Car debt arrived with new partner

splendidly
splendidly Posts: 2 Newbie
in Dealing with debts & debt disputes
Hi There,
My girlfriend and I found out we were pregnant recently but weren't living together. My parents helped us get a deposit and we bought a house. Sadly she was given her notice at work before she was entitled to and maternity pay and we have struggled with the change of income since accessing govt maternity allowance.
The main reason for this is paying for 3 cars! I own mine outright but my partner is paying 200quid pcm for her current car and 180pcm for a car she had years back. The money goes direct to Barclays who the credit agreement was with, but she has no paperwork on it and Barclays have avoided sending us copies of the agreement when requested.
I have my car up for sale to help us cope but it would fall short of te balance by over a grand still. And its a 30 mile round trip to my office so I kind of need it.
My partner has paid off more than the original amount on the old car. Whilst I'm happy to help, I didn't know about this before we moved in and know I can't cover the costs. It would be good to know if legally I'm expected to pay for this now we have a child and live together and if so, how to avoid getting into lmore debt to pay it off. If its not my responsibility, how can I support her to address this?
Thank you in advance for your help and participation in the forum.

Comments

  • tonyh66
    tonyh66 Posts: 1,736 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Wow what a situation.. unfortunately the debt is your girlfriends responsibility, I imagine she bought car 2 before paying off car 1, im surprised she managed that where did car 1 go? and why was the outstanding finance transferred to the new car loan (assuming it was part ex'd)
    Anyway sell your car is a good idea, you can then use her car as she is unemployed and expecting at the minute.
    With regards the loan agreement im sure you can request a copy of the loan agreement, you need to ask how on the PPI reclaim area of the forum. If you have any luck you might have PPI on the loans which you could possibly reclaim or use because of her unemployment. Good Luck
  • CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative
    CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative Posts: 287 Organisation Representative
    Hi Splendidly, thank you for your query re car debt
    I am presuming both agreements are in your partner's sole name but the big issue when dealing with debts related to vehicles is whether it is a hire purchase debt or a fixed sum loan agreement to finance a car. If both the agreements were hire purchase then your partner sold the first car without permission of the hire purchase lender then she could be in serious trouble as under a hire purchase agreement the vehicle is not your property until the final payment is made so I would suggest you look into that carefully before you take any action. If your partner has paid more than 50% of the second agreement and it is hire purchase and she has never missed any payments or received a termination notice she can voluntarily terminate the agreement, hand back the car and she will owe nothing further aslong as the car is not in an unreasonable state of repair. If you are considering doing this I would suggest you put the request in writing and there is a template letter you can use on www.adviceguide.org.uk.
    If both the agreements are fixed sum loan agreements rather than hire purchase agreements then you do not risk the car being repossessed if you do make the contractual payments each month and it is a non-priority debt like an credit card and you can complete a detailed budget and write to the creditor with an affordable offer of repayment. But you need to be aware that not making the contractual payments, even if the lower payments are accepted by the creditor, may affect your partner's credit rating. You can find more information about negotiating payments with creditors, completing a budget and template letters to send to creditors at www.adviceguide.org.uk.
    Hope this is of assistance
    “Official CAB Representative
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  • splendidly
    splendidly Posts: 2 Newbie
    Thank you both for your advice.

    Tony, there was actually another car involved in the middle! car 1 was part exd against a mini. the hire purchase from car 1 was paid off through the sale and this was when she discovered there was a loan ON TOP. the mini was then part exd for what we are calling car 2. luckily all costs covered, we are just left with this rogue loan.

    I think the real culprit at the bottom of this (aside from my lady not reading paperwork) might be the garage selling her car 1. They part ex'd the car before this, gave her a hire purchase AND a loan all for a bit of a banger - we're talking a small, old peugeot, not a ferrari! She certainly wasnt aware of the loan but we dont have any paperwork to see what she DID sign up to with them. I'll get chasing on this and might even ask the garage if they will provide us copies?

    Yes, both are in her name only.

    Again, thanks for clarity and comments. it looks like we may be able to create some space to breathe if nothing else.
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