Can they repossess my car?

bristolchick

I lost my job in March and since then I've been struggling to pay for my car loan, I've been a few days late a couple of times but managed to pay - just.

Now our wonderful government has said I can't claim job seekers allowance anymore so money is going to be even tighter and we just can't keep finding £200 a month until I find another job.

Each time I've been late they have threatened to come and take the car away. I think my total loan without checking figures was for about £10k and I now owe about £4k.

Does anyone know where I stand and what I can do? I don't want to lose the car as when I do find a job I will most likely need it to get there, plus I don't want to keep paying for a car if I don't have it anymore.

scheming_gypsy

The car belongs to the finance company until you've paid for it.

Tubbss

You need to dig your paperwork out, and confirm if it is a hire purchase agreement. If it is, then they could repossess the car, but would need a court order to do so as it looks like you have paid off more than a third.

CLAPTON

for HP read

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=16_hire_purchase_debt


if its a personal loan then they can't take the car

antrobus

Well firstly the current "wonderful government" isn't saying anything different as regards JSA than the previous "wonderful government", so I wouldn't get upset about that.

If it is a HP agreement and you've paid more than 50% of the total due under the agreement, you could always opt for Voluntary Termination i.e. hand the car back with no more to pay. I realise that would mean that you wouldn't have a car to get to whatever job you might get, but it would avoid the pain of having to pay for a car that you didn't have.

27col

1) Have I got this right. Basically, you are looking for a way to keep your car without actually paying for it.
2) Even if you still qualified for JSA, it is not meant to cover the purchase of cars. It is meant to provide minimum levels of subsistence for job seekers.

DCFC79

They're allowed to take the carbut depends on how it was paid for, your going to have to get used to using the bus for job interviews,

bungle4by4

sell the car, and use any money you have in it to get yerself a cheap run a bout. its a dent to your pride, but 200 quid a month in your pocket.

bristolchick

I can't sell it - its not mine to sell, plus I owe more on it than its worth so would be pointless even trying.

I do realise that I need to pay towards it - I wasn't saying I wanted to stop paying, I just wanted to find out what options I had - if maybe I could reduce the payments etc.

Because of where I live I can't rely on public transport to get to work.

pvt

bristolchick wrote: »

plus I owe more on it than its worth so would be pointless even trying.

That's incorrect. If you keep the car you'll have to pay the remaining £4k of loan. If the car is sold then you only have to pay the difference between its value and the loan, which will obviously be less than £4k.

Anyway, if it's on HP, I believe you can hand it back and owe the finance company nothing - but I'm no expert on HP.

Good luck

DCFC79

bristolchick wrote: »

I can't sell it - its not mine to sell, plus I owe more on it than its worth so would be pointless even trying.

I do realise that I need to pay towards it - I wasn't saying I wanted to stop paying, I just wanted to find out what options I had - if maybe I could reduce the payments etc.

Because of where I live I can't rely on public transport to get to work.

you dont have alot of choice then,