So Hermes Leasing are up to their old tricks again. As stated above, they're part of the singer friedlander group, which is part of an icelandic bank which got into difficulties (putting it mildly) last year. Singer runs out of glasgow. The whole organisation is staffed by totally inept people. I mentioned last year a problem with Hermes, and their repo agent in the south, S L Premier Vehicles Ltd. One can only hope that the administrator pulls the plug on this pile of sh*t, and that the office of fair trading get their teeth into S L Premier Vehicles of Cricklade!

As previously mentioned, doorstep collectors have no rights whatsoever to either enter your property or make demands for monies on your doorstep. These individuals are usually employed by finance companies when the companies themselves can no longer collect on their accounts. A company in Cricklade,Wiltshire, S L Premier Vehicles Ltd, is one such company, who I have mentioned before on this site. They are employed by reputable finance companies to collect overdue debts, and for their troubles, charge excessive fees for their services. One day, soon, (we can all hope), dubious operators such as these will be forced out of business, as they are tarnishing even more the already grubby image of finance companies. I have had a serious grudge with S L Premier Vehicles, and in particular the managing director of the company, Peter Oram. Kingston Asset Leasing have at least reacted to my private communications, by parting company with their collections manager, John McBride, at the end of 2008. Anybody who has had dealings with McBride or Oram will know why McBride is no longer at Kingston. Hopefully, the Office of Fair Trading, will deal with Oram accordingly, as he is the worst type of repossession agent/debt collector anybody could come across.

If the agreement was covered by the consumer credit act, which covers all agreements up to £25000 or non limited company agreements (i.e. personal individuals), then if you have paid over 1/2 of the agreement, the vehicle cannot be taken unless you voluntarily agree to the repossession (whereby you would need to sign a voluntary surrender document) or the finance company applies for a delivery up order. There are no other possible means for the vehicle to be taken without your consent, without the finance company breaking the law! As I have previously mentioned in earlier postings, anything goes now days with finance companies, and because of the dealings between finance house collections managers & repo agents, if there is a few quid to be made, then the repo agent will chance his arm. I recently ranted and raved about the collections manager at Kingston Asset Leasing, and understand that he is no longer employed by them, for reasons which we can only assume are to do with his alleged dealings with his preferred repo man in Cricklade, Wiltshire (S L Premier Vehicles). Let me know who the finance house is, and who the repo man is.

Going on from my previous post, here are several asset finance companies which I would like to see go bust this year: HERMES LEASING SINGER & FRIEDLANDER KINGSTON LEASING (ONCE CATTLES FINANCE) CLOSE ASSET FINANCE They repossess only when it suits them! I tried to tell Kingston about their repo agent from Swindon, but was told that I needed more proof!

This news affects those companies/individuals with asset finance agreements with Singer & Friedlander. This company is really struggling, as court appointed administators were appointed at the end of last year to keep the business afloat, as it seems that they have very little money in the bank. Hermes Leasing is part of the same organisation. I know a good few plant hire companies that have been wiped out by these finance companies, as a result of the vermin they use as collection agents. Decent plant & trucks have been repossessed and then sold on for peanuts, with the repo agent controlling the sale of the repossessed asset. Needless to say, it's actually the repo company which buys the asset on the cheap, and then sells it on at a later date for a better price, thus pocketing the difference. Of course, non of this can happen without the cooperation of the finance company's collections manager, but then anybody can be bought if the price is right........I personally had a few machines taken back by Kingston Leasing, even when I was only two payments behind, and was in the process of remortgaging my house. The collections guy at Kingston said he had placed the matter in the hands of his repo men, and it was only them who could decide if the repo could be stopped!!! My machines eventually disappeared off site, and a few days later, the repo man called me and after laughing at me on the phone, told me that he had already sold the machines on behalf of Kingston. I did not even have the chance to buy them back myself. I asked the repo man and even the finance company for the address of the repo company, but the shutters went up, and no information was provided. I think the repo guy runs out of Swindon, but that is as much as I know. I then heard through the grapevine that the collections manager at Kingston is big mates with the repo man, but of course I could not prove it. I tried to tell Close Asset, who own Kingston, but they just treated me like a five year old, and said they needed more proof. So I hope Kingston go bust soon.

Has anyone out there had any dealings with a repo agent called s l premier vehicles. I think they are based near swindon.

Black Horse is just one of many finance companies who rely on what they call "collection agents", which is a polite way of saying "reposession agents". If somebody knocked on my door late at night demanding the keys to a financed car, because I was behind with the payments, they would be told to f**k off in no uncertain terms. If that person then decided to block in the vehicle with their own vehicle, which resulted in a private driveway being blocked, then they would be acting illegaly. Even if your financed vehicle was parked on a public highway, between two other vehicles, the repossession agent would be unable to take the car, unless he had the cooperation of the owners of the other two vehicles. In essence, repo agents ARE NOT court appointed bailiffs, they ARE NOT officers of the law, and therefore they have no right to harass you, step foot on your land without your consent, and certainly cannot threaten you in any way. Most banks, especially now, would be glad to negotiate reduced monthly payments with a debtor, as opposed to relieve them of their vehicle, when considering that the resale value of second hand cars has dropped through the floor. When cars are repossessed, they would normally be sold through an auction, so that the fairest sale price is achieved. However, some finance house collection managers are taking thousands of pounds a year in backhanders, from their repossession agents, by having goods repossessed, selling them on the cheap to the repo agent, and then letting the agent sell the goods for the realistic price, whilst taking a slice of the pie at the end. I would now like to know if anybody has had any dealings with Kingston Asset Finance of Hesslewood, Hull or a repossession agent known as S L Premier Vehicles, who operate from just outside of Swindon.