Help needed. Car finance dispute.

Helenann_2

Hi,
This is a pretty long story but I really need help.
My husband took car finance in 2010 and paid it for more than half of the length of the loan, The loan was for £15,991.53 and at the time he defaulted in June 2012 (the last payment was some month before this so both the default and last payment were more than 6 years ago) he had paid £8074.13 and owed £7517.40. (So he owned more than half of the car).
The finance company took him to court in July 2013 trying to claim the return of the car plus the outstanding £7517.40 (and costs, legal fees and interest.)
We attended court and defended the claim, stating that whilst we agreed to the return of goods, if the car was returned he shouldn't owe any further money, after all he had paid for more than half of the car and they were getting it back! The judge agreed and told my husband that he did not have to pay the outstanding amount. The paperwork the finance company had sent to the court was littered with errors and the judge was very unimpressed, awarding us costs because he felt the finance company had wasted out time (they didn't even turn up in court!)
After the court hearing my husband was in contact with the finance company, they sent him a cheque for the costs and he agreed to voluntary surrender the car as full and final settlement. We have it in writing from the finance company that they agreed to these terms. They said they would arrange collection of the vehicle. Weeks later my husband got a for a collections company asking him to leave the vehicle on a public car park with the keys on the wheel arch because the collection driver wanted to pick it up at a time my husband would have been at work!
My husband refused to do this, leaving a car on a car park with it's keys would be stupid, if it got stolen it wouldn't be insured and then the finance company wouldn't get it back and he would be liable for it, he's not stupid and told the bloke this was not happening under any circumstances and that he would need to come and collect the car from our home when we were in. We would also expect a receipt from him as proof he had taken the car (otherwise how do we prove we ever gave it back?)
The collections company never contacted us again. This sparked suspicion in our minds that what they were trying to do was underhanded and that the vehicle, had we left it with it's keys unattended as they had asked us to, would have conveniently "gone missing!"
We had further contact with the finance company some months later when they tried to pursue the debt again and not even acknowledging that it had been to court and that they were supposed to have collected the car months ago! We responded telling them that it had been to court and that the ruling was for the return of goods, which they had failed to carry out.
Being completely fed up with the entire situation and knowing that they were not going to collect the car bit wanting the situation resolved, we asked for a settlement figure (hubby's mum willing to lend him the money) or alternatively if they didn't want to settle to take us back to court and sort out this return of goods malarkey that they have failed to uphold. (We put this in writing and still have copies as proof of this request in 2014.)
We heard nothing from the finance company at all for 4 years (we've had the car for 5 years since the court ruling) until recently when new court paperwork arrived!
The court claim makes no mention of this ever previously going to court or the previous ruling, their failure to act on it or anything else. It is basically a carbon copy of their first claim 5 years ago so they have not been at all truthful in their claim because they have failed to mention any of the previous legal rulings and have not given an accurate claim. They are still pursuing the car (they've had a legal right to come and pick it up for 5 years since he agreed to voluntary surrender it and they've been offered the money if they'd have preferred that instead of the car back!) They are now claiming interest too of nearly £5000!
Obviously it goes without saying that we are defending the claim with all of the evidence we have of their failure to adhere to the previous ruling but I am curious as to your take on this? Do you think the finance company have deliberately failed to uphold the ruling or do you think it is just a case of a company who are so incompetent that they have no records that it went to court, what the ruling was and that they have had the right to collect the car for the last 5 years?
Do we have any right to the car now given their failure to execute the return of goods ruling they got 5 years ago?
Also, should we get a judge who rules in their favour (I don't really see how they could with all of the evidence we have but I'm still worried) would the outstanding loan now be statute barred because the default and last payment were more than 6 years ago?
I just want this resolved it is horrendous!
I'm sorry it's so long winded.
Any advice would be appreciated.