unable to pay for car lease

driveallnight

Hello
I have a lease car. It is a true lease not a PCP. Its a 5 year lease due to end in October 2020. I've never missed a payment. I asked for a payment holiday when I was furloughed which was granted. Ive now been made redundant so still cannot afford to pay. I've asked for an extension on my payment holiday but they won't allow it as they say they can't put me in a position where I am accumulating more debt. They want me to agree to an early termination where I will owe 40% of my remaining payments plus the 3 months I have missed. I explained that I really don't want to lose the car and it is essential for my job search but they don't seem to care. I pleaded that I can't be their only customer in this situation and granting some extra time would be be beneficial for both me and them but again they are unmoved.
Please can anyone advise what the timeline looks like if they decide to reposess the car. Will they have to give me notice? Can they just turn up and take it? how long will all of that take? I'm just trying to gauge when I'm likely to lose it. 
Thanks so much for your time. 

bazzyb

driveallnight said:

Hello
I have a lease car. It is a true lease not a PCP. Its a 5 year lease due to end in October 2020. I've never missed a payment. I asked for a payment holiday when I was furloughed which was granted. Ive now been made redundant so still cannot afford to pay. I've asked for an extension on my payment holiday but they won't allow it as they say they can't put me in a position where I am accumulating more debt. They want me to agree to an early termination where I will owe 40% of my remaining payments plus the 3 months I have missed. I explained that I really don't want to lose the car and it is essential for my job search but they don't seem to care. I pleaded that I can't be their only customer in this situation and granting some extra time would be be beneficial for both me and them but again they are unmoved.
Please can anyone advise what the timeline looks like if they decide to reposess the car. Will they have to give me notice? Can they just turn up and take it? how long will all of that take? I'm just trying to gauge when I'm likely to lose it. 
Thanks so much for your time. 

Is this definitely a PCH agreement? They are normally 2 or 3 years, sometimes 4. 5 years is extremely unusual. 

If it is PCH then you don’t have usual consumer protections such as voluntary termination and right to prevent repossession. Essentially you aren’t buying the car, just hiring it, so you don’t get the consumer protections and they can pretty much just turn up and take it. 

You state that you can’t make any payments because you’ve been made redundant, but also say the car is essential for work - which is it?

driveallnight

I need the car to attend interviews  its essential for my job search.
Its definitely a 5 year lease.
 Thank you 

bazzyb

I’m sorry but I would argue that it is not essential for your job search, you can use public transport. Many employers are conducting first stage interviews via phone or video call currently and only inviting candidates in at the final stages so you probably won’t need it as much as you think you do. 

driveallnight

Thanks. I live in an area with not great public transport links. 
Can they really just turn up and take the car? Will they give me a chance to get my possessions out of it? 

Jonesy1977

I'm sorry to hear that you have lost your job, it is sadly an all too common situation at the moment and you are right it is likely there will be others in the same situation.   One option would be to offer to buy the vehicle from them, PCH will almost certainly offer this option three months out (you may need to borrow to do this) You owe three months at for example £300 x 3 = £900 + 3 months (to October 2020) at 40% £360 so you can hand the car back and pay them e.g £1260 , how much is the car now worth?  If it is e.g £4000 then perhaps it would make sense to buy it from them, if not then pay the £1260 and accept the loss of the car, if you just do not pay you are likely looking at CCJ + repossession the costs will mount and the impact on your credit may be serious.

bazzyb

driveallnight said:

Can they really just turn up and take the car? Will they give me a chance to get my possessions out of it? 

Essentially yes they can just turn up, but they should give you notice of their intention to repossess. 

Of course they will allow you to get your personal possessions, they will ask you for the keys anyway so that is an opportunity to remove your things. 

If you can’t afford to hand the car back and pay the 40% of the remaining rentals then speak to them to see about a voluntary repossession to avoid costs running up any further. 

The advice above about looking in to buying the car from them is also a good option, however judging from your other recent thread on here I assume that may not be a possibility for you at the moment. 

Grumpy_chap

When were you made redundant?
How much notice pay will you get?
How much redundancy pay will you get?

Do the above funds allow you to cover the car until October, when it goes back anyway?

According to the following article (https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/07/fca-car-finance-extension/?_ga=2.268497329.1775402574.1594813526-172281136.1594813526) the car can't be repossessed until October, but I think you will have a massive bill still to pay at the end of the term.  It is payment delay, not payment written off.

driveallnight

Hi, thanks everyone. I'm unfortunately not in a financial position to purchase the car. 

I've been employed by my current employer since January 2019, so no redundancy pay. My employment ends on 31 July. 

Difficult times. It would be a weight off my mind if I knew they can't reposess the car until October. 

Jonesy1977

Sorry to hear that and I wish you luck.  The following might offer some clarity https://www.finder.com/uk/what-is-car-repossession