like i was told to and about a month later i get a letter from Black Horse saying i owe them a payment for £xxx plus fees

I then called black horse who said no settlement had been made on my account and i then called the car dealer. They looked into it and called me back saying a mistake had been made with their filing and my settlement had been overlooked and not paid. This was on a friday afternoon (11-3-11) and they said they would send the settlemen money over on the monday (14-03-11)

I then received calls every day for the next week from black horse requesting the payment i owed them and i called the dealer twice that week and was told the payment had been sent and had probably not cleared. different stories from both ends.

now today(25-03-11) i received a default notice letter regarding my account dated 22-03-11. i last spoke to black horse on this date after finding out from the dealer the payment had apparently been sent on 18-03-11.

a bit long winded i know but thanks for bearing with me.

basically i wanted to know where i stand if this payment has not been made, if it doesnt get made? the settlement fee was for roughly the price they gave me for my old car so technically they have had it off me for free! i have not had any messages from black horse for 3 days now so i can only assume the payment has cleared(hopefully). i will call tomorrow and check. but will this stay on my credit file(which is already less than perfect) despite the fact that it is not even my fault?

its annoying as i have been working really hard over the last few months to get my credit file back to something like only for this to come and blow it up again.

any help or thoughts appreciated and thanks for reading

Tixy

Assuming they have received the money within the timescale they gave you on the default notice (usually 14days) then a default won't be registered on your credit file (well it shouldn't be and you would have cause to have it removed). Chase up that they have now received the money and allocated it against your account - you need to get this sorted within that timescale to stop a default being registered - preferably get some written confirmation that its been settled and on what date.

I guess they have probably already registered late/missed payments on your file? If they have then I would first appeal to them to remove them. Might be worth getting a letter from the dealer to admit their error/oversight.
However if they won't agree to remove them then I don't think you can make them. Its a hard position but its your responsibility to ensure that the payments are made and obviously the dealer is an entirely different company to the finance providers. If you cannot get them removed then it might be worth considering adding a notice of correction to whichever of your credit files show the missed payments.

lawrie28

The only way to know is to ask the dealer to show you a copy of the payment that they sent to black horse - either the bank transfer or the cheque going through the bank. I would ring black horse and keep telling them what has happened, ask them if they have been asked for a settlement byt he garage or if the garage are chasing it being removed from the HPI register.

t508

dont assume that black horse not calling you is a good thing, they cant call you whilst the default is in place until expiry, call them and make sure they have payment and that they are aware of the dealers info. if the dealer does one with your car they will come after the easier party for th emoney which will be you.

does the dealer still have the car? make sure blackhorse have their intrest recoded on it through HPI etc.

Is this a big dealership? if so hit them for any charges etc

fishty

Have you got proof of payment? If so can you not send a copy of the payment receipt to black horse to prove you paid?

ljc86_2

hi, thanks for your responses. i spoke to black horse last monday, payment still not sent. i then called the dealer and spoke with the woman who handled my finance. she said that she had just called black horse and arranged to make the payment on the tuesday. i then called black horse again and they confirmed this converation had taken place.

I called Black horse again on wednesday to see if anything had changed and they said no payment had cleared but it could take a few days to appear on the account. I will now ring back black horse on monday to see if the account has been settled and if not i will be paying a visit to the dealer to ask for proof of payment, failing that to make the call and make the payment in front of me.

I will keep you posted.

Thanks for your help

The_Loan_Ranger

You are ultimately responsible for payment, as the loan agreement is between you and Black Horse.

Painful, I know, if you have parted company with the old vehicle in good faith and the useless car dealer has not settled within the agreed settlement quotation dates. this is all too common a problem, and if your credit history has been affected, you should write to the Dealer Principal at the car dealership.

ljc86_2

well i phoned black horse this morning and suprise suprise, no payment cleared.
I have since been to the dealer and spoke with their head of finance who was quite shocked when i showed him all the letters i had received from black horse.

he then called and emailed black horse in front of me explaining what had happened and has 'arranged' for the payment to be sent this afternoon.

so hopefully this is the end of it although my mind will not be completely at rest until i have the call saying the account is settled.

will report back in a few days and i will be drafting my complaint letter this afternoon also.

thanks for all your help and responses so far

Liam