Outstanding finance on car but my HPI check was clear when I purchased. Can I resell?

mykkenny

I bought a car a few years ago and got a HPI check through AutoCheck (uses Experian) which came back clear.

A year after I bought the car a finance company got in touch saying finance was owed. I told them that I bought in good faith and that I had a clean HPI check to back that up. They asked me to fill out some paperwork (which I didnt) and never bothered me again.

However I now want to sell the car and the finance still shows. Is a new buyer liable? Is there any way to remove the outstanding finance? Am I at all liable?

Thanks in advance!

Silver-Surfer_2

The new buyer won't be liable as you need to clear the finance in order to have good title to sell the car. As it stands it's not yours to sell.

shaun_from_Africa

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

The new buyer won't be liable as you need to clear the finance in order to have good title to sell the car. As it stands it's not yours to sell.

That is incorrect.
The first innocent private purchaser of a vehicle that has outstanding finance from an HP agreement gains good title to that vehicle.
This is covered by the Consumer credit act 1974 Schedule 4 Para 27b

I can't add links at the moment.

Where the disposition referred to in subsection (1) above is to a private purchaser, and he is a purchaser of the motor vehicle in good faith without notice of the hire-purchase or conditional sale agreement (the “relevant agreement ”) that disposition shall have effect as if the creditor’s title to the vehicle has been vested in the debtor immediately before that disposition.

mykkenny

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

That is incorrect.
The first innocent private purchaser of a vehicle that has outstanding finance from an HP agreement gains good title to that vehicle.
This is covered by the Consumer credit act 1974 Schedule 4 Para 27b

I can't add links at the moment.

So basically because I carried out a HPI check (and still have the PDF from AutoCheck) and bought in good faith, I can sell it on and the new buyer is also protected?

Is there any way to make the finance company withdraw their claim to the car so that it doesn't show on an HPI check?

shaun_from_Africa

mykkenny wrote: »

Is there any way to make the finance company withdraw their claim to the car so that it doesn't show on an HPI check?

That I don't know.
As the finance company sent you some paperwork about the problem and you didn't complete and return this, they may not be too interested in doing anything to assist you now, but yes, you bought in good faith so the car is legally yours so you have every right to sell it.

bigjl

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

The new buyer won't be liable as you need to clear the finance in order to have good title to sell the car. As it stands it's not yours to sell.

The OP should be covered under the indemnity cover on the HPi check surely?

Silver-Surfer_2

bigjl wrote: »

The OP should be covered under the indemnity cover on the HPi check surely?

Providing he's registered his purchase with them yes.

shaun_from_Africa

bigjl wrote: »

The OP should be covered under the indemnity cover on the HPi check surely?

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

Providing he's registered his purchase with them yes.

I can't imagine an insurance company being willing to pay out for something that they are not legally obliged to and as already mentioned, provided that the OP purchased as a consumer and was not aware of the outstanding finance, they now legally own the car, hence there is nothing for an insurer to pay out for.

Silver-Surfer_2

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

I can't imagine an insurance company being willing to pay out for something that they are not legally obliged to and as already mentioned, provided that the OP purchased as a consumer and was not aware of the outstanding finance, they now legally own the car, hence there is nothing for an insurer to pay out for.

Well that's fine then. He binned the paperwork when the finance companies must any traced him so he legally owns the car. Let's hope he didn't buy it in a private sale.

jk0

I thought the idea was that if you have a clear HPI check, and then it subsequently turns out to be incorrect, that HPI pay off the finance?

Should o/p contact HPI regarding this?

mykkenny

jk0 wrote: »

I thought the idea was that if you have a clear HPI check, and then it subsequently turns out to be incorrect, that HPI pay off the finance?

Should o/p contact HPI regarding this?

That's an interesting idea. How long is the 'insurance' part of an HPI check valid for? I used AutoCheck back in June 2013.

Hopefully I don't need it but it would be cool to have a backup plan.

Thanks for all the useful info and advice btw, you've all helped me worry a bit less about this!