previous owner owed money.. vehicle reposessed..help
29 October 2002, 07:55 PM
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The previous owner of my impreza owed money to finance company.The finance company contacted me about this about 6 months after I owned it, so went round his house got him paying payments.Rung finance company to check he was paying they said it was o.k. Came home today about 7 months after last heard about it and they,ve took my car off the drive.Rang the police who said the finance company informed me of this on October 1st, I did not receive the letter as if I did I would have been straight on the phone to them.I am the registered owner of the car.I have put on the car a £300 stereo,£1250 hybrid turbo, £500 unichip, and £1200 of wheels and tyres...Help what can I do
29 October 2002, 08:00 PM
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Not alot by the looks 
Im definately sure though that you may be able to take this other guy to the small claims court or purchase the car back off the finance company that reposessed the car but if you didnt HPi the car to start with then im afraid its not looking good
Sorry
Tony
Im definately sure though that you may be able to take this other guy to the small claims court or purchase the car back off the finance company that reposessed the car but if you didnt HPi the car to start with then im afraid its not looking good
Sorry
Tony
29 October 2002, 08:03 PM
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thats a real ****** , phone C.A.B they will tell you the name of a local solicitor that offers free advice after working hours used one a while back ,their normally very good & if nothing else will point you in the right direction
good luck
good luck
29 October 2002, 08:18 PM
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Not really a lot you can do,
It wasn't his car to sell as it was owned by the finance company.
Your only option is to go back to the original owner. You may want to talk to the finance company, see how much they want for the car, as I guess it will end up at an auction and be sold for a pittance
It wasn't his car to sell as it was owned by the finance company.
Your only option is to go back to the original owner. You may want to talk to the finance company, see how much they want for the car, as I guess it will end up at an auction and be sold for a pittance
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29 October 2002, 08:27 PM
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Didn't HPi (I know).I went round to see the car, loved it. Gave him a deposit for it and asked for the log book, sent it off imediately it came straight back in my name so thought nothing was amiss, went round and paid for the car
29 October 2002, 08:32 PM
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The car may belong to the finance company but I believe you own anything you have added to the car, I know this is true if you have bought a stolen car & then modified it, Check out your legal position as if I am correct I do not believe they can sell the car on with items owned by you on the car, surely they have technically stolen them from you. If you find you have any grounds write to them or fax them as confirmation of any conversations you may have had with them. Anything like this may buy you time
Secondly they will sell it quickly & for enough to clear the debt & leave nothing for you, if the debt is reosnable it may be worth you trying to do a deal with the finance company, it may cost but at least you will have the car & then you can resell it for market value if you chose & at least get something back, they may even agree for you to pay it off over a period of time.
Also go & see the previous owner & see what he is prepared to do, depending on how you deal with things reminding him of the consequnces of his actions or failure to act may help, after all you unlike a lot of people in this situation actually know who he is & where he lives.
Secondly they will sell it quickly & for enough to clear the debt & leave nothing for you, if the debt is reosnable it may be worth you trying to do a deal with the finance company, it may cost but at least you will have the car & then you can resell it for market value if you chose & at least get something back, they may even agree for you to pay it off over a period of time.
Also go & see the previous owner & see what he is prepared to do, depending on how you deal with things reminding him of the consequnces of his actions or failure to act may help, after all you unlike a lot of people in this situation actually know who he is & where he lives.
29 October 2002, 09:11 PM
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thanks for the help everyone its appreciated.
The police told me to give the finance company a chance to act ( about my posessions on the car) and if after that I felt a crime is being committed against me to contact them.
The police told me to give the finance company a chance to act ( about my posessions on the car) and if after that I felt a crime is being committed against me to contact them.
29 October 2002, 09:17 PM
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One of my neighbours has just been round, said they went out to them as they thought it was getting stolen. They said it was a reposession stating the previous owners name.They said they cut the handrake cable and with the alarm re-arming every minute looked like they were going to break into it.
The finance company are a division of my bank who I have a personal and business account with, do you think my bank manager could help
The finance company are a division of my bank who I have a personal and business account with, do you think my bank manager could help
29 October 2002, 11:00 PM
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Contact your Solicitor to-morrow URGENT!!!!!! The law states that if You buy a car in good faith not knowing that their was any Finance outstanding you you retain Title to that vehicle, however you will have to show that you took all reasonable steps to ensure that the car had no finance on it. Did the guy give you a receipt? You really should have HPid the car however You are under NO obligation to do this and as long as you genuinely beleived that the person who sold you the car had the right to sell you it then I think you will find that the HPI company has broken the law and in fact Stolen your vehicle. You should be able to sue them for recovery and all expenses involved. If you are a member of any the Motoring Organisations AA RAC etc contact them for legal advice Free of Charge otherwise try and find a solicitor who deals in this kind of thing, I suggest you contc CAB who should be able to get you in touch with the right people.
I wish you good luck but you must be prepared to perserver with this as the finance company will try and wear you down and make all kind of threats, but I think you will win this.
Cheers
I wish you good luck but you must be prepared to perserver with this as the finance company will try and wear you down and make all kind of threats, but I think you will win this.
Cheers
30 October 2002, 10:12 AM
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One question that seems to have been missed.
Do you now have finance on this car?
You may find some more weight behind you plight if a lender has also taken on some risk.
The finance company needs to be informed in writing of what possessions or property are yours. Do this by recorded letter, but first of all by phone and fax.
A solicitor is a must to get this resolved. Keep tabs of the previous owner and give the finance company all the help you can in informing where he currently is.
The long and short of it is as with buying a stolen car you may lose.
I have dealt with this sort of thing and it is very upsetting for the new owner to lose his property.
Sorry dude...
Do you now have finance on this car?
You may find some more weight behind you plight if a lender has also taken on some risk.
The finance company needs to be informed in writing of what possessions or property are yours. Do this by recorded letter, but first of all by phone and fax.
A solicitor is a must to get this resolved. Keep tabs of the previous owner and give the finance company all the help you can in informing where he currently is.
The long and short of it is as with buying a stolen car you may lose.
I have dealt with this sort of thing and it is very upsetting for the new owner to lose his property.
Sorry dude...
30 October 2002, 12:09 PM
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Not good news...
You're pretty stuffed methinks, problem is the original owner was not legally entitled to sell the car to you without settling the exisiting finance, the Finance company legally owns the car, even tho you are the registered keeper it means squat, they can reposess the car at anytime and unfortunately for you they dont have to tell you, unfortunately having worked for a major finance company myself i've had to to reposessions off people like yourself who are basically stiffed by the prev owner, the car will 99.9% be sold at auction and the previous owner will be sued for any outstanding charges, from your position you've basically been done over big time especially as you gave the previous owner you hard earned cash
You're pretty stuffed methinks, problem is the original owner was not legally entitled to sell the car to you without settling the exisiting finance, the Finance company legally owns the car, even tho you are the registered keeper it means squat, they can reposess the car at anytime and unfortunately for you they dont have to tell you, unfortunately having worked for a major finance company myself i've had to to reposessions off people like yourself who are basically stiffed by the prev owner, the car will 99.9% be sold at auction and the previous owner will be sued for any outstanding charges, from your position you've basically been done over big time especially as you gave the previous owner you hard earned cash
30 October 2002, 12:12 PM
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Forgot to say, if you can prove all the mods are yours they will have to give them back to you, and as someone has rightfully put before if there is more than 2/3 of the balance that has been paid they cannot rightfully reposess....
30 October 2002, 01:24 PM
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Scoobyroof is correct - "The law states that if You buy a car in good faith not knowing that their was any Finance outstanding you you retain Title to that vehicle". There is case law to back this up. See a lawyer fast.
Similar thing happened to me several years ago, and I told the finance company this in as many words and never heard a peep out of them again. They just try it on in the hope you are ignorant.
Best of Luck
Similar thing happened to me several years ago, and I told the finance company this in as many words and never heard a peep out of them again. They just try it on in the hope you are ignorant.
Best of Luck
30 October 2002, 01:45 PM
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i dont think you have much of a leg to stand on as long as the repo man told the police what was going to take place he is covered as i have had to do this a few times with bad customers sorry mate with your bad luck contact the company involved and see if you can get your stuff back
ps if the car was HPI'd they will cover your loss if they didnt pick up on the finance!
ps if the car was HPI'd they will cover your loss if they didnt pick up on the finance!
30 October 2002, 03:58 PM
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Sorry M8
A leason to be learnt here, i bought a run-a-round a couple of months back for £200 and i still paid that little bit extra for an HPi. its the only way, cos there are some real scumbags out there.
The only advise i can give is BE QUICK as you might find YOUR car in the next local auction!!!!
Steve
A leason to be learnt here, i bought a run-a-round a couple of months back for £200 and i still paid that little bit extra for an HPi. its the only way, cos there are some real scumbags out there.
The only advise i can give is BE QUICK as you might find YOUR car in the next local auction!!!!
Steve