Black Horse - errors on agreement

notty_2

I purchased a vehicle, 3 years ago, on a 7 year unregulated hire purchase agreement. I want to send the vehicle back but I have found out that I don't actually have any consumer rights. This of course was not explained to me at the time of purchase.
During a recent MOT the mechanic pointed out that the chassis number on the log book is different to the one on the vehicle. On double checking the agreement there is another chassis number making three different numbers!
I have spoken to Consumer Direct (oft helpline) who think that if there are errors in the chassis numbers I could possibly return the vehicle, without anything further to pay & reclaim the money I have paid over the last three years!!
Someone else has said this could come under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
Does anyone know if this is the case or know anything about this??

Thank you

scotsgirl_3

Hi

I believe you would have to give Blackhorse the opportunity to rectify things first of all - I suspect you would have a fairly weak case if you saimply said you wanted to return teh vehicle and wanted your money back. Can i suggest you sent a letter by registered post to

quality assurance team
Blackhorse finance
St william house
Tresillian Terrace
Cardiff
CF10 5BH

they are the only department that you want to deal with about something like this, as customer services will not have a clue!

notty_2

Hi
Thank you for replying. Yes, that is the address I have & yes BH customer services don't have a clue.
Up until Friday I was told by them that if I paid 50% of the total HP I could return the vehicle without penalty & no more to pay. Found out yesterday this is not the case & would only be so on a regulated agreement.
With having only £5,000 to pay to reach the 50% mark I was going to pay £1,400 tomorrow to bring the account up to date, continue with payments for the further £3,600 & return the vehicle. Have paid them almost £20,000 over 3 years. Not sure what to do now.
It is Consumer Direct (oft helpline) who have told me it is a serious problem with the chassis numbers & have put me in for a call from Trading Standards, hopefully Tuesday/Wednesday.

Thanks, any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

scotsgirl_3

Hi

I agree the chassis numbers issue is serious - I was only saying that as far as I'm aware, you have to give the finance company a chance to resolve the issue before taking it further... 'd suggest speaking to trading standards and getting all the legal info first, then writing a detailed letter to the quality assurance dept.

This next bit is not taking account of the chassis number issue, this is just " in general" info...... In terms of returning the vehicle, because the agreement is unregulated the only option you will have is what is called a voluntary surrender - basically you hand the car back and it's sold at auction, and the sales proceeds are taken off your balance. To be honest this isn't generally a good option unless you are lucky enough to have a car that has held it's value very well - it leaves the vast majority of people with a balance as normally what they get for the vehicle is less than the amount owing. its also worth finding out how much you could sell it for privately - you'd get a lot more than they would at auction. Obviously I don't know what your finances are like, but if the difference between the amount you could sell for and the settlement figure ( you'll need to ask for this as its not the same as the balance) isn't huge then it may be worth selling the car and clearing the difference.

notty_2

Hi there
Absolutely, I feel quite nervous making a stand about it when I don't know the facts fully.
This is the info I have - if you have an unregulated agreement & you have to VT then it's as you describe. The vehicle is sold at auction for what they can get that day with no reserve, I've been told I'll be lucky to clear £10,000 & the remaining £16,000 + fees + penalties + charges for returning vehicle I'm liable for the full amount. And if they (BH) take it first then there are more charges & fees on top.
Now, National Debtline said BH will take it to the High Court so they can add on 8% per day!!
BH say this is wrong & I can pay by installment (but then they said I could return it after 50% was paid)
The thought of having no vehicle & maybe £20,000 to pay fills me with horror. No wonder I can't sleep!

The other thing of course is if your chassis number doesn't match you log book - there is no way any one will touch it!

Thanks for reading this

scotsgirl_3

Hi again

Ok, let me see if i can clear this up a little bit. I can understand why it's getting a bit confuddled as a lot of the people I work with don't understand Vt/VS/Reposession etc etc

because your agreement is unregulated, not only do you not have VT rights, there also aren't the same rules regarding repossession. Blackhorse would not have to take you to court to take the car back - as it's unregulated they can repossess at any time in the agreement. In terms of 8% per day - NO WAY! firstly, I believe it a max of 8% per year if you have a CCJ registered against you, and Blackhorse don't go to court for no reason ( Honest, there are some fairly strict rules )

In terms of extra charges: if you hand the car back, you can choose to deliver it to the auction yourself. this will mean that there is no charge for returning it. If the company are going to take it back, the first thing that normally happens is that someone called a CSR will come and see you. If you allow them to reposess it - I.e. give them the keys etc - then they don't charge anything for this. You would only incur a cost for repossession if you didn't let this happen and they had to get a repossession agent out to take the car. There are also normally no penalties for returning the ccar - the only fees you should have should be any which you have already incurred for being in arrears, and these would be owing even if you did have a regulated agreement ( when you VT'd you would still owe the collection activity/late payment fees)

I do feel like national debtline have tried to frighten you a little bit here. Theoretically, if you handed the car back ( or had it repo'd) then BH would try to pursue you directly for the balance. If you were making payments to this - and I don't mean your full monthly payment - but agreed regular payments - then they won't take you to court. THe legal department wouldn't take the account if you are making a reasonable payment. They will also only normally goto court if you are either a homeowner or employed.

hope this helps. Please don't panic about going to court and such like.