Incorrect default notice

lotos

Any advice on the following welcomed!

I have recently been served a default notice regarding a car I have been purchasing on HP, the argeement has 8 months to run and is £900 in arrears.

I don't have the funds to settle this in one hit as requested and the company won't consider spreading this amount out in the latest communication with them..

In addition to this they have made an error on the default notice quoting the total amount repayable as what I have actually paid so far and what I have paid so far as the total amount repayable!

They have been a bit disorganised and confusing, I spoke to one of their call-centre bods the other day who said I could make increased payments to clear the amount but subsequently was contacted by someone else who said I would have to make the full payment to avoid court action!

What is the best course of action???

Thanks in advance for any reponse.

robnye

hp agreements usually state in the T&C's that if you get into arrears then they have the right to request that you settle the remaining amount in one go.

the fact that you have gone £900 in arrears would suggest that this has been gradually building up over the past few months......!

the court proceedings will look a little silly if they carry it through, if as you say they have got the figures the wrong way round,

you a couple of options,

1) pay up in full the arrears and remaining balance
2) contact them to get the documents details corrected. then go to court and lose and arrange a payment schedule plus court costs
3) go to court with the wrong information, court sends them away to correct the figures, the go back to court lose and arrange payment schedule plus court costs, this assumes a time delay of between 4/6 weeks between the first court hearing and the second hearing
4) contact them, pay as much as you can today...... then try and speak to a supervisor to arrange a payment schedule that you can stick to.......

garyclay

What I would do is,

a) Contact the firm and arrange a repayment plan, they may accept your word for how much you can afford to pay or may ask you to complete one of their own income/outgoings forms. Make sure the offer is honnest, realistic and shows your commitment to clear this debt.

b) In the unlikely event they refuse seek help from the CAB, CCCS or call the National Debtline.

c) Once your debt is repaid, contact the credit reference agencies and see if they have registered a default against you. If they have write to the company and explain the default notice they sent you was incorrect and therefore unenforceble and request they remove the default within 28 days or that you will seek legal redress. If you want a PDF file written by the OFT explaining what they should have written in the default notice PM me.

I'd avoid alerting the company to the fact that they have made a !!!! up on the default notice for the time being as if they send you a correct one you won't be legaly be able to have it removed from your credit file and will be saddled with a default for 6 years! (Not Good!)

Hope this helps.

Xbigman

Other replies so far assume they are taking court action to recover the money, but are they instead talking about repossessing the car. Remember a purchase on HP is not your property until the final payment is made.
What is the car worth? You could hand it back if its 50% paid for and get another. This only works out good for you if the cars value at auction will cover the cost of the remaining payments.
Regards




X

lotos

Thanks for all your help and comments.

Cheers :beer: