Hire purchase debt - please help!

[pembsdai1]

Hi all,

 

My brother bought a car on hire purchase 5 years ago for £7k, unfortunately after he had a few problems it was repossed a year and half later. Since then he has been sporadically made payments to different debt collectors chasing him but he has told me the debt is still more than £6k.

 

I know for a fact that he paid more than £1k to the original hire purchase company and since it was repossed he has paid almost £2k to debt collectors. How can they be chasing more than £6k?!!

 

I've looked through all his documents and he has nothing relating to it apart from a couple of chasing letters from debt collectors. To help him, I want to go back to the beginning and try and get hold of the Hire Purchase agreement - to do this, do I need to write to the original company or the debt collector? What letter should I use, is it SAR letter with a £10 fee? If they are unable to provide a copy of the agreement does that mean they are unable to enforce the debt?

 

I really want to help my brother get this off his back and I can't see how it can be fair that the debt is only a few hudred pound cheaper, considering all that he has paid and they must have received a few thousand for selling the car.

 

Therefore I would be greatful for any help at all.

 

Thanks,

Dai

[lookinforinfo]

Dai, unfortunately hire purchase agreements are a total rip off for the

borrower. It is far better to take out a general loan where you own the car from the start and are then free to sell it when problems arise.

But with these hp agreements, even though the agreement is terminated

several tears early, the borrower is still forced to pay back the loan as if it

had run its full course, interest and all. The only saving grace is when you

have paid at least a third off the car, which your brother would not have done when it was repossessed.

 

So yes, your first step is to send an sar to the original hp company. From

them you should get a breakdown of how much your brother paid off plus

the original cost of the loan, how much the car was sold for, how much has

been received in payments since from your brother and how much is outstanding. I am assuming that they still own the debt.

 

You mentioned not producing a copy of the agreement. This is a different

request and a different Act and you would send it to the present owner of the debt. and you should find if the hp company have sold on the debt from

the sar.

If the hp company still have the debt, it would be unlikely that they would

not have the original agreement.

[pembsdai1]

Thanks for that.

 

The debt has been sold to a company called DLC i think, my brother is currently paying around £50 a month to them.

 

What letter should i send to them, is it the one under section 77-78 of consumer credit act 1974? and should i send to the new owners of the debt or the original hp company -who I know have changed names at least twice since 2001.

[lookinforinfo]

Dai you send the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) [with £10 fee] to the original hp company and a CCA

[with £1 fee] to DLC, also known as Direct Legal & Collections and Hillesden

Securites Ltd out of Brackley in Northamptonshire.[And it is under the last name that they are registered with the Information Commissioners Office]

The S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) letter is located on the first page of the forum under FAQs-then

go to the step by step guide [might be an idea for your brother to read the

section since it explains the principles behind the claim that certain bank

charges are unlawful-but the same principle applies to all contracts-even for

cars on hp- so he might be able to get some money back that way if DLC don't mess up.

 

The CCA letter can be found in the general debt section-first page-the last

thread in the "sticky" subsection. You want letter N. Allowing two days for the mailing, DLC then have 12 working days to return the copy of the original

agreement signed by your brother and co signed by the hp company. If the

agreement refers to any other document as being part of the contract, then that document must be included, along with a signed statement from DLC

outlining the number of payments paid and the number mised, and how many

are outastanding. and since he has a payment plan, a list of the due dates for th eoutstanding balance. Until all that is received by him, the account is in dispute and your brother cannot be chased for the debt.

If the agreement is not received by the twelfth working day, they are in default. If after a further month without compliance, then they have committed an offence, and they will need a Court order before they can commence collecting the debt.

 

If they are late in sending him the paperwork, do not chase them since the longer they take, the better it is for your brother

.