finance

[joeb]

i bought a car privately but didnt know there was finance still remaining on it from the last owner .do i automaticly get the car taken of me?or what happens?

[WoWo]

Not sure what will happen but the finance is on the car and therefore it's not your's until you pay off the finance.

[sammysam]

Vould you try speaking to the finance company, explaining the situation and maybe see if they will accept a smaller payment - better than nothing? Do you still have the receipt? If so then you bought the car in good faith.  Dont know if any of this will wash but its got to be worth a try?

[lady_p_gold]

I know its a bit late now .. but for others this might be of use

http://www.hpicheck.com

[Oneeyedvic]

If you are an 'innocent' purchaser ie you don't work in the trade, you bought it in good faith etc, then you actually have title to the car.

Contrary to the above advice, the finance company can not pursue you or take the car away.

This is all on the basis that you are not trying to commit fraud.

Do not pay the finance ocmpany anything and do not let them take it. If you did not pay the market rate for teh car, or if you are related in some way to the person who you purchased it off etc etc etc, then you will be caught out, probably put on CIFAS (the fraud database) and prosecuted to the fullest extent by the finance company.

 

If on the other hand, you are totally innocent and a bit of a burk for not checking HPI, then (unfortunately) there is nothing the finance compnay can do to you. They will of course pursue the person you purchased it off.

 

If I can be of any further help, please post back.

[kempie]

Oneeyedvic - surely joeb does not have automatic ownership of the car but rather may have "good title" to it and may have to go to court to prove it, since being a 'burk' by not having an HPI check could be construed as being outside of the definition of "innocent purchaser" - "someone who did not know, and who could not reasonably have been expected to know, about the outstanding HP agreement."

joeb - you should write to the finance company explaining that you are the first innocent private purchaser and ask them to confirm that the car is now yours.

[Oneeyedvic]

Sadly, and in my experience, the courts tend to side on the 'burk' even when it is painfully obvious they should have checked.

The last company I worked for (in the sub prime side of finance) we lost a few cases to stupid judges - one was a 2 year old Merc SLK - he didn't know about HPI.....sheesh!

[tubeway]

The car is not yours - it belongs to the finance company. Thet may be sympathitic, butonly if they can get something back from the previous owner. It will be worth talking to them - but I dont think you have a legal leg to stand on.

If somebody broke into your house and stole your computer - then sold it on to somebody else -it would still belong to you -  and you probably would want it back. It is the same thing

[Oneeyedvic]

tubeway - you have no idea how the legal system works, the Hire Purchase Act, Consumer Credit Act, or about the HPI rules. What I have said on my above posts is accurate.

An innocent purchaser has full title to the car, and the finance company does not.

The example you give isd ridiculous as someone stealing something is hardly the same as someone buying something.

[tubeway]

Oneeyedvic you have not got a clue - I was a business manager in the motor trade for over 10 years (HPI, Finance and Insurance) and have an Honours degree in Law from Nottingham Law school. So I do know exactly what I am talking about

I was giving a simplified answer to try to make a point clearer. You said yourself that the judge usually finds for the finance company. The car does not belong to the (original) purchaser until they have completley forfilled their part of the contract (i.e. paid for it). So any attempt to sell it can be construed under law as theft (an attempt to permanantly deprive) - and as you know if somebody buys stolen goods (whether they are aware or not) they do not automatically gain title.

I would be very careful over some of the accusations that you made - you are sailing very close to the wind. Read my answers properly - take a deep breath - then how about an apology. (I know the definition of libel too)

[Oneeyedvic]

Tubeway - have read your post again and still think it is all rubish - ie: the car is his, he does have a leg to stand on, he has paid for the goods and not stolen them as in your example.

 

Try the following link:

http://www.oxonts.org.uk/templates/rights/answer.cfm/3/84

or do you think that trading standards have no clue as well.

How baout the OFT? - would they understand the complexities? http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CD4CBBE3-7136-4FDD-A67B-6C7A760036DE/0/oft178.pdf

(check out 4.11 on page 31)

 

The car belongs to the 'innocent purchaser' as described in my above posts.

I would also suggets you read my posts - I said the courts tend to side for the 'burk' not the finance company.

I also do not beleive I am sailing close to the wind - after all, you have proved yourslef you have no clue to the acts that I have mentioned, and I still maintain that the example you give of comparing someone breaking and entering and stealing a computer is not a sensible comparison!

 

Also, libel is generally taken as a false, misleading statement - would love to know:

a) which of my above statements is not true

b) how I have damaged your reputation when no one knows who you (or I) are

[tubeway]

Ref Merseyside Police:

What happens if there is outstanding finance

If you buy a vehicle that has an outstanding finance agreement, you may have no right in law to ownership of that vehicle.

You may lose both the car and the money you paid for it.

Ref BBC crime prevention:

The second risk you run relates to finance. Used car buyers risk taking on someone else's debt as many second hand cars have "outstanding finance". Here, a bank or finance company has a legal claim to a car and in some cases they can repossess the car leaving you with nothing.

Or click on finance here:

http://www.hpicheck.com/cgi-bin/wrapper.pl?supplier=goog&bbcam=adwds&bbkid=outstanding+car+finance&x

Ref the Office of fair trading

Does the car belong to a credit company?
A car bought on hire purchase or conditional sale
belongs to the finance company until the payments
have been completed.
Your rights� if you buy a car with outstanding finance
on it, the lender can take it back. The only thing you can
do is sue whoever sold you the car

 

So the police, the BBC , HPI and the OFT are wrong too

I am away for a couple of days now and am bored with this now

 

[kempie]

tubeway - you need to be careful about writing in absolutes such as "not having a legal leg to stand on" and "theft" when the examples you highlight use the terms "may" and "in some cases", a point I made earlier in the thread.

[Oneeyedvic]

Thank you Kempie - but surely a law graduate would know that?