Car finance in ex's name, registered in mine.

elitelady

My ex bought me a car, its just over a year ago, he wont pay the payments now but the car is registered in my name.  I have asked him to come and get the car back.  I cant pay for it, what are my rights, can I make him collect it. Also can I get the v5 put in his name without him signing it. 

pphillips

You accepted the car from him so you can't force him to take it back.
I assume that you also accepted liability for the debt and so you will need to come to an agreement with the finance company. If need be they could probably arrange a repossession.

Grumpy_chap

Who is the legal owner of the car?
Registered keeper does not prove ownership.
If you are the legal owner, was the car a gift from your ex?  If so, he gets the finance and you get the car.  If no-one pays the finance, they will likely still track you down and recover the car.  If the finance is solely in the ex's name, I assume it will be his credit file that is trashed and not yours.

elitelady

He has told me he wont pay the finance, I know that it cant be changed into my name and as he sacked me from my job , I cant afford it anyway. I am the registered keeper but the finance is in his name only.  

elitelady

pphillips said:

You accepted the car from him so you can't force him to take it back.
I assume that you also accepted liability for the debt and so you will need to come to an agreement with the finance company. If need be they could probably arrange a repossession.

No I did not accept liability for the debt, it was bought so I could take our daughter places.  You cant buy someone something and then expect them to pay for it surely.  

elitelady

Grumpy_chap said:

Who is the legal owner of the car?
Registered keeper does not prove ownership.
If you are the legal owner, was the car a gift from your ex?  If so, he gets the finance and you get the car.  If no-one pays the finance, they will likely still track you down and recover the car.  If the finance is solely in the ex's name, I assume it will be his credit file that is trashed and not yours.

The finance company I guess is the legal owner, he took out the finance though but the v5 was put in my name.  As I now don't have a job as he fired me then I would not be able to pay the finance, its way above my budget. 

Petriix

Sounds like you're not legally responsible for the finance payments. It's a bit like when someone takes a phone on contract and then sells it on. If he's stopped paying then they'll probably repossess it but it may take them a while. There's nothing to stop you from driving it as usual in the meantime.

gettingtheresometime

Wouldn't it be his credit rating that gets trashed if he doesn't make the payments?

pphillips

elitelady said:

pphillips said:

You accepted the car from him so you can't force him to take it back.
I assume that you also accepted liability for the debt and so you will need to come to an agreement with the finance company. If need be they could probably arrange a repossession.

No I did not accept liability for the debt, it was bought so I could take our daughter places.  You cant buy someone something and then expect them to pay for it surely.  

Well in that case you don't need to worry about the payments, just wait and see what happens. If the car isnt repossessed then the finance company could sue your ex to recover the debt.

Ditzy_Mitzy

elitelady said:

He has told me he wont pay the finance, I know that it cant be changed into my name and as he sacked me from my job , I cant afford it anyway. I am the registered keeper but the finance is in his name only.  

Sounds like a complete b'stard.  As others have said, the finance isn't your liability.  I'd keep driving it and wouldn't worry too much about cleaning it etc.  It will probably be repossessed at some point, which is an annoyance, but you'll only lose the car itself.  

TBagpuss

Keep driving it for now. If and when the finance company shows up, hand it over.
I assume that it is direct finance secured on the car, not a separate personal loan that he happened to use to fund it? 
Meanwhile, start planning for how you will get about it/when the car is repossessed.

You don't have a contract with the finance company so you don't owe them anything, but if their contract with him allows them to repossess the car (which it will, if it is a finance arrangement not a personal loan) then his gifting the car to you won't change that as their interest in it comes first.