Bristol Street Motors Miss-sold Agreement

skayuma

Morning All,

I am new to this but I have gotten a lot of valuable information in the past so I figured this would be a good place to get advice.

Please do forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong place and this is a long one!

March 2011 I had my cousin take out a finance agreement for me for a vehicle from Bristol Street Motors on HP. At the time the dealer had tried to do it in my name but could not secure finance as I had been with my employer for a short period ( This was the reason he gave me).

He then had suggested to me that if I could find a family member with a full license and in full time employment they could act as my guarantor. I was happy to do this and began ringing around to see who could help me. My cousin agreed to do it after speaking with the dealer who told him, he would be the guarantor for the initial 6 months and that after that 6 months his name would be taken off the agreement and it would be transferred into my name.

He made it sound so smooth and easy, The following week he rang me gave me confirmation the finance had been agreed with Blackhorse, initially I was not happy with the interest rate but the dealer put me at ease by saying after 1 year I could have the interest rate reviewed and reduce my repayments.

This was the deal from heaven, me and my cousin went to the dealership and signed all the papers. The first alarm bells were when they didn't ask for any documentation from me and did not require me to sign anything, I queried this and the dealer told me as he was the guarantor he had to sign everything and I would sign mine after the 6 months. Once again I believed and went along.

To be honest we spent about 1 hour asking questions about all the paper work and each time we got an answer from heaven,. I was 20 my cousin was 19 at the time, we didn't have a clue what the paper work meant so I was really relying on the dealer to explain everything truthfully and at that point I had no reason to believe anything he was telling me was a lie.

Well, 6 months later here came the SHOCK. I rang the dealer to find out when I could come in to fill out the paper wok and have the car transferred over to me alone. He then asked me 'what's your credit score', my heart literally sank, my obvious reply was what he had told me initially which was 'finance companies are not like banks they wont look at your credit score but rather your finances'. I was so shocked, he told me to go and get a copy of my credit report then call him back. I then rang Blackhorse and got even more bad news, they said there was no such deal and that my cousin had entered into a legally binding contract which could not be transferred into another persons name. I was floored, I couldn't believe it.

Then my cousin started calling me and asking when the car would be transferred, I literally couldn't bring myself to tell him that it wasn't possible so I told him to contact the dealer. He the came back to me saying he told me to get your credit score.

This back and forth went on for another year with me pleading with the dealer to see what he could do and him eventually telling me to just give the car back and walk away from the deal.

I feel like this was miss-sold to me on such a bad level I struggle to comprehend. I have now had to tell my cousin that I will either try and find the remaining £8000 (unlikely) I owe or give the car back and lose out on the £7000 I have already paid. I am very disappointed as I have made my cousins credit score very good while my own lies dormant.

Can anyone give me any advice, can I take legal action? there has to be some accountability for miss-selling a finance agreement to this extent. I have tried to complain on numerous occasions and it has fallen on deaf ears.

Any advice will be much appreciated :beer:

OddballJamie

If your credit rating is good enough, just get a personal loan and clear the finance with it.

The dealer probably thought your credit rating would increase once you have been in your job a while.

maninthestreet

I would be making a formal complaint, in writing, to the dealership and Blackhorse.

colino

I'm no fan of BSM, but as they have had, like all major traders, been forced to put in place not only systems and training but to audit these for how finance is sold, this seems a bit of a stretch.
You failed the finance check and I'm sure the paperwork will reflect the serious burden that this places on the Guarantor. In effect they are responsible for the whole debt and no doubt yours is now noticing the effect that this outstanding loan is having on their credit.
Borrow the money and clear up the situation for the Guarantor at the very least. You've had the car and enjoyed it and certainly haven't mentioned adverse changes in your circumstances, so surely you can afford to move this along.