Car Finance Company problems - my rights??

debmau5

Hi everyone,
Im new here and posting out of sheer desperation and frustration.
I shall start at the beginning........

I purchased a vehicle and started happily paying monthly installments. Almost straight away the car started to develop fault after fault, within a year it had had approx £4000 spent on repairs, £2000 of which on a new turbo. After about 2 years, my ex started to mess about with money and payments fell behind slightly, they where then brought up to date and he did this again as he kept losing his job and it fell behind again. I did not know at the time. I separated from him and realised the payments where about £1000 behind, i started to make payments to the company at a reduced rate which they where happy with.
I was then forced to leave my job to deal with the horrendous divorce that was going on and to enable to receive legal aid. Then the car broke down, this time the alternator and starting motor and there where yet more faults with the turbo system, i could not afford to fix the vehicle.
I contacted the company and said the car now would not go and i could not afford to fix it and would like to voluntary terminate. They tried to dis way me as they didn't want it back!! Said it was too costly. By this time i had paid almost £6000 to them, the original purchase price was £6495 and they had my old car in part exchange at a value of £1400. They said i still owed £2400 and would auction my car and i would pay the difference.
I then signed the car over to them and awaited a date for them to collect, about 4 days later i came home to find a letter through the door saying they had tried to collect. No one had given me a date, i called up and they said they had not collected as the car was in such poor state! This is absolute rubbish, the car its self is immaculate, other than the fact that it does not go due to the mechanical failures i had told them about. I contacted consumer direct and Financial Service Ombudsman and advised them i would only communicate in writing as in the past i had been given so much different advice over the phone which then be reneged upon.
Over the next 8 months i regularly sent emails to the company asking about collection, i have either received no reply or one to say please ring. I kept replying saying i would only communicate in writing and still they refused even when contacted by FSA.
The vehicle has now been sitting on my path uninsured and having been signed over to them, not owned by me for almost 2 years. They still have refused to collect and have not been in touch for months until this week when i received an income and expenditure form to complete and a request that i start to repay the debt.
I contacted them again and they have said for ME to scrap the vehicle, give them the money and repay the rest. They now say the vehicle was not collected originally due to its poor state as it did not go! Now i was not home when they came so would not have been able to check, so only way they would know this is because they where fully informed by me of the faults.
NOW i have a few questions!
They said almost 2 years ago when they where to collect they would sell at auction for approx £1200, now its worth £150 scrap. Surely this is not my fault, so should i be footing this extra cost as they did not collect??
Can i charge them for leaving the vehicle on my path for almost 2 years?
Given that i have paid the purchase price and more, and the additional amount is charges and interest can i do anything about the remainder?
Can they simply refuse to collect even though i signed the vehicle over to them?

Im thoroughly fed up of this, of having a scrap car on my path (that is now looking awful as its not moved in 2 years, the tires are flat and there is mold/moss growing on it!). No one at the company will help and is remotely interested, i mean they dont contact me for months and months and im assuming this is to do with the fact that i have actually paid a great deal back. Which is why i was wondering if the amount i have paid back changes things at all.
I have no clue who can help, cant afford a solicitor but want to fight this now and stop them passing the buck, telling lies and charging me for the pleasure. :mad:

Im so sorry for the long and boring story! But would really really appreciate it if anyone can help, advise or point me in the right direction!

Thanks in anticipation
Debmau5