Car finance agreement used different vehicle

dinkydinkster

Looking for a bit of advice on where I stand legally with regards to a vehicle purchased under finance earlier this year. It was bought via a dealer under finance. We paid a deposit and the remaining amount is paid monthly over 3 years. However the dealer said we couldn't get finance on the vehicle as it had high mileage but they would put it down as a different car....


Never thought too much about it at the time but we are looking into getting a second vehicle on finance from a different place and have been advised that what the previous dealer did is highly illegal. He said if we were to stop making payments on the finance agreement there is nothing the finance company could do as there is no vehicle to repossess as all the paperwork is for another car we have never even seen. Obviously don't want to do anything untoward and have my credit rating affected but just keen to know where I stand. I'm in Scotland just in case Scottish law makes any difference.


Thanks

Tixy

Does the loan agreement state that this is secured finance? not just a personal loan?
Does the agreement show it is a hire purchase agreement and mention the vehicle details/registration number?

SuperAllyB

No legal training here, but surely you (and the dealer) are guilty of fraud if you knowingly signed an agreement with the wrong vehicle details on it?

antrobus

dinkydinkster wrote: »

....Never thought too much about it at the time but we are looking into getting a second vehicle on finance from a different place and have been advised that what the previous dealer did is highly illegal. ....

I'd agree. I think it's technically known as 'fraud'.

dinkydinkster wrote: »

...He said if we were to stop making payments on the finance agreement there is nothing the finance company could do as there is no vehicle to repossess as all the paperwork is for another car we have never even seen. ....

That was my first reaction as well. The lender is going to a bit disappointed if they ever feel obliged to go for a repo. On the other hand, the fact that the loan was made to finance an asset that you don't actually possess, does not (I believe) change the fact that the loan was made, and that you are liable to repay it.

dinkydinkster wrote: »

..Obviously don't want to do anything untoward and have my credit rating affected but just keen to know where I stand. I'm in Scotland just in case Scottish law makes any difference.....

If by that you mean, what would happen if I stopped paying? Then I think the answer would be that the lender would register a default against you and commence legal action for recovery of the sum outstanding. I don't think being in Scotland makes any difference.

I would suggest that if the topic ever arises again, you should express surprise at the fact that your original dodgy dealer put down a different car, deny all knowledge, and so forth.

dinkydinkster

Its a hire purchase agreement and all paperwork mentions a different car but we do have the V5 for the actual vehicle we possess. At the time I assumed it was just like a personal loan so I would always be liable. Certainly never considered it remotely as fraud.


The other issue is that the vehicle we do have has ongoing problems that have never been fully resolved. It came with a 2 month warranty (which was the dealerships own scheme) but the same issues keeps happening. If we were to reject the vehicle on the grounds of being unfit for purpose even after the dealer had more than adequate time to sort it then the finance company could refuse as they know nothing about this vehicle!

SuperAllyB

Good old Arnold!

dinkydinkster

Not Mr Clark, had enough problems with the before with a warranty!

bryanb

Hard to credit that if high mileage was the problem they changed the vehicle details. Why not just change the mileage?

eddddy

Presumably the HP company had sight of a V5 before accepting the agreement. So the car mentioned on the HP agreement must exist somewhere.

I wonder if some innocent punter is driving it around, unaware that it has been signed over to an HP company.

(This is either a highly organised fraud, or a half-baked disaster waiting to happen.)

OP - out of interest, try putting the reg number on the HP agreement into askmid.com, to see if it shows up as being currently insured.

Gaz83

I don't know what I'm more surprised about - the fact that the dealer would do this, or the fact that it's taken you a good few months to think 'hang on, maybe this is a bit dodgy'.