Car finance taken out by partners parents

KaleyCuoco

Hi there, 
thanks for reading.

my partners parents have taken HP car finance our for their son (us) so that we can have a bigger car (we both have bad credit and couldn’t get it) 

We sold our very old cars, he had a car as did I, old gas guzzlers, we are actually saving money  

We now pay the finance payments to his parents monthly.  

My fear is that we pay the payments, pay for the car and at the end of it his parents own the car 🤷‍♀️ I know the finance company owns the car until the last payment but what I DON’T want is for the last payment to be paid and his parents to then turn around and say THEY want to keep the car, sell the car etc

I do have trust issues and it’s kind of them to help us with finance BUT I’m looking for any advice, this is just in case my partner and I split up (sorry for sounding doom and gloom) I do not want to be without a car, pay monthly payments for FIVE years for a car that won’t essentially be ours (my partner and I) 


Is there any way I can feel more secure about this? Financially, not emotionally 🤣 

Can I get something written up? Do the payments leaving our account into theirs show proof enough that we’ve essentially been paying the payments if it was to go as far as small claims court (I know I’m way ahead of myself) 

In my defence I’ve been burned before financially by an X partner and his family, I’m just looking for some assurances. 

Supersonos

KaleyCuoco said:

what I DON’T want is for the last payment to be paid and his parents to then turn around and say THEY want to keep the car, sell the car etc

You shouldn't have entered into a gentleman's agreement like this with people you don't trust.

Legally they will own the car.

And if this is all in case you and your partner split (how very loving of you) then you still wouldn't have the car as you'd have to pay him for the half that he owns.

KimJongUn88

If you didn’t trust them, you should have declined their kind offer of having g the finance in their name and continued your merry way with your respective bangers.

Scrapit

If the hoffsteader's/sweeting's took out the hp for you both you might be in trouble if it goes wrong but have they really just bought their offspawn a motor?  Do you feature in the agreement at all? What happens if you stop paying? 

DiddyDavies

Supersonos said:

You shouldn't have entered into a gentleman's agreement like this with people you don't trust.

Legally they will own the car.

Not necessarily.
Legally, they will be made the registered keeper but this doesn't automatically make them the legal owners.
Provided that the OP and their partner could show that they have been paying the correct amount to their partner's parents each month to cover the cost of the HP payments, a court could well agree that once the last payment has been made, they then own the vehicle.

lcc86

Technically there's nothing you can do because they've fronted for you and taken out credit for you which is fraudulent - not saying it doesn't happen all the time but it is what it is. 

Supersonos

DiddyDavies said:

Supersonos said:

You shouldn't have entered into a gentleman's agreement like this with people you don't trust.

Legally they will own the car.

Not necessarily.
Legally, they will be made the registered keeper but this doesn't automatically make them the legal owners.
Provided that the OP and their partner could show that they have been paying the correct amount to their partner's parents each month to cover the cost of the HP payments, a court could well agree that once the last payment has been made, they then own the vehicle.

True.  But if the parents are so dishonest as to potentially take all the payments from the OP and then claim its their car and sell it for their own gain, I'm sure they'd be able to claim the payments were for something else.

Sounds like the OP wouldn't be able to afford to take the parents to court so... bye bye car.

DiddyDavies

Supersonos said:

True.  But if the parents are so dishonest as to potentially take all the payments from the OP and then claim its their car and sell it for their own gain, I'm sure they'd be able to claim the payments were for something else.

Sounds like the OP wouldn't be able to afford to take the parents to court so... bye bye car.

That's why I stated that if they could show that they were making the correct payments.
If for example the finance was £249 per month and the OP could show a payment for this exact amount each month then if it did go to court, a judge might agree that on the balance of probabilities, the payment was to cover the finance payment.

NottinghamKnight

It's an interesting discussion around trust as the risk seems to be totally on the parents. The obvious response is that you should have got the finance yourself, but given that you aren't able to apparently this is the alternative you have come up with. How much is the apr out of interest?

Mojisola

KaleyCuoco said:

my partners parents have taken HP car finance our for their son (us) so that we can have a bigger car (we both have bad credit and couldn’t get it)

We now pay the finance payments to his parents monthly. 

My fear is that we pay the payments, pay for the car and at the end of it his parents own the car
Can I get something written up?

This would be the best thing but, if they are intending to do what you're worried about, they won't agree to it.

Even worse, they may not have thought of doing it until you put the idea into their heads!

Could you get some evidence (just in case) through texts/emails?  Thank them for taking out the finance on your behalf and see if you can get a written conversation going that would show they did intend for you to take over ownership after the finance is paid off.

Have you agreed with your partner whether it's going to be in his name or yours?  If his, you could still be left with nothing if the relationship broke up.

If it goes into your name and you break up, you would do the right thing and compensate him for his payments, wouldn't you?

Car_54

Supersonos said:

DiddyDavies said:

Supersonos said:

You shouldn't have entered into a gentleman's agreement like this with people you don't trust.

Legally they will own the car.

Not necessarily.
Legally, they will be made the registered keeper but this doesn't automatically make them the legal owners.
Provided that the OP and their partner could show that they have been paying the correct amount to their partner's parents each month to cover the cost of the HP payments, a court could well agree that once the last payment has been made, they then own the vehicle.

True.  But if the parents are so dishonest as to potentially take all the payments from the OP and then claim its their car and sell it for their own gain, I'm sure they'd be able to claim the payments were for something else.

Sounds like the OP wouldn't be able to afford to take the parents to court so... bye bye car.

And bye bye in-laws. And bye bye partner.