Fixed loan with 'Creation' via Car Craft

staceyrach

Hi there,

I'm wondering if anybody can give me some advice. I'm writing on behalf of my auntie who has recently been done over by her ex partner. It transpires that he has a reputation of travelling all over the country, manipulating vulnerable women, getting with women for a few years, getting each one lots of debt and then moving on. He apparantly has debt collectors chasing him everywhere and god knows how many children. I cannot believe people like this exist in the world.

OK here goes....

He convinced my auntie to get a car on some form of finance when he first moved up here, then last july they changed it to another much smaller car for when my auntie passed her test. The total finance to pay last July was almost 20k! My auntie was and still is unemployed and should never have been given the finance. She is a carer for my nan and grandad and gets little income. Her ex convinced her that he would pay for the car as he was the one driving it. For a period of time he stuck to the agreement and he ensured money was in my aunties account for the direct debit.

3 weeks ago she came home from my nan and grandads to find him, his things and her car gone!! We actually managed to get the car back as he'd cheekily just gone to work in it like nothing had happened. It's now parked on her neighbours drive (because she's still not managed to complete her test).

My auntie cannot afford to keep the car. Having read through her credit agreement we've established that she has a 'Fixed Loan Agreement' with Creation finance, not a Hire Purchase Agreement. If i understand what i've read correctly, this means that she cannot just give the car back as it's actually hers, although creation probably have some stamp on it to prevent her from selling it.

Does anyone have any advice on what she can do. She should never have been given the credit in the first place. I think she stated on a form how much her income was. Is there any way that this agreement could be void/unenforceable?

She has been to the citizens advice bureax who couldn't help her, they just gave her a phone number to ring. She's really at her wits end now and i want to try and help her get this sorted.

Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

xx

Gaz83

You could write to the company for a subject access request to see what information they have. It would need to be your auntie that did it, though. Ask for a copy of any original paperwork. That would at least go some way to finding out what information was supplied to let her get the loan.

longtermplanner

[QUOTE=staceyrach;65201795
Does anyone have any advice on what she can do. She should never have been given the credit in the first place. I think she stated on a form how much her income was. Is there any way that this agreement could be void/unenforceable?
[/QUOTE]

I don't see how she can argue that she wasn't mentally competant to sign the agreement. I am afraid that it is enforceable.

Does she own her house? Does she have any other debts?

staceyrach

Hi and thanks a lot for your replies, i really appreciate any advice.

I have a copy of the SAR template and my auntie is going to send it offtomorrow.

My auntie was obviously mentally competent to sign the agreement butunfortunately was groomed by this conman for a few years into believing hewould keep up the payments. She isn't the first I’m sure she won't be the last,and yes of course she feels completely foolish - who wouldn't - she can't evendrive the car. She has always been very careful and never wasted money asshe was a single mother for most of her life, she only ever had loans/a creditcard to make a better home. Once (about 10years ago) she got a loan to take herdaughter abroad for the first time and never defaulted on any payment. Not onlydoes she have this debt for the car, she now has almost £5k to pay off hercredit card. About a year ago he lost his job (I now know he was sacked forstealing money) and my Auntie had to use her credit card to pay the finance company for the car each month. She knows there is 100% nothing she can doabout the credit card and she will just have to pay it but we are hoping thereis something we can do about the car because she should never have been eligible for it in the first place or does that really not matter? Are finance companys not regulated to ensure they're providing realistic and affordable finance? Her ex's name was not on the agreement at all even though he was paying it and I'm quite sure they could see the level of income was minimal for my auntie (obviously we'll get the SAR sent off to confirm). I know we're probably clutching at straws but I want to do everything I can to help her as she isdistraught. She's worked most of her life, brought up 2 children on her own and she now takes care of my nan and grandad. She should be enjoying life now my cousins are grown up, instead it looks like she could be in debt for the rest of her life, it really is so sad.

I'm a bit unsure what action she should take now to prevent the financecompany sending any threatening letters/harassing her etc. When he left, myauntie contacted the finance company immediately and told them she couldn'tafford the repayments (which i think were over £300 a month), they agreed toreduce the payments to £80 a month for a period of 3 months, cancelled theoriginal direct debit and requested that she setup a new standing order.

This was a couple of weeks ago now, I have been trying to research onlinefor her but i was on holiday for a week so only just got chance to start again.The finance company called her yesterday but she asked them to call her back, I guess to stall them a little. Iadvised her not to sign the new agreement/arrangement until I had done somemore research as i didn't want to jeopardise any chance of getting the matter resolved in a better way. Can anybody please advise whether or not she should setupthe standing order and sign the new agreement? What exactly will happen if she doesn't?

staceyrach

Apologies, i forgot to answer your question. No, she doesn't own her own home. It's council property...

Gaz83

She might consider defaulting and going bankrupt if necessary, then, if she's no assets to be repossessed.

JasX

Are finance companys not regulated to ensure they're providing realistic and affordable finance?

No, there is no such concept.

staceyrach

Thanks agains for your responses.

What are the implications of going backrupt though....?

staceyrach

Obviously she has the car still and the contents of her house, they can obviously take the car, but what about the contents of her house? What exactly happens when you go bankrupt?

Tixy

How much is owed to the finance company currently?

What is the car likely to be worth?

Bankruptcy could be an option, but there may well be other alternative solutions.

staceyrach

My Auntie said the finance company said if she had just under 12k they wouldn't be having the conversation about changing the instalments so i guess that's what they claim is left to pay.

The car is probably only worth about £4k.