Car Loan agreement, consumer advice say it may not be enforcable?

keepcalmcarryon_2

Please can some savvy people give us some advice?

We recently bought 2 second hand cars, traded in ours, and we have had numerous problems with mine (a 57 zafira). Reviews on the internet say this company is terrible lots of people saying the same as me, gosh I wish i'd checked before we got rid of both our cars. (we downsized).

Anyway, when we checked the loan papers last week, it said that we paid a £2500 deposit for both cars (£5k in total) when we literally paid a few hundred pounds.

I suspect this was done to guarantee the finance was approved, as we were to be seen to add money ourselves.

On further research on the company, a sales person from the company was jailed last year for fraud and a person from Jaguar has been employed to try and help its public image, I have called consumer advice, as i want to hand the car back. I have been trying to since I got it 5 weeks ago.

Even though I have had good advice on how to make them agree to change/fix the car. They mentioned that the 2 finance agreements may be un-enforceable. Google is full of companies "offering" to help, but as I use MSE to browse, I thought I would ask you here before looking into it further.

The payments per month are accurate, but the amounts of the loan and the deposit are wrong.

I don't have the paperwork to hand, but it is definately been filled in incorrectly in this respect. The agreement is with Barclays.

The good thing is that my case has been passed onto my local trading standards, who apparently deal with complex cases, as they beleive it is a possible serious breach.

Anyway, before I go bowling in, I need to know my rights, I would prefer to go down the unenforceable route, as I think fear of reprisal by TS and FSA etc may make them treat me better and change my car...

Thanks everyone...x

ILW

Did you sign the paperwork with the "dodgy" figures on it?

paddyrg

Bear in mind 'unenforceable' does not mean 'debt written off', it just means they can't hassle you for it...

Thrugelmir

ILW wrote: »

Did you sign the paperwork with the "dodgy" figures on it?

Or actually read the agreement?

~Brock~

The effect of the misstating of the size of the deposit is of no detriment to you, because the amount of credit is still the same.

In the event of it being a HP agreement, this action could even work in your favour because any stated deposit counts towards a voluntary termination figure.

Those who have potentially suffered the most detriment would be the lender, whose risk assessment was based upon them being told of the amount of deposit being put down. The fact that you appeared to enter into this agreement (by signing it) in the knowledge that the deposit was being mis-stated would seem to make you complicit in this.

I cannot see the agreement being regarded as unenforceable - no agreements are irredeemably unenforceable anymore (since April 2007) and I think a court would quite readily rule that your agreement is perfectyl enforceable because you have not been prejudiced as a result of the issue being raised.

keepcalmcarryon_2

I have just checked the order forms with the Garages figures on it, that I signed, and the credit agreement that my husband signed. The order form is correct with the deposit, the credit agreement had all different figures.

So the order form for his car goes like this...

Car £7,720
Cash Back (we had neg equity on other car) £2,500.
Total £10,220
Deposit £250
Balance Due from customer £9970.

The finance goes like this...

Cash price of goods £12,460
Less Advance Payment £2,435
Amount of Credit £10,025

(and then the standard credit charges and fee's are listed).

I'm confused?!?!

keepcalmcarryon_2

Its a "fixed sum loan agreement"

keepcalmcarryon_2

Also, because I signed some things, and hubby signed others, it wasn't picked up on till I looked at it all together, and thought Hmm thats strange, but now I am increasingly concerned about it after rwading the news and reviews about the company, and with my shed of a car that on paper I paid alot for

CHR15

Sounds more like you have finally realised you spent far too much on this car and are now looking for a loophole to get out of it.

As oehrs have said, no matter what happens, this will always be a debt against you.

keepcalmcarryon_2

Oh no, the finance issue is not the problem really, it was consumer direct that mentioned it may be unenforceable, and I'd never heard of it till a few hours ago.

Before this we had quite expensive cars, and have 4 businesses, so we would not try and wipe out debt that we owe, its just not the way we live, always looking for a quick buck etc, we are honest people, with good values, and treat our own customers with proper old fashioned respect, we decided to cut back on car costs, so sold them, to free up more cash to plough into a new venture.

The opinion is that they have misold me the car, TS feel, and possibly sold me a different car to the one I thought I was buying. The car turned up 5 days later than it should have, from a different garage, I thought It was coming from blackburn, it turns out it came from wimbledon I found out today after digging into the car's past and calling lots of people/vauxhall CS and the original dealer.

The car is actually in a very bad condition, and I am paying for it to be given a full check on wednesday, but the company is "known" it seems...unfortunately I didn't.

I do want a way out, and will use what i can, but am definately not expecting a free car after all is said and done, just a swap.

ILW

Are cars from Wimbledon not as good as ones from Blackburn?