Car Finance Company failed to take payments

hayels18

Hello,

I'm looking for any advice please. My boyfriend got a car on HP with Stoneacre, for some reason they froze his direct debits and the first two payments for his car didn't come out of his account which put him in arrears.
He called the finance company up and they ultimately put the blame on him saying he should be checking that the direct debits were coming out. He arranged to pay extra on his car to get his payments back up to date, which he has been doing for the last few months.

The issue that we have is that now his credit score has dramatically decreased which is unfair as he didn't default on payment because he couldn't afford it, it only happened because the finance company froze the direct debits. He's been refused a credit card because of this and i would assume he would also be refused a mortgage and if i'm correct this stays on his credit score for six years?

Is there anything that we can do to get this erased from his credit score so that it is no longer on there?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

[Deleted User]

Ignore the score - it means nothing and is made up.

Are there any late payment or default markers showing on the account on his file?

Candyapple

hayels18 wrote: »

Hello,

I'm looking for any advice please. My boyfriend got a car on HP with Stoneacre, for some reason they froze his direct debits and the first two payments for his car didn't come out of his account which put him in arrears.
He called the finance company up and they ultimately put the blame on him saying he should be checking that the direct debits were coming out. He arranged to pay extra on his car to get his payments back up to date, which he has been doing for the last few months.

The issue that we have is that now his credit score has dramatically decreased which is unfair as he didn't default on payment because he couldn't afford it, it only happened because the finance company froze the direct debits. He's been refused a credit card because of this and i would assume he would also be refused a mortgage and if i'm correct this stays on his credit score for six years?

Is there anything that we can do to get this erased from his credit score so that it is no longer on there?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

Who froze the 2 DD payments? The company? His bank?

hayels18

!!! wrote: »

Ignore the score - it means nothing and is made up.

Are there any late payment or default markers showing on the account on his file?

How would i be able to find this out? He usually uses clear score to keep on top of his credit score but i'm not sure if if you can see that information on there

Thanks!

hayels18

Candyapple wrote: »

Who froze the 2 DD payments? The company? His bank?

It was the finance company that froze his direct debits as he originally called them up and asked if he could return the car (within a few days of taking the contract out) but they said he was unable to give the car back without having to repay all of the money. Which we later found out that he was within the 14 day cooling off period so he should have been able to return the car. But yeah, the short of it is, is that it was the finance company that failed to take the direct debit and froze them until he phoned up and unfroze them (after receiving a letter saying he was in arrears which he obviously knew nothing about)

Thanks you!

[Deleted User]

hayels18 wrote: »

How would i be able to find this out? He usually uses clear score to keep on top of his credit score but i'm not sure if if you can see that information on there

Thanks!

You're not working to keep on top of your "score" or "rating".

You're just looking at the history.

The account will be listed on there and there will be appropriate markers in the payment months that will tell you

Candyapple

hayels18 wrote: »

How would i be able to find this out? He usually uses clear score to keep on top of his credit score but i'm not sure if if you can see that information on there

Thanks!

The free versions to check your credit files are below:
Experian: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub
Equifax: https://www.clearscore.com
Call Credit: https://www.noddle.co.uk

Was the car returned within the 14 day period or not?

What date was the first DD due?

Brooker_Dave

hayels18 wrote: »

It was the finance company that froze his direct debits as he originally called them up and asked if he could return the car (within a few days of taking the contract out) but they said he was unable to give the car back without having to repay all of the money. Which we later found out that he was within the 14 day cooling off period so he should have been able to return the car. But yeah, the short of it is, is that it was the finance company that failed to take the direct debit and froze them until he phoned up and unfroze them (after receiving a letter saying he was in arrears which he obviously knew nothing about)

Thanks you!

Official complaint and then ombudsman?

Why get treated like dirt when there's no need?

davidwood681

hayels18 wrote: »

It was the finance company that froze his direct debits as he originally called them up and asked if he could return the car (within a few days of taking the contract out) but they said he was unable to give the car back without having to repay all of the money. Which we later found out that he was within the 14 day cooling off period so he should have been able to return the car. But yeah, the short of it is, is that it was the finance company that failed to take the direct debit and froze them until he phoned up and unfroze them (after receiving a letter saying he was in arrears which he obviously knew nothing about)

Thanks you!

The cooling off period is only for the finance. He still needed to pay for the car unless the dealer were being helpful.

molerat

One problem I can see is that by not paying those 2 missing payments in one go and paying them off over a period of time has put the account in arrears.

I think a complaint is due but it may involve bringing the account up to date reduced with a goodwill gesture from the finance - he will still have that money in his bank account won't he !

Nearlyold

Just to clarify what the 14 day right of withdrawal from a finance agreement means. After the finance is in place you can give notice to withdraw within 14 days, you then have 30 days to repay the money you borrowed plus any interest accrued up to the point you make full repayment, no arrangement or option to purchase fees can be charged. Once you have given notice to withdraw you can't change your mind, you must repay the monies borrowed.

You cannot complain the finance company wouldn't take the car back as there was no right to return it. All that's happened is the finance company have cancelled the DD in error as they initially thought you wanted to exercise your right to withdraw from the finance agreement