[Paul Evans]

Bought a van off flea bay £2000, spent about £500 doing it up,

Got a knock on the door this morning 7am vehicle recovery men. The Ba****d i bought it off had taken a loan out against the van.
So they took it away. Is there anything i can do about this.

I posted in this section because this is where i normally contribute most

ped off Paul

[Pristine Clean]

Hi Paul,

Sorry to hear your predicament.

You should have checked to see if the van had outstanding finance before parting with monies.

Also the person selling the van has "By law" broken the law as you can not sell a vehicle that has outstanding payments as the loan was secured on the van.

1. speak to CAB if you cannot afford legal advice - and go from there.

2. contact the finance company - you might be able to pay the outstanding balance as they will only put van in auction or possibly have a buyer already.

Tough one.

Dave

 

[Blast Off Stoke]

dont suppose you paid by paypal ?

[Paul Evans]

Hi Paul,

Sorry to hear your predicament.

You should have checked to see if the van had outstanding finance before parting with monies.

Also the person selling the van has "By law" broken the law as you can not sell a vehicle that has outstanding payments as the loan was secured on the van.

1. speak to CAB if you cannot afford legal advice - and go from there.

2. contact the finance company - you might be able to pay the outstanding balance as they will only put van in auction or possibly have a buyer already.

Tough one.

Dave

 

Did a check on the van came up clear. the toe rag must of done it all in one day,
ive been in touch with the company i did the check with. They offer no insurance.

So to all becareful when you do hpi. this is a company name

it is like when you hoover the carpet Hoover is a company name you are really vacuming it has stated by the police, so hpi needs to be hpi

[pristineclean]

Sorry to hear about your situation - it's entirely up to you but if you've been advised by a company who undertook to provide a service on your behalf and offered no guarantee of accuracy then you may have a number of legal options available. CAB and ConsumerDirect are good sources of further legal advice but you could also approach a law clinic if there's one in your area.

In your position, I'd be looking at civil liability in respect of the seller and the company who undertook your search.

The claim against the seller is fairly straightforward although you're unlikely to achieve much beyond having him sequestrated and possibly charged with fraud.

If you paid a company to carry out a search and they were negligent in their activity, then you have a claim for the loss against them.

The 'guarantees' offered by companies in respect of performance are really making a virtue out of necessity and I would be entirely unsatisfied with anything other than a detailed report of the actions which they carried out in respect of the service which they charged you money for.  Any checks which they carried out for your vehicle will have left electronic footprints and any claims they make in respect of performance can thus be measured in terms of both accuracy and suitability.

The above all hinges on the question as to whether carrying out a finance check on a car is capable of being deemed a professional advice service, of course, but I can't see how it could be interpreted any other way. Also, the above is my viewpoint only and I'd always leave it up to m'learneds to pursue the matter.

If you're in the mood, you can get a general overview on this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedley_Byrne_%26_Co_Ltd_v_Heller_%26_Partners_Ltd

[darren clarke]

u need to find out when the loan was taken out and when u purchased the vehicle, as if he got the finance after he sold you the vehicle but used the old log book as bond,  then he has committed fraud, and they cant take the vehicle,  do u live far from the guy

[Ian101]

Hi Paul ... think you have a good case here ... I recently left motor trade after 25 years so I know what Im talking about.

Get a solicitor NOW asap today.

There are test cases that basically say as you are a private individual and no way of checking or knowing whether the van was on finance then you have bought it in good faith. therfore the van belongs to you and the finance company has to get on to their customer.

Tricky part is you volentarily gave the van up to the bloke at the door - not sure where you stand with this ... but solicitor should know.

If you have done a HPI and it showed on finance or you knew about it then you are defo onto a loser.

Good luck !!

[Ian101]

There you go just found this on the consumer action group forum

The bit that will interest you is under the consumer credit act part.

Not sure what you can do as you have already let them take it away ??
 

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Cagger since Feb 2008

Posts 161
 Re: Bought a car with outstanding finance (HP) what are my rights?
Hiya Suzanne

I have found this piece of info from the trading standards web site ...

Private sales
There are some situations where your legal rights will be reduced.
The general rule is ‘let the buyer beware’ when you buy from a private individual. It is up to you to find out whether the car is of satisfactory quality, to make your own checks on what you are told and to take responsibility for your choice, as the seller is not liable for the satisfactory quality of the vehicle. You are still entitled, however, to expect the car to be ‘as described’. If the advertisement says ‘2000 Ford Focus’ or ‘excellent condition’ then it should be exactly that. It is important to remember that it may be much more difficult for you to enforce your rights against a private individual.
Whether you buy privately or from a motor trader, you are entitled to expect that the car is roadworthy when you buy it, unless you and the seller clearly agree it is to be sold as scrap. You should take note that a car sold with an MOT Certificate does not necessarily mean that it is roadworthy.
You are also entitled to expect the seller to have ‘good title’ to the car. In other words, to be the owner or authorised by the owner to sell it. If you buy a car later found to be stolen, you have no legal right to keep it. You will have to try and get your money back from the seller.
The Consumer Credit Act 1974 gives ‘good title’ to the innocent private purchaser of a car which later turns out to be subject to a claim by a finance company because of a previous, unpaid hire-purchase agreement. This means that the finance company is not entitled to repossess the car from you. Remember, this does not apply to cars which have been stolen, or cars that were subject to a lease or hire agreement.It is worth noting that some motor traders pretend to be private sellers to avoid their legal obligations to consumers. If you come across a situation like this, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

[Alan McTernan]

Sorry to hear that!!!

Was the van bought on HPI or was it used to secure a loan?

As this will mean different outcomes!

Hope you get it sorted

Alan

[BDCS]

I don't understand - go back to the bloke who you bought it from

[Paul Coleman]

There you go just found this on the consumer action group forum

The bit that will interest you is under the consumer credit act part.

Not sure what you can do as you have already let them take it away ??
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cagger since Feb 2008

Posts 161
 Re: Bought a car with outstanding finance (HP) what are my rights?
Hiya Suzanne

I have found this piece of info from the trading standards web site ...

Private sales
There are some situations where your legal rights will be reduced.
The general rule is ‘let the buyer beware’ when you buy from a private individual. It is up to you to find out whether the car is of satisfactory quality, to make your own checks on what you are told and to take responsibility for your choice, as the seller is not liable for the satisfactory quality of the vehicle. You are still entitled, however, to expect the car to be ‘as described’. If the advertisement says ‘2000 Ford Focus’ or ‘excellent condition’ then it should be exactly that. It is important to remember that it may be much more difficult for you to enforce your rights against a private individual.
Whether you buy privately or from a motor trader, you are entitled to expect that the car is roadworthy when you buy it, unless you and the seller clearly agree it is to be sold as scrap. You should take note that a car sold with an MOT Certificate does not necessarily mean that it is roadworthy.
You are also entitled to expect the seller to have ‘good title’ to the car. In other words, to be the owner or authorised by the owner to sell it. If you buy a car later found to be stolen, you have no legal right to keep it. You will have to try and get your money back from the seller.
The Consumer Credit Act 1974 gives ‘good title’ to the innocent private purchaser of a car which later turns out to be subject to a claim by a finance company because of a previous, unpaid hire-purchase agreement. This means that the finance company is not entitled to repossess the car from you. Remember, this does not apply to cars which have been stolen, or cars that were subject to a lease or hire agreement.It is worth noting that some motor traders pretend to be private sellers to avoid their legal obligations to consumers. If you come across a situation like this, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

Precisely.  I once unknowingly bought a car with an unsatisfied HP loan against it.  I only found out because the previous owner bar one saw me in it and told me.  When I enquired at CAB, they checked and discovered that there was still HP outstanding on it but that I had good title because I bought in good faith.  In my case I heard no more about it because the person I bought from just continued the payments.  However, if he had defaulted, I could have been in a similar position.

[darren clarke]

i think there is a rule, where if a car changes owners 2 times from when the loan was taken out it cant be repo, i use to know a bloke who would do this with cars he bought,  put them in other peoples name for a while, but still drive,  real dodgy bloke