Need some advice... (Cygnet Finance)

jenjenmullin

We got a car from ACF/Cygnet finance in Sept 2009. we have been paying them every month without fail since then.

We stupidly cancelled the "warrenty" at the time of the purchase, but was unaware that it covered the GAP insurance.

Our car was written off as a total loss last week after i was driven into by a land rover.

The insurers have offered 4,200 for the car.

Cygnet's settlement as of last week was 4,800.

As we have no gap insurance, we are liable for the 600 something shortfall. Plus our usual payment for this month.

Cygnet have said that if we dont pay them by June 1st then we will owe the remaining finance on the car, which totals around 3 grand. can they do this??
Surely they can give us time to pay the 600??

We are skint, as we have had to pay out for a car this month, just a 2nd hand runaround, so no way can we pay them their 600 plus upfront.

I am attempting to get advice from CAB but they do not seem to answer their phones!!

I have been thru the policy and under "your obligations" it states that if the good are a write off/total loss then the balance outstanding will become due, when they recieve all moneies, the agreement will then terminate.
You will pay the installments untill they have recieved the outstanding balance, if the insurance money exceeds the amount owing they will refund, if it is less, then "you will pay us the shortfall"

It also states that if the car is determined a write off/total loss then the Agreement is then terminated... Surely this means they cannot persue us for the rest of the finance for the car if we do not pay the shortfall?? as the agreement is terminated once they have recieved that payment from the insurers?



Help!!!!!!

Emmzi

The monthly payment plan agreement may be terminated but from what you have typed it seems very clear cut that you owe them the money.

So you should find a way to pay it so your credit rating doesn't get trashed.

Does your insurance a) have an excess and b) have legal cover so you can go after the landrover owner?

Have you tried to negotaite the insurance settlement, sometimes you can bump it up a bit.

Apples2

OP - If I go in and buy a car for £6k cash but write it off a year later, could I go back to the garage and claim back £4k?

You paid a certain amount for your car, that is the money you agreed to pay for it. It isn't a lease deal where you only pay monthly for the car and can simply walk away.

The fact that you are paying slowly over a period of time doesn't absolve you from paying for it now it is broken.

If you fail to make a payment, the agreement is indeed void (because you broke the terms of repayment) so they can ask for the amount outstanding.

Your best bet is to challenge the Insurance payout offer and see if you can bring them up £600. They always make a small offer first.

jenjenmullin

My husband agreed the offer of 4,200.

My credit rating is pretty bashed up anyway, to be honest!

my insurance has legal cover and yes, I have started proceedings against the Land rover owner, for injuries and for loss of earnings, and stress/anxiety since the accident date.

In the policy, it states that if the car is declared a total loss, then the Agreement would be terminated, surely meaning that once the Insurers have paid up, there is no longer a agreement between us and them, except the gap of 600 due to be paid?

I just really want to know if they can demand the 600 in FULL from us??
Surely they cannot expect us to pay 600 in full to them by a certain date, on top of our usual payment this month?

I am more than willing to pay the 600 + gap but i just cannot all in one go.
I think that it's way unfair that if we cannot settle the gap by june the 1st, they will then persue us for the rest of the finance, how is this fair?

Apples2

The agreement would have to be terminated is the loan is secured against the car. With the car no longer in existence, there is no security.

As you already know, this is precisely what GAP insurance is for, to make up that shortfall between the insurance payout and the outstanding agreement.
Cancelling the GAP has maybe cost you £600 now, but to be fair, the GAP you were sold was probably massively overpriced so even after paying the £600, you are quids in compared to what you would have paid since you had the car.

I think your options are to revisit the insurance offer, just tell them you have studied book and compared online prices and think their offer is too low.

Speak to the finance company and see if they will agree a payment plan over a few months

Borrow from somewhere else to clear it if they won't play ball.

thecasementkid

jenjenmullin wrote: »

We got a car from ACF/Cygnet finance in Sept 2009. we have been paying them every month without fail since then.

We stupidly cancelled the "warrenty" at the time of the purchase, but was unaware that it covered the GAP insurance.

Our car was written off as a total loss last week after i was driven into by a land rover.

The insurers have offered 4,200 for the car.

Cygnet's settlement as of last week was 4,800.

As we have no gap insurance, we are liable for the 600 something shortfall. Plus our usual payment for this month.

Cygnet have said that if we dont pay them by June 1st then we will owe the remaining finance on the car, which totals around 3 grand. can they do this??
Surely they can give us time to pay the 600??

We are skint, as we have had to pay out for a car this month, just a 2nd hand runaround, so no way can we pay them their 600 plus upfront.

I am attempting to get advice from CAB but they do not seem to answer their phones!!

I have been thru the policy and under "your obligations" it states that if the good are a write off/total loss then the balance outstanding will become due, when they recieve all moneies, the agreement will then terminate.
You will pay the installments untill they have recieved the outstanding balance, if the insurance money exceeds the amount owing they will refund, if it is less, then "you will pay us the shortfall"

It also states that if the car is determined a write off/total loss then the Agreement is then terminated... Surely this means they cannot persue us for the rest of the finance for the car if we do not pay the shortfall?? as the agreement is terminated once they have recieved that payment from the insurers?



Help!!!!!!

Were you in any way to blame for the accident? Your insurance company should pursue the other party's insurance company for the balance. If you don't get any success, issue a County Court claim against the other driver. That usually brings matters to a head.

Where do they get £3000 from? If the account balance is £600 (after the £4200 paid off) I can't see where that figure comes from.

Have you spoken to your lender? In my experience they want assurance their money will be repaid and don't want the hassle of "going legal" Explain your situation and that you are claiming the balance from the other side and set up an affordable repayment plan. If you don't contact them, they are in the dark and matters will only escalate.

Good Luck!

Apples2

thecasementkid wrote: »

Where do they get £3000 from? If the account balance is £600 (after the £4200 paid off) I can't see where that figure comes from.

That bit flummuxed me too so I ignored it :T

jenjenmullin

Apples2 wrote: »

The agreement would have to be terminated is the loan is secured against the car. With the car no longer in existence, there is no security.

As you already know, this is precisely what GAP insurance is for, to make up that shortfall between the insurance payout and the outstanding agreement.
Cancelling the GAP has maybe cost you £600 now, but to be fair, the GAP you were sold was probably massively overpriced so even after paying the £600, you are quids in compared to what you would have paid since you had the car.

I think your options are to revisit the insurance offer, just tell them you have studied book and compared online prices and think their offer is too low.

Speak to the finance company and see if they will agree a payment plan over a few months

Borrow from somewhere else to clear it if they won't play ball.

Hubby did refuse 1st offer and they came back with the same offer again? they claim it takes into account the high mileage of the car (100,000)? so he accepted it.

You are right, the GAP would have cost us a extra grand on top of the already rediculous amount we had to pay, so i cancelled that and the other 2 things they sold to us at the point of sale.
So, yes we are "quids in" in that respect ( one small glimmer of hope in this massive mess!!)

We have tried to borrow a loan from the bank, but No luck.. i have a CCJ which i am going to chase up and sort out now (i got my credit file from experian last night)
So no luck there.

I just cannot believe that they are telling me if we dont pay up, we will then owe any outstanding finance, it's just a joke!!!

jenjenmullin

The casement kid....


No, i am not to blame for the accident. A lady pulled out of a Minor road into a main road on which i was travelling, she had no right of way and she had a clear enough view of me coming up the road, i have no idea why she pulled out. she tried to claim that i had driven into her as she was already out of the turning. the damage to the cars proves otherwise.
Can i ask my Insurance to persue the GAP of £600?

The 3 grand is apparantly the amount of finance (interest?) owed after the 4.200 has been paid ( we were nearly 2 years into paying for this car)


Yes i spoke to Cygnet yesterday as i had heard various things from my husband throughout the day, and wanted to speak to them myself.
the be all and end all was we must pay that 600. or else. he said Maybe he could make some kind of arrangement with his manager if i were to get 4/500 but i said thats not possible, I mean we can pay a bit of it, but surely they need to take into account the fact we have paid out for a new car, plus we will pay them their monthly payment as schedlued for this month... The guy was being nice, sounded understanding but he was basically no help. Plus he said that after 30days the settlement figure on the car/finance expires and they will have to re issue a new settlement?!! :@

I am just confused at the moment, as he was not willing to discuss how to pay the 600+ untill the insurance had paid up. and when i did ask, he made out like we could sort something out, then in the next breath reiterated the 600 was due by June 1st!! confused? yes!