This is a major tactic they use, they wait for any excuse to take your car and refuse to offer payment arrangements or any real explination what is going on. In my case they lied about the repayments before I even took the loan so I was never ever going to be able to pay them, they just had to sit back and wait. They have no procedures or customer service, from the moment you take out the loan they make everything difficult, they don't care less wether you pay or not, as far as they are concerned they own the car from the minute you sign up, so why bother trying to keep you happy?? Plenty of other people to sign up, you have lost your car, not like you are going to go back to them for a loan when you don't have a car!!. Nobody I have spoken too has ever tried to get out of paying what they borrowed, they come accross all high and mighty saying 'we gave you money and we are taking what is ours' but their service is aimed totally at vunrable people who have had difficulties in the past and they are just taking advantage of other peoples misfortune and making huge profits in the process.

Yeah I did an HPI check and it showed car being assigned its original number plate, was not suprised to see it was after they said it was sold at auction, but I only have their word that it was sold at auction, never had any proof it was, I have asked them for proof many times. My case is on here under 'logbook loans - can anyone help???' Was closed because moderators for totally wrong reasons which upset me alot and I have not posted for a while. Nellie

Hi Oz Extra thanks for your kind words of support, means alot to know there are people on my side Hugs Nellie xx

Thanks alot guys Yeah I found out about numberplate situation quite early on and was a huge shock and took alot to get over. I pleaded with LBL to give it back to me, at first they said they might do then just refused. I explained what the plate meant to me personally and they just said it did not make any difference and basically told me to get lost. It would not have made any difference to them to assign the old number plate or give me time to put it on retention. Now the thing that puzzles me is they say they sold car at auction (for half its value) and they had no financial interest in it and it went with the car at auction. If this is true they basically gave away the number plate free with the car, its very rare and stands out a mile, quick valuation would prove its worth at least £25k (plus I told them this). So why would the car go for such a low price at auction?? Anyone in their right minds would know the plate was worth alot so wouldn't the bids keep going?? Then it turns up for sale for £27,500 on the internet (very well known firm). So in short the car was taken by CAR balliffs, by CAR finance company, sold at a CAR auction and all these people dealing with cars everyday didn't notice it had a valueble number plate, Joe bloggs just came along and got a bargain car with a free number plate????? Any Ideas??!!! Nellie xx

Hi Alex, yes I can relate to Balliffs on power trips! Thanks for support, Going through courts is a slow process but I can honestly say I can't wait to get them in front of that judge

Hi Barbs Yeah too right, I am over the moon they are taking an interest, this company need to be exposed for what they are Are you going to ring too? Nellie x

Hi Alex So sorry to hear you lost your car that meant alot to you, I can relate to that completely, mine did too - mainly my number plate, so I know how you feel They really don't care about that they just care about money. I will write to OFT quoting the reference you gave - thanks for that We will get em I lived in Scotland for most of my life - I thought balliffs where illegal there??? Which part of Scotland are you from? I will keep eye out for your capri and tow it up to you!! Kind Regards Nellie xx

Hi Barbs Its not in my contract but I don't think its normally in contracts although I could be wrong? I know they don't want you to know that info though but I am not very clued up on it as i have never had normal car finance so not sure if it should be in the contracts - in other words I am useless and don't know anything:D !! lbl did say it wouldnt apply to logbook loans contracts though kind regards Nellie

Hi lbl and huge welcome to the site! Its great you have taken the time to help others here, the misery caused by this company is so sad and I am soooo happy that awareness is growing about them. As you may have read, my experience of this company has been devistating on the lives of myself and my family. When they took my car after a long battle with them I lost everything, I couldn't work as I was self employed, my business went under, my house was repossessed and I then had a baby followed by a full mental breakdown, causing heartbreak for my children and family. My loan with them was for £9k and they took my car worth £30k and my private numberplate. They say they sold car and numberplate for £14k and they said I owed them £16k for loan and interest so they say I still owe them 3k!!. Whoever bought my car has now taken my numberplate off the car and are selling it online for £27,500 even though they paid nothing for it. So in short I lost a car and numberplate worth nearly £60k for a £9k loan. I have never received proof the car was sold at auction and find it hard to believe it was, there would have been a stampede as my numberplate was very rare and clearly worth alot of money. I did ask for it back after they took my car, they said tough it was theirs. This is just spite in my opnion as I told them the plate meant alot to me (bought by my husband who I lost in an accident) and was an investment for my children, they couldn't care less. I have found out alot of things since and I am preparing my court case with my solicitor. I can't go into much details about my case because I know they watch this forum but look forward to telling all about everything as soon as I WIN my case against them!!! I found what you said about people signing the bill of sale without knowing very interesting. Its the most frightning part of how this all works. I know for a fact there was no explination of the agreement and it was not mentioned at all and I have a witness to this, don't recall signing it at all. Have you seen the bill of sale agreements they use? They are not official looking documents at all and made up very similar to their other agreements (i.e don't stand out or written in clear understanding terms). Its ditsturbing that this very unofficial looking agreement is then registered with Royal Courts of Justice which is very official. I don't think anyone in their right minds would sign such a document if its implications were explained and meant lbl owned the car. The way I think this company works is they give loans to anybody regardless of income, credit rating or ability to pay and this bill of sale gives them the power to do whatever they like. They have no customer service to speak of, pounce on you if you miss just one payment and offer no help or affordable arrangements to pay any arrears or they offer further loans making matters worse pilling charges on all the time. They make it so difficult to pay that in most cases the car is then taken and never seen again. They say they sell cars at auction but no proof is given and they are always 'sold' for much less then they are worth. The main point is that as soon as you sign the bill of sale (that you are not aware of signing) they don't care how you conduct your account and will take car at first opertunity and sell it for their own profit leaving people with nothing but upset anger and frustration after losing a major asset that can never be replaced. My own experience was slightly different in that I was in a major dispute with my repayment amounts but they wouldn't listen and didn't care less, they took the car and laughed in my face. They have found a very clever [problem] but i does have major flaws (again i can't go into this which is annoying but will damage my case) but with majority being in financial hardship prior to going to them for 'help' they know how hard it is to get the right legal advice and funding they need to fight back. Once again welcome to the site! Kind Regards Nellie xx

Good on you Barbs! You will find Trading Standards a little slow on the uptake in my experience, this is mainly because this type of company is quite new to them and its only now that things are coming to light about this company. Great you have reported them, the more of us that do will help bring them into the spotlight where they belong. Problem with this type of company is they think the [problem] is flawless as most people who deal with them are embarressed to even have used their services (I know I am) and don't normally have the money to pursue them in court. Their agreements that they rely on are totally laughable legally and need to be challenged by all of us. My day in court is coming then I can post the facts about how this company has conned thousands of pounds from innocent people who went to them for help. When you go to C.A.B you need to mention that the agreements are unenforcable and can be challenged under so many pionts, one route you can go down is unfair terms in contracts act. It would be helpfull if you could get a solicitor who deals in consumer law to look them over for you, most have free hourly appointments and they can help you start a court case against them Hang in there and let us know how things go!!

Did you sign or did they say you signed a Bill of Sale?

Hi Matt They can't LEGALLY take it but they will claim they own the car through the Bill of Sale agreement, take it they say you signed one of these? This is the main problem, because they claim ownership from the moment you signed up with them they don't really care how you conduct your account and will take the car at the first opertunity - this is how they make their money, I know LBL have a very busy repossession department:rolleyes: As we all know, the agreements they use are unenforcable for many reasons but they are slippery fish and bank on people not knowing their rights and having little legal knowledge. But in front of a judge they stand no chance and urge anyone who has had dealings with these people to hang in there, its only a matter of time untill they are brought to justice.

Hi Nelly75 How strange we have the same sign on name and I am taking on BoS too!! I have 2 accounts with them, one I have had since I left school 15 years ago and a business account I opened 3 years ago. Thought I would tackle the business account first as I thought it would be easier being less time. Just got my copy statements and I have 92 charges of £35 since I opened it, was so shocked, didn't know it was that bad even though I have had bad money problems. Works out at over £3000 and I can't wait to get it back! I am about to move onto next stage of getting my money back, bit confused about the spreadsheet bit but I am blonde after all!! Let me know how you get on Kind Regards Nellie xx

yes do so asap good luck x

I am completely stunned and appalled that anybody can support any more power being given to balliffs, the 'whistleblower' programme was a perfect example of what they are capable of without the legal power. I am sorry Blacksheep but all you are demostrating is the attitude of somebody that does not live in the real world and has not experienced how cruel life can be. I can only speak from my own experience which led to a life of debt and despair. Not to go too much into it but my partner was killed in an accident, I was 24 and 7 months pregnant with our first child, shortly followed a full mental breakdown due to grief and debt. I don't think I fit into either of your 'boxes' of 'can't' or 'won't' pay, it was more a case of I didn't care about anything apart from making it through each day for the sake of my new baby. The fact is that there is a reason for everything and I don't think anyone would choose to have constent letters, phonecalls and visits from balliffs. How can you say you are only supporting brutal treatment to those who won't pay rather than those that won't, short of making each debter declare their motives under a lie detector test who knows why the debts are not being paid!! No DCA are going to waste time deciding why either and lets be honest they couldn't care less. I was particularly disgusted at your comment that this new law would stop people hiding themselves away. Everybody has the right to feel safe in their own homes, if somebody breaks into your house you call the police, to think somebody could legally break in with the police in tow sends a shiver down my spine. I don't know one person who would just sit there and allow it to happen especially with children in the house. There will be blood loss and lives lost if this goes ahead - its that simple. I also want to say that without members like JonCris I would not be writing this, after building my life up again my mental illness returned and I have lost everything again and facing huge debt, he has helped me so much. Its the attitude of members like blacksheep that cause people to hide away from debt, is it right that these people are hunted down like a fox with no way of escape???