Threatened with car repossession

robmac110

Hi, have received a letter from my finance company after missing four payments that they are terminating the credit agreement, they want the vehicle plus over three thousand euro to take the payments over the half way point. As I am in arrears I don't have the three grand. Is there any way I can re-negotiate this at this point? If not do I have any other options except handing the car back and have to carry on paying for it?

Dempo1

Tricky one, firstly i am amazed your car was not repossed before now, normally its taken after two months and i know the banks have been very vigorous in taking cars back. Secondly you are under no obligation to pay anything towards the half rule mark. If the bank decide to take the car back, its their tough ****e basically. By doing so they confirm the agreement is ended. They may attempt to chase you but its highly unlikely. Just insure the car is i good nick. Its also important to note, banks can not repossess your car from your Home unless you agree. Bottom line is agree or let them repossess, its unlikely you will hear from them again but be ready, this can take place at any hour of the day or night.

From http://www.itsyourmoney.ie
Can your car be repossessed?

Only in certain circumstances. If you have paid off less than one-third of the hire purchase price, the car finance company can take back the car without taking legal action against you. They can only do this if you broke the terms of the agreement, for example, by missing payments. If you have paid more than one-third of the hire purchase price, a lender cannot repossess the car without taking legal action against you.

Your car cannot be repossessed from your home, regardless of how much money you have paid back.

If your car is repossessed, you will usually have to pay extra costs on top of what you already owe the lender. These costs may include a repossession fee and towing or trace fees, if the finance company had to tow or find the car. Take pictures of the car, inside and out, to confirm the condition of the car so you are not liable for any additional costs if the car gets damaged after your return it. If there are damages to the car, you may want to get the repairs done by your own mechanic before you send it back.

dudara

I'm going to move this to the Motors forum as there has been some good discussion over there recently on car finance and repossessions.

dudara

samhail

Hey - please expand on making sure that the car is in good nick before its sent back.
a mate of mine unfortunately is having his yoke repossessed, and he doesnt intent to touch the thing... there is a squeek from his wheel that he was going to look at but said he wont bother.

Dempo1

Hi there, my point is make sure the vehicle is photographed prior to repossession. It wise to insure there is no damage to the exterior etc has the bank can chase people for repairs to vehicles. The nature of repossessions is such that they are removed and out onto to back of transporters, the repo people don't give a ****e about damage they may cause etc. As far as mechanics are concerned, not a problem. I knew one guy who removed the Battery B4 his car was taken. LOL:)

Finally, its worth warning anyone anticipating repossession to remove all personal belongings and especially disc's, insurance, tax, NCT certs etc. I also know someone who got over €200 in toll charges last year, the repo people obviously decided to take the car for a few spins, after evidence was shown the car was repossessed, the bank had to pay the fines.

chris85

its actually good the bank are looking for the balance to bring it to half paid and then repossess and you would be left with no balance remaining... as they could just take the car and sell it and leave you with the remaining balance after proceeds from the vehicle sale.

Idbatterim

OP could you not sell the car yourself? and pay back a lump sum or use the sum to keep on paying back the loan weekly or monthly? If you leave it to a repossetion company they will probably get a crap price! What car is it? how much was loan for and how much is outstanding?

chris85

Idbatterim wrote: »

OP could you not sell the car yourself? and pay back a lump sum or use the sum to keep on paying back the loan weekly or monthly? If you leave it to a repossetion company they will probably get a crap price! What car is it? how much was loan for and how much is outstanding?

The bank will not let the car be sold, its their property unfortunately. They will throw it into an auction and get a lot less than what its worth.

Dempo1

chris85 wrote: »

its actually good the bank are looking for the balance to bring it to half paid and then repossess and you would be left with no balance remaining... as they could just take the car and sell it and leave you with the remaining balance after proceeds from the vehicle sale.

Hi Chris85.

Firstly there is no such thing as a good bank when it comes to the stage of repossession, clearly the bank have made up there mind. Legally they are required to take legal action in order to repossess the car if you have paid less than a third off the value of the car, in other words the bank are trying to avoid further legal costs and can't just repossess as such.

Reaching the half rule makes sense as it releases you from the agreement, however the crux appears to be you can make up the difference. My advice is to write to the bank surrendering the Vehicle and explaining you are unable to reach the half rule. This will permit the bank to take back the car immediately. OK, they could technically chase you for the balance to reach the half rule but its extremely UN likely in the current climate, if they do, a manageable payment schedule could be reached and the bank would have little choice but to accept. Sadly your credit rating has already been affected by missing one payment, even reaching agreement now will not change this situation.

Dempo1

chris85 wrote: »

The bank will not let the car be sold, its their property unfortunately. They will throw it into an auction and get a lot less than what its worth.

Yes agreed, the car remains the property of the bank and even a €1 outstanding, it remains so.

chris85

Dempo1 wrote: »

Hi Chris85.

Firstly there is no such thing as a good bank when it comes to the stage of repossession, clearly the bank have made up there mind. Legally they are required to take legal action in order to repossess the car if you have paid less than a third off the value of the car, in other words the bank are trying to avoid further legal costs and can't just repossess as such.

Reaching the half rule makes sense as it releases you from the agreement, however the crux appears to be you can make up the difference. My advice is to write to the bank surrendering the Vehicle and explaining you are unable to reach the half rule. This will permit the bank to take back the car immediately. OK, they could technically chase you for the balance to reach the half rule but its extremely UN likely in the current climate, if they do, a manageable payment schedule could be reached and the bank would have little choice but to accept. Sadly your credit rating has already been affected by missing one payment, even reaching agreement now will not change this situation.

the OP has missed four payments. of course the bank have made up their mind. its their car and its not getting paid for by the OP . why should he be able to keep it. They technically need a court order if over third paid but most people consent to give it back so a court order is not usually needed as consent is given.

My point is if its handed back under the half rule as the bank are suggesting to the OP then he will owe less money. If half rule not implemented than the OP will come out a lot worse as will owe more money to them.

The bank will chase him for full balance left on the account and not just to bring it up to half paid. The half rule can not be retro applied as such. it needs to be over half paid at time of giving car back to remove the OP's liability for balance owing on account and its needs to be clearly stated the agreement is being terminated under the half rule.

robmac110

Thanks for all the advice. I have spoken to a few friends and I think I will write to the finance company and see if they will accept a payment plan with a small lump sum upfront. I doubt they will, but it is worth a try, hopefully they will realise that getting something will be better than getting less in an auction. If not I will let them know that I can deliver car to them and explain that I will have to negogiate a new payment plan. The trouble I have is that there is some damage to the car, and it would cost a bit to put right, I do have fully comp insurance, but the excess made it hard to even get that fixed at the time. So looks like I will have a long period of debt and wrecked credit rating. No one but myself to blame, a lesson for anyone else in trouble is to talk to creditors immediatly and not run away from it. Thanks, I will let you know what happens.

chris85

robmac110 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice. I have spoken to a few friends and I think I will write to the finance company and see if they will accept a payment plan with a small lump sum upfront. I doubt they will, but it is worth a try, hopefully they will realise that getting something will be better than getting less in an auction. If not I will let them know that I can deliver car to them and explain that I will have to negogiate a new payment plan. The trouble I have is that there is some damage to the car, and it would cost a bit to put right, I do have fully comp insurance, but the excess made it hard to even get that fixed at the time. So looks like I will have a long period of debt and wrecked credit rating. No one but myself to blame, a lesson for anyone else in trouble is to talk to creditors immediatly and not run away from it. Thanks, I will let you know what happens.

hope it works well for you

robmac110

Hi, just wanted to let you know that the bank replied and will accept the repayment plan. I maybe should have explained that the four missed payments were not consecutive, only two of them were. The other two late payments were paid two weeks after they were due, but they are shown as missed payments on my statement. I also had paid more than a third of the loan. So good news for me. Hope my story helps someone else not get into my trouble to start with.

Henry Ford III

Best wishes to you - keep it going dude. Tough times but hopefully you'll get through them.

MarkN

Dempo1 wrote: »

Hi Chris85.

Sadly your credit rating has already been affected by missing one payment, even reaching agreement now will not change this situation.

Obviously handing a car bank and missing a lot of payments will cause this but I'm fairly sure I missed (by a few days) a payment or two as a student on car loans and this wasn't the case.

Good luck OP.

Was it difficult to get a car loan as a student ? I reckon nowadays it would be a non runner.

MarkN

RoverJames wrote: »

Was it difficult to get a car loan as a student ? I reckon nowadays it would be a non runner.

Had income just not full time income. The late or missing payments is my point though, the rules of what tarnishes your credit rating probably haven't changed. I think they also have a maximum of being on your record for 5 years.

duffbeer2009

any luck with the bank?