My rights regarding a car on Hire Purchase

jamer78

Hi there

Ok long story that I will try to make as short as possibel

2 cars on Hire Purchase - one started in Feb 2010 and the second in June 2010.

The first one broke down for the first time in Feb 2011 with injector failure (3 weeks off the road), then again in Septmeber with Turbo failure (1 week off the road) and again in December 2011 due to complete oil pump failure - it is still off the road now - 3 m onths on - total to fix so far in excess of £1000 and the current repair will be £1500 so total of more than £2500 repairs so far.
The second car off the road in November 2011 due numerous things including gearbox bearings and brake problems - repair bill £900.

Can i return these cars as faulty? Do I have any rights at all considering I don't even owen these cars yet??

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks

mo786uk

Your rights are against the hire purchase company as they own the cars. I believe the rights come from the Supply of Goods Implied Terms Act 1973 - so read up on what that allows you to do.

jamer78

I want to return them to the finance company if i can - I have been tryng to read up on it but there is just so much stuff out there - it is like information overload! thank you for your reply though

arcon5

I'm not sure your statutory rights are with the finance company at all - rights would be with the retailer. The finance company are however equally liable and do technically own the vehicles

You would also need to give the retailer reasonable time to offer a remedy without causing significant inconvenience - until this you have no rights to reject them for a refund. Also because of the age, the burden of proof would be on you, to show the components are faulty as a result of an inherent fault and not wear and tear.

mo786uk

Rights are with the finance company because the finance company own the car

In a HP agreement the retailer sells the car to the finance company who then effectivley rents it to 'buyer'.

Apart from the inital sale (i.e descriptions etc) the retailer has no liability for repairs - but obviously the finance company will usually have a relationship with them and get them to do the repairs - plus the finance company will rely on the dealer to be its eyes and ears.

jamer78

We have already tried the retailer but they only offered a a refinance deal which would have cost us 16000 for a 7500 car and that was a year ago after the first problem cost us over £600.
Bits of information I have found on the net point me to the finance company having to take the vehicles back as they are not free from fault under the supply of goods (implied terms) act 1973 but I wanted some advice from someone who knows for sure

jamer78

Can anyone else give any advice please?

wealdroam

This DirectGov webpage has a sample letter you may find useful.

It also says...

If you require more detailed advice & guidance, please call Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.