Log Book Loans

[Gonnagetem]

A little bit of advise needed especially if someone else had had this problem. I took a loan with Log Book Loans in December 2006 for £800, and made the payments for around 6 weeks but was unfortunately made redundant, not something i could have forseen!! i wrote immediately to Log Book Loans who in short did not basically give a monkeys, I advised them that they had better come and get the car then as there was no way I could afford the payments.

 

The car was collected some 5 weeks later allowing their charges etc to accrue on the account. The car was valued at approximately 2,000, I am unsure what they received for it after selling it but have heard nothing more from them until today when I have received a letter from Intrum Justitia saying I owe them a further £761.66.

 

Now I think that this is a bit excessive as the loan was like I say only for approx 11 weeks before they took possession of the vehicle and they will have got at least around £1,500 in the event of any sale. Anyway after all that rambling my question is whta letter do I send requesting details of payments made what they sold teh car for and their charges??

 

Any advise from anyone else welcome

[buzby]

Because you effectively defaulted on the loan, you've lost the moral high ground but that said, you need to ensure you're not paying more than you have to. If you've not had a letter from LBL outlining the termination of the agreement and the costs associated with it, you want a breakdown of is before arranging to repay it. If they've simply passed the debt onto IJ, then that's not on - so tell IJ that the debt is disputed, and refer the matter back to LBL.

[Gonnagetem]

Thanks Busby I will do that and see what they send back to me, how would I know whether their fees are fair? And whether they have already had enough money from me and the sale of my car?

[buzby]

You'll probably find the details are in the fine print of your contract - under the section covering what they will do in the event of a breach or an early termination. This should spell out their proceedure, and how it will affect you. From what I've heard, they're not too hot on giving chapter and verse, but they do have a duty to be up-front and ensure what fees they charge are 'reasonable', If not, you can challenge them, but this may mean you either complaining to the FSA or taking them to court to see satisfaction.

 

Expect them to charge the ongoing interest on the loan until the car was sold, the credit of whatever amount they received from the auction, plus the auction costs, that of transporting the vehicle to the point of sale. The amount you've paid to date is then taken off and the final figure arrived at. They then will either pursue you for this, or sell on the debt to a collection agency. You can be sure they will have ensured there will be more to it than just what you paid and the car back, depreciation takes its toll, and with Auctions been a place to pick up a 'bargain' the chances of you getting a good price for your vehicle are pretty slim - it's always better to get permission to sell, dispose of it privately and then pay them off.

[Fleeced73]

Their fees are not fair and not strictly legal. LBL cars don't always go to auction and they're not interested in getting a good price.

There's a reason why LBL are paying off people that challenge their dubious practices, and it's the same reason that a massive group action against LBL is currently heading to trial

[buzby]

If the vehicle HASN'T gone to public auction, they are in a very weak position as they must show that the price obtained was 'fair'. Flogging it so someone on a nod and a wink makes this impossible, and allows the former customer to challenge them, and perhaps set their own 'reasonable' price for the value of the item. It means more work, but could ultimately be successful.

[JonCris]

Buzby if the OP was dealing with any other firm I would agree with you but as they aren’t I’m afraid I have to differ.

The OP signed a Bill of Sale at the outset of the loan. This immediately passed title to LBL., then unlike a Pawn Broker LBL allowed the customer to retain use of the car.

The situation is that as long as the BoS was registered at the High Court within 7 days of completion then LBL can & often do, recover the vehicle at any time if the customer breaches the agreement in any way. One of their alleged practices it to wait until a substantial sum has been paid then if the customer is in default to recover the vehicle & allow the recovery agents to dispose of it – sometimes on eBay

That’s the bad news - now the good news & that is that LBL are currently being taken to task over their agreements & tactics in what I understand is a publicly funded group action & should the OP want details they should PM me

[buzby]

I don't doubt what they do, but just like HP (where ownership remains with the HO Co until the final payment) LBL are doing nothing new. And when the deal goes pear-shaped, they cannot say, the car was sold for 1p, you now owe us £XX,XXX! The amount obtained for the car has to be fair, and the punter can challenge any less-than-realistic non-trade valuation. The possibility of LBL defrauding the customer would be high, so they would be stupid if they didn't protect themselves from the possible accusation!

[JonCris]

buzby most of us know what should happen but what I'm saying is it won't matter.

 

It's alleged, by some, that the OP is not dealing with a company that follows the rules only their own

 

Search this forum for other threads involving LBL & you'll see what I mean

[buzby]

Oh I know, they only deal with sub-prime customers and ride roughshod as well as cut corners. I'm not fort one minute expecting them to play by the rules - which is why our OP is being so disadvantaged.

[Fleeced73]

They are milking one of the oft-overlooked benefits of 'sub-prime' customers - their inability to afford civil action. And (of course) knowing full well that the police will dismiss any action as a 'civil matter'! It's not so much the market they covert or being a little 'unfair', we're talking about illegal paperwork, mis-sold loans and recovery of cars worth much much more than the alleged debt (and certainly much more than the amount borrowed) WHEN (more than not) the amount borrowed had been paid back several times over and the sole reason for repo is extortionate and dubious 'penalty charges'

We've all read the horror stories that reach these pages but how many unfortunates just let it all happen and are never heard from?

[Fleeced73]

'Lenders took double money AND the car' - Sunday Mirror

[buzby]

The only place I have seen LBL in a retail environment are PoS material within Cash Converters stores, anyone know if they are related?

[Fleeced73]

Their ties with Cash Converters are very strong and most LBL agents list their 'registered address' as the same as a Cash Converters when completing loan paperwork