Stuck with car finance after job ended

Grumpy_chap

Meeksymandy said:

I worked for a company as a nurse and was told I needed a car under 5 years old on finance and they’d pay it on top of salary. I left the job after three weeks and now landed with a finance deal I can’t get out of and a part time job not even as a nurse so I’m struggling with repayments. Company not interested saying the agreement is between me and finance company but I find this so unfair. I’ve never taken anything on finance before because I never would. 

Has anyone else experienced this? Who can I report it to? Am I stupid to have entered the deal in the first place even thou I couldn’t do the job without a car? Feeling desperate as I can’t sell car as doesn’t belong to me but the finance company! I’m literally trapped. 

Any advice really really appreciated. 

Meeksymandy said:

Hi thanks all. If I sell the car to a dealer or online ie Webuyanycar I lose at least 2-4 thousand pounds which I have to cough up which I don’t have. I can’t sell it privately I’ve been told but even if I did I won’t get anything near the settlement fee. I don’t think it’s morally right they don’t put their name to the deal when asking you to have a car under five years old. Even if I left the job after a couple years or got sick I’d still have the repayments for 5 years. I wonder how many others have been caught out and are getting further into debt because of this practice. Can I complain to anyone about this? Is it worth getting advice from a solicitor? 

In the current market, how come you are losing £2 - 4k in only three weeks?  What age / type of car did you buy at the outset?  There are a good choice of cars under 5 yo suitable for community nursing type work from around 6k, so a loss of £4k would be extreme.

Why can't you sell the car privately?

Given that you were only in the job for three weeks, did you jump the gun a bit in getting a car from day one?  I've worked at companies where they have requirements around choice of car etc., but always found employers to be accommodating at the start.  So long as you have something that allows you to fulfil the requirements of the job, it is usually possible to say you are looking at cars for a couple of weeks and then lead time etc.  So long as the employer accepts your movement towards a compliant car, it is usually workable.

I don't see that there is anyone to complain to, nor that consulting a Solicitor would be good use of money.

Why did you leave the job so quickly?
Will you not get another job as a nurse so still need suitable transport?

Meeksymandy

Basically I’m stuck with it then. So angry. Seemed like dream
job but they were awful to work for. Didn’t give a hoot about patients, just profits. Of course I knew this when I took the job but thought they’d be different as they were a Danish company but I’m learning a very hard lesson. 

Thank you for your replies. 

Seems there’s nothing to be done.

motorguy

Meeksymandy said:

Hi thanks all. If I sell the car to a dealer or online ie Webuyanycar I lose at least 2-4 thousand pounds which I have to cough up which I don’t have. I can’t sell it privately I’ve been told but even if I did I won’t get anything near the settlement fee. I don’t think it’s morally right they don’t put their name to the deal when asking you to have a car under five years old. Even if I left the job after a couple years or got sick I’d still have the repayments for 5 years. I wonder how many others have been caught out and are getting further into debt because of this practice. Can I complain to anyone about this? Is it worth getting advice from a solicitor? 

Mandy there is noone to blame here.

What they were giving you was a car allowance for as long as you were in employment with them, not a commitment to make the repayments for you on any car you bought.

You seem to have had a massive change in circumstance inside of 3 weeks that took you from making a significant financial commitment for a car for 5 years for a job, to leaving that job, and now only working part time?

motorguy

Meeksymandy said:

Hi thanks all. If I sell the car to a dealer or online ie Webuyanycar I lose at least 2-4 thousand pounds which I have to cough up which I don’t have. I can’t sell it privately I’ve been told but even if I did I won’t get anything near the settlement fee. I don’t think it’s morally right they don’t put their name to the deal when asking you to have a car under five years old. Even if I left the job after a couple years or got sick I’d still have the repayments for 5 years. I wonder how many others have been caught out and are getting further into debt because of this practice. Can I complain to anyone about this? Is it worth getting advice from a solicitor? 

You can sell it privately, but it would be on the basis that the buyer pays the finance company directly to clear the finance at the point you sell it to them.  That may well recover a lot more than selling it on to the motor trade.

I'd also be checking with all the online buyers, the dealer who sold you the car and also any dealers in your area who sell similar.  Its just a matter of ringing up and ask to speak to the "used car buyer".

motorguy

Meeksymandy said:

Basically I’m stuck with it then. So angry. Seemed like dream
job but they were awful to work for. Didn’t give a hoot about patients, just profits. Of course I knew this when I took the job but thought they’d be different as they were a Danish company but I’m learning a very hard lesson. 

Thank you for your replies. 

Seems there’s nothing to be done.

I cant imagine it would be difficult to get another nursing job for a better company?

Also, if your previous job was full time, then i'd be looking for another full time job.  The fact you have a fresh car at your door could open up an opportunity to get a job a little further away than you might otherwise have considered.

jimjames

motorguy said:

Meeksymandy said:

Basically I’m stuck with it then. So angry. Seemed like dream
job but they were awful to work for. Didn’t give a hoot about patients, just profits. Of course I knew this when I took the job but thought they’d be different as they were a Danish company but I’m learning a very hard lesson. 

Thank you for your replies. 

Seems there’s nothing to be done.

I cant imagine it would be difficult to get another nursing job for a better company?

Also, if your previous job was full time, then i'd be looking for another full time job.  The fact you have a fresh car at your door could open up an opportunity to get a job a little further away than you might otherwise have considered.

This seems like a very sensible suggestion. All the news seems to be suggesting that there is a huge demand for nurses so (from a purely spectator view) there should be lots of opportunities for full time jobs.

Unless Mandy seriously overpaid then losing £4k on a second hand car in 3 weeks seems very unlikely.

macman

But they didn't 'put their name to the deal'. You and you alone did the deal within the finance company. They agreed to pay you a car allowance while you were in their employment, which presumably they did. You then left their employment by your choice within 3 weeks. 
What did you think was going to happen to the finance contract once you gave your notice? I am sure everyone is sympathetic to your situation, but you simply have no possible case for a claim on your former employer.
As others have pointed out, you are perfectly able to sell the car yourself, but you will have to clear the finance on it.

Herzlos

If you can't take the hit from selling the car back to a dealer, then you might be able to trade it in for something cheaper and at least reduce the monthly expense whilst still leaving you with a car. I mean, you'll still lose money on it but you can at least wrap the shortfall up into the ongoing payments.

What car is it?

photome

as others have said thats a big hit in a few weeks given the current market, what car is it? and how much did you pay?

Meeksymandy

hi 
so it’s a Honda Jazz 2018. After I realised I was stuck with the deal I rang Honda and they offered me £10,000, the settlement was £14,000 roughly so I contacted other dealers, smaller ones who still offered me nearly £2,000 less which I would have to find. Believe me I have looked at all options. 

Yes it was a full time job but two days working from home so didn’t feel full time. I’ve never left a job after three weeks in my life but they were appalling and I am a good nurse who at nearly 59yeas was not prepared to be treated so badly. I’m a cancer nurse btw and because I had cancer 12 years ago and had such amazing treatment that’s the kind of nursing I wanted to do plus because of cancer I never wanted to work in a stressful job again or a full time one. I made a bad decision with this job as I live in a small place with not many nursing roles that are part time. You have no idea how stressful a nursing job is in the NHS, you couldn’t possibly imagine! Yes I am being selective with my work maybe that’s my fault and I deserve this to have happened. Not looking for sympathy just giving you background. 

I’m now more concerned other nurses will have fallen into this trap and want to know where to report this. I don’t think it’s right a huge corporate company especially employing nurses can just let us end up in this situation. It’s an extremely hard lesson I’ve learnt to those being judgemental about me leaving a job so quickly, thanks for that. 

I’m making ends meet as I always do so thanks to all those who gave me factual advice x