Men come to collect car -urgent help needed!

[wannabedebtfreesoon]

Thanks everyone, the moment I read that person's reply I thought it was an 'employee' of some discription. So obvious.

 

What is the position of cars parked on shop car parks? The repo man mentioned he could simply come to where I work to collect if it he wanted? I have read that this is a grey area?

It is difficult to say without knowing if your agreement is regulated or not.

 

With a regulated agreement, under Section 92 of the Act, the lender is not entitled to enter ANY premises to retake goods. i.e. they can ONLY take it if it is on a public highway.

 

With unregulated agreements the only law that applies is Tort of Trespass, which relates to Civil law. They are not permitted to enter private land without the owner's permission. They can, however, enter a premises where there is a public right of way.

[bierespeciale]

wannabedebtsoon, you are not reading the thread properly, I told you I am in no way connected with Mercedes clearly you dont believe this, also if you read what I said You will see its only in unregulated cases where mercedes have repo rights after 7 days is the case, its sounds like this gentleman has a regulated agreement in which case he can go to court if he wants- but he is saying he doesnt have the time to do this? Also by his own admittance he hasnt paid any thing at all lately. Please make more efficient use of this website instead of offering ramblings. Maverick any thoughts on this?

[bierespeciale]

tm you may find this website helpful-

 

dont pushme you never said what you were being overcharged for?

Legal Issues Explained - Car Repossession

Popular questions on the area of hire purchase car repossession.:-

 

1. When can a hire purchase company repossess my vehicle?
   If you have paid less than one third of the total payments and the vehicle is parked on public ground then a hire purchase company has the legal power to repossess your vehicle without going through the lengthy procedure of obtaining a court order.
   
2. How can I reduce the risk of repossession?
   Please note that they cannot reposess the vehicle if the car is in your drive or on a third parties property. They CAN take it if it is in the road.
   PLEASE NOTE that many people try and trick the car bailiffs by parking the car in the next road……Please note that this a common mistake as the bailiffs always check the surrounding roads and side streets for the vehicle.
   
3. Does the finance company need to take me to court to get my vehicle?
   The only time that court action will precede car repossession is after you have paid one third of the total payments.
   
4. Will they just take my car without telling me?
   No, you will always be given a a pre-possession order. So make sure you open all your post. The pre-possession notice will allow you at least 15 days to make arrangements to avoid car repossession.
   
5. I have had a change in circumstances and do not need the vehicle. What shall I do?
   The rules and regulations regarding handing back your vehicle depend on how long you have had the car for.
    
   The general rule is that if you have paid more than half of the total amount outstanding then just give the vehicle back and there can be no legal comeback for you or your family.
    
   Always read the terms and conditions of the hire purchase agreement as we have noticed they can somewhat vary.
    
   Always read the small print. Remember theses contracts are drawn up by clever and cunning solicitors who want to make it as difficult as possible for you to cancel the finance contact.
   
6. I have only had the car for 3 weeks and I have just lost my job, What can I do?
   You may be forced to pay expensive early redemption penalies if you want to hand the vehicle back. This amount can vary but the general pattern of what you are made to pay is difference between the payments already made and half the original price of the goods. In addition there may be various administration fees to pay.
   

[bierespeciale]

please Note The Above Info Applies To Agreements Regulated By The Consumer Credit Act- If Your Agreement Is Unregulated, The Finance Provider Has To Send You A Default/pre Termination Notice Giving You 7 Days To Pay. I Can Assure If You Have This Type Of Agreement And Dont Pay- They Do Have Repossession Rights. This Normally Refers To Vehicles Were The Amount Financed Exceeded 25k

[bierespeciale]

:)Your lender has the right to take back the goods if you don't keep up your repayments. You'll be sent a notice first, giving you the chance to put things right. But you will have to act quickly - within seven days.

[wannabedebtfreesoon]

wannabedebtsoon, you are not reading the thread properly, I told you I am in no way connected with Mercedes clearly you dont believe this, also if you read what I said You will see its only in unregulated cases where mercedes have repo rights after 7 days is the case, its sounds like this gentleman has a regulated agreement in which case he can go to court if he wants- but he is saying he doesnt have the time to do this? Also by his own admittance he hasnt paid any thing at all lately. Please make more efficient use of this website instead of offering ramblings. Maverick any thoughts on this?

I am perfectly capable of reading thank you. You will notice that I posted that message last night before you reliably informed me that you are unconnected with Mercedes this morning. Unfortunately I am unable to see where you said anything about "7 days", (I've quoted your post below), or the part where the OP said he didn't have time to go to court, so please don't accuse me of not reading anything properly. Also by his own ADMISSION he said he had been proactive in offering to pay as much as he could but the "helpful bunch" refused to negotiate and were "totally unreasonable".

 

If its anglia you are talking about you need to be paying them whatever you can. If you havnt paid them anything tonight and they are talking about closing the file and If you dont make any payment then as soon as anglia close the file it will be passed over for a court order if you have a regulated agreement. If you dont ,expect to lose your car by the weekend. The collections people at mercedes are quite a helpful bunch- but obv if you havnt paid anything at all since you had that last conv with them then it looks detrimental. they have a new 24/7 card payment line where you can ring merc finance on there normal collections number and make a payment without having to speak to anyone. The courts expect a darn good reason for providing a stay order- normally that you have been making payments of whatever you can in the meantime regardless.

 

My sincerest apologies if I misunderstood your post, I found it very difficult to understand, given the grammar issues. It appears you are saying that if the OP doesn't make a payment he will lose his car by the weekend, but after extensive re-examining I can now see that you are trying to say that if he has an unregulated agreement he will lose his car by the weekend. Again, my apologies.

 

Hi All,

 

Like quite a few people I have struggled due to reduced hours & pay over the past year, which mean't I have struggled with car payments.

 

I have been pro-active and spoke to the finance people and said I can still pay most of the money each month but not it all. I have suggested paying over a longer period but basically no joy, I was told to pay up or they will put a debt collector on me. After being told in no uncertain terms they will not negotiate (I must have sounded like terrorist!) I said fine, pass it to a debt collector and maybe I can negotiate with them as they were being totally unreasonable.

 

I am 3 payments behind and I could have paid some of that but they insisted on the full amount so I paid nothing!

 

Out of the blue, no letter, a man turns up at the house to reposses but thankfully I was out. He then went to my neighboura asking questions to my whereabouts.

 

Long story short what are my rights here if any? I have not paid a third yet which a believe is important?

 

Also, If the car goes back I will get clobbered with a large bill still as I understand they just sell the car at auction for whatever and I will be billed for any difference which would probably be for several thousand.

 

My partner is very worried so anything I can do to put her mind at rest a bit would help if they return and I am not home.

 

I'll thank you that I make very efficient use of this website and I don't expect you will get any support in your suggestion that I "offer ramblings"!!

 

You are very new to CAG and have made your first posts by telling people to pay up, without examining any documents or going through the particular circumstances in detail. This will do nothing for any credibility you may be trying to achieve and will only make you look like you are connected with "The Other Side".

 

I notice your first few posts are all on Mercedes threads, if you have had a personal experience with Mercedes collections department maybe you'd like to start your own thread and share your experiences with the rest of cag.

[bierespeciale]

I note your issues are with Welcome finance- sub prime is a completley different kettle of fish espc given the legal action cattles have gone through - Mercedes do things a bit differently I gather, they dont want the bad publicity or a disatrous cock up:p

[bierespeciale]

sticky keybopard too much bier spilt on it oohhh sorry!!!!!

[wannabedebtfreesoon]

I note your issues are with Welcome finance- sub prime is a completley different kettle of fish espc given the legal action cattles have gone through - Mercedes do things a bit differently I gather, they dont want the bad publicity or a disatrous cock up:p

My issues are with any lender that bullies and lies to people in order to frighten them in to paying money that they can't afford. Well judging by all the Mercedes threads on CAG I would say it's a bit late to worry about bad publicity now. If lenders don't want the bad publicity then maybe they should stick to the rules and treat their customers with a degree of fairness, humanity and respect. I've got no sympathy for them, sorry.

[bierespeciale]

Yeah sure, i have had issues with them only in as much s them asking for what is owed, but compared to welcome they do things by the book trust me I have dealing with both these companies, welcome dont give a monkeys toss, anyone acting on behalf of Mercedes know of the repocussions involved if they break the law. I couldnt actually see a great deal of valid complaint info about mercs on this website only people slagging them off because they owe money, trying to complain about things on there cars which were specific across the range of the type of car they were buying which lets face it is counter- productive. What do they expect? refund there money- give them the same car brand new built exactly the same or withdraw the range? nonsense. This guy is different he knows he is 3 down- anglia were on the case and have given up- if its regulated and he has paid less than a third then the car can be repod without going to court anytime now- unless its on his drive and not on the road. if its hidden and he doesnt surrender it mercedes are within there rights to report it as stolen as its THEIR CAR. i do sympathise, but i think the whole thing needs to be looked at from both sides- this us against them thing is rubbish because it doesnt solve anything- pls remember they are humans as well you know and if you calm down and dont get angry with what they tell you- this approach will always work best- ultimately dont forget its still there car- how would you feel if you sold it to someone who paid you back in installments?

[bierespeciale]

It shoulr also be pointed out any modifacation to a mercedes finance agreeement in order for mercs to accept a reduced payment means a new agreement- this means it is subject to credit check- the same as a new account- if it is turned down this would be because of credit history- visit

commercail link removed and select support with financial difficulties:-D

[the_maverick]

Thanks everyone for your imput. The lively debate means people care so thank you sincerely.

 

Just to bring everyone upto speed this is what has happened so far as along the way it seems to have got muddled up.

 

During the height of the recession I contacted Mercedes and explained by difficulties. They agreed to reduce to payments temporarily and that was maintained 100%.

 

At the end of the arrangement the payments went up even higher to make up for the reduced payments. I tried to pay the higher amount each month but missed one every 3. Now I am 3 months behind at present.

 

I have contacted Mercedes twice before and offered £400 a month, and for the contract terms to be extended. Twice they declined.

 

This morning I have contacted them again offering £548 a month, as long as they put the arrears back until Jan (where I have a lump sum due to me so I am be able to bring the account upto date. They said they would consider it, but can't until the account is 'back' to them from the repo man. No guarantees though.

 

I do not believe this can be classed as token payments and they would get the 'full' amount back, just over a slightly longer period. So I am showing a genuine effort to repay in full should it go to court.

 

The £548 offer would be a push for me I admit and would like to pay less if I could. I have also realised I cannot locate my original agreement. I do not expect any problems with a Mercedes agreement but I should request a copy nonetheless.

 

They have asked for me to put my offer in writing, but naturally the repo men only get paid 'if' they recover the car so won't go away easily.

 

I would appreicate any advice and help on where to go next, and to form a letter in response. Are there are any templates on here?

 

NO chance of them snatching the car though, never left on the roadside!!

[mikeyboy911]

My first post- a Question, since I am in a similar situation to wannabe re using the Police to repo my car off my drive. having sent no DN and a notice of termination from 5 days ago which has also never been received;

 

With an Unregulated (>£25k in 2006), can the repo man take the car off my drive if I have refused him permission to enter my drive/property?

 

Sorry if this is a hijack, just trying to find out if I should keep fighting...

[the_maverick]

Must admit that would be good for me to know as well so ask away!

[wannabedebtfreesoon]

My first post- a Question, since I am in a similar situation to wannabe re using the Police to repo my car off my drive. having sent no DN and a notice of termination from 5 days ago which has also never been received;

 

With an Unregulated (>£25k in 2006), can the repo man take the car off my drive if I have refused him permission to enter my drive/property?

 

Sorry if this is a hijack, just trying to find out if I should keep fighting...

Nobody can legally come on to your property if you don't want them to. There are laws of trespass in this country that are actually very strict, but not criminal! Trespass laws are "Tort" which means that they are Civil not Criminal, i.e. the Police have no power to prosecute.

 

The correct procedure would be for the Creditor to employ a legal process known as Replevin whereby a court order is obtained for the return of the vehicle and then a Warrant of Execution is applied for and THEN a County Court Bailiff executes the warrant and removes the vehicle.

 

Average Joe Repo man is NOT legally allowed on your property without your express permission.

 

It's good that the Police were present, I've used that as a major part of my claim as they are very credible witnesses

[wannabedebtfreesoon]

Thanks everyone for your imput. The lively debate means people care so thank you sincerely.

 

Just to bring everyone upto speed this is what has happened so far as along the way it seems to have got muddled up.

 

During the height of the recession I contacted Mercedes and explained by difficulties. They agreed to reduce to payments temporarily and that was maintained 100%.

 

At the end of the arrangement the payments went up even higher to make up for the reduced payments. I tried to pay the higher amount each month but missed one every 3. Now I am 3 months behind at present.

 

I have contacted Mercedes twice before and offered £400 a month, and for the contract terms to be extended. Twice they declined.

 

This morning I have contacted them again offering £548 a month, as long as they put the arrears back until Jan (where I have a lump sum due to me so I am be able to bring the account upto date. They said they would consider it, but can't until the account is 'back' to them from the repo man. No guarantees though.

 

I do not believe this can be classed as token payments and they would get the 'full' amount back, just over a slightly longer period. So I am showing a genuine effort to repay in full should it go to court.

 

The £548 offer would be a push for me I admit and would like to pay less if I could. I have also realised I cannot locate my original agreement. I do not expect any problems with a Mercedes agreement but I should request a copy nonetheless.

 

They have asked for me to put my offer in writing, but naturally the repo men only get paid 'if' they recover the car so won't go away easily.

 

I would appreicate any advice and help on where to go next, and to form a letter in response. Are there are any templates on here?

 

NO chance of them snatching the car though, never left on the roadside!!

It's not that there would be anything wrong with your agreement but we really need to know if it is regulated or not so as to establish which rules apply. If it is regulated you will have a lot more protection and rights

 

If I were you I would write to them making an offer that you are going to be able to afford and maintain and ask them to respond in writing. Also adding that the car is parked on your private property and therefore a court order would be required to remove it without your permission. At any court hearing that may ensue you will ask the court for time to pay and make them aware that you have been trying to negotiate with the creditor but they have declined.

[mikeyboy911]

Nobody can legally come on to your property if you don't want them to. There are laws of trespass in this country that are actually very strict, but not criminal! Trespass laws are "Tort" which means that they are Civil not Criminal, i.e. the Police have no power to prosecute.

 

The correct procedure would be for the Creditor to employ a legal process known as Replevin whereby a court order is obtained for the return of the vehicle and then a Warrant of Execution is applied for and THEN a County Court Bailiff executes the warrant and removes the vehicle.

 

Average Joe Repo man is NOT legally allowed on your property without your express permission.

 

It's good that the Police were present, I've used that as a major part of my claim as they are very credible witnesses

 

Thanks for your support (and to the OP for allowing the hijack)

 

A couple of days reading the posts certainly concentrates the mind! Thanks to yours and a few others' deternination, I reckon it's time to fight back!

 

I Just discovered the chain of events is more bizarre than I first thought- they wrote to me saying the final payment was due on the 30/6/2010, and repo'd the car by the 21st July, having claimed that they sent a termination notice on 16th July

 

That's gotta be some kind of record....

 

I'll start my own thread so as not to clutter, time for bed now though

[the_maverick]

Just faxed and posted a letter to Mercedes regarding the issues above so will keep you posted of there reply.

 

Although I was not sure what CCA or SAR request to use in this instance.

 

I read up on another members Mercedes situation last night and as my car was over £25k I would assume the agreement is not regulated (whatever that means...)

 

I was also surpirsed to read up on his horror story of them taking the car of private property & the huge debt they are still claiming he owes.

 

Not quite the nice friendly, easy procedure that the repo man told me it would be....and that specialbiere claims!

[the_maverick]

THEY HAVE TURNED UP TO TAKE THE CAR AT MY WORK!!!!

 

I have refused permission (and the car is parked on privately owned property) yet they are claiming that it will be taken away on a vehicle.

 

What should I do?

[the_maverick]

He also threatened that if I do not give him the key it will cost me £2000 for repairing the locks when they break in!!

[the_maverick]

Talk about running commentary. They have just clamped it. Can that be done on private property?

[the_maverick]

Ok, the car is gone. In a funny sort of way I am relieved, not the end of the world...worse things happen at sea and all that!

 

Whilst I admit circumstances were arguably my responsibility (although I did not cause the recession!) I am unhappy in the manner and the way they dealt with this. I was open and tried to make payments.

 

And when I guy just walks into your business and says quite loud so others can hear 'I am here to ruin your day!' it makes me even more determined to fight back where I can!

 

But not sure where to start.

 

Car was taken off private land (not sure he realised that though?) and he was flatly refused permission. I have my keys, log book etc. Just before he left he came in and asked again for me to sign paperwork to say it was ok but obviously I refused. He then left a receipt writing on it that I refused to sign, and a copy of a fax sent to them this morning from Mercedes telling them to take the car.

 

The fax was sent at 9.45 this morning, 30 mins after I faxed them my letter. Coincidence? Never!

[William415]

I have just finished reading this entire thread with interest. I am no expert, but it appears to me that they have broken the law by taking the car from private property (assuming a regulated agreement).

 

Sorry to hear about this horror story ... keep us posted on how things develop.

 

W

[rcl]

I would sit and wait for the original agreement to turn up

 

Have you a copy of the default notice you received ?

 

Did you receive the termination notice ?

 

Is there anything about the default on your credit file ?

 

I 'think' that if land belongs to a business, then it is classed as public property, regardless of it being privately owned. As there is a business run from the premises, it means joe Public have a right to be on the land, and therefore section 92 doesnt apply.

 

Happy to be shown the error of my ways if this is incorrect tho x

[rcl]

I cant find anything on the web that says a car can or cannot be repo'd from business premises. From my own experience, my car was repo'd from my driveway at home. The lender said, in court papers, that they were entitled to do this as I was running a business from home, and a solicitor verfied that the lender was entitled to do this,

 

 

If a car is parked on business premises, then the business is inviting joe public on to private land, including repo men

 

From my own claim, I then said that there was no business being run from my home, and the repo was unlawful, against Section 92 of the CCA. and the finance company said the burden of proof was on me to provide evidence that there was no business run from the property (which was easy to prove)

 

However, if your agreement is over 25K and not regulated by the CCA, i think it may be irrelevant either way.