If you buy a car knowing it's on finance, you're screwed, you'll lose the car if the owner defaults. If you've done due dilligence and didn't know the car was financed, it's a bit more complicated. A friend of mine bought a 911 Turbo, paid for it outright via bank transfer (about £80k). A couple of months later, a 2 goons turn up at the door to re-posses the car as the guy had defaulted and owed about £120k after interest and charges. He showed them the bank transfer and they weren't interested, they still wanted it which he wasn't about to do. They threatened to get the police, which he was quite happy for them to do, that turned out to be an idle threat. A quick call to his solicitor who advised him in no uncertain circumstances not to allow them to take the car as he'd never see it again. The solicitor asked to speak to said goon on the phone, after being told the law, he left with his tail between his legs. It did drag on for months with many threatening letters from the finance company, but he kept th car in the end.
Rob, goons have no legal right to remove goods if you do not have a contract with them, or so im lead to believe..they tend to use strong arm tactics to scare people...because your mate didnt fall for it and had no contract with them, they were screwed..good for him for not rolling over and weeing on his belly.
I do remember + years ago buying a house that had been repossessed Knock at the door - I was about 8 months pregnant - two heavys demanding 1k for the fencing they had done at the front of house that previous owners hadn't paid for They threatened to take the fence - I told then to carry on and fill their boots I didn't like it anyway - needless to say they didn't bother and didn't hear from them again
not it the case with logbook loans. The loan is secured against the vehicle, and even if the vehicle changes hands and the previous owner defaults you, the new owner still lose the car. The debt is against the vehicle. There was a good program on about bailiffs a few months ago and a lot of their jobs were this type of case. Morally wrong, yes. Unfortunately legal at this time. also these loans don't show up on HPI checks. If you get caught out you then have to pursue the previous owner to recoup the cost. 9/10 times they're skint so can't pay anything.
Logbook loans, if you default the car then becomes the property of the lender. The debt isn't left with the defaulters it follows the vehicle around until it catches up with an unfortunate soul. Finance is different. For a start you don't own the vehicle until you finish the agreement.
Well, from my friends experience it basically boiled down to this. If you buy a vehicle knowing it's financed and the seller defaults, then you knowingly bought something that wasn't his to sell. You'll lose the vehicle. If you bought the vehicle not knowing there was a finance agreement in place and can prove this, you stand a chance. Don't get me wrong, in my friends case, the finance company were very hard handed, sending goons to his home to re-posses the car. If he hadn't been so savvy, and having a solicitor to call due to running his own business, he may have fallen for the hard line tactics of the 2 goons. The car was sitting on his drive and they made no attempt to forcibly remove the car (They would have had a fight on their hand there by the way) The finance company sent many threatening letters, threatening him with court if he attempted to sell the car as they had an interest in it. He produced his bank statements from the payment and a receipt from the seller where there was no mention of finance being owed. His solicitor won his argument and he kept his car, and bear in mind the finance company were owed £120k. Their final letter was along the lines of "if we get any further information, we'll be back". I'm not saying this would be the case for everyone, but that's what happened.
This thread seems to be getting a bit muddled. Perhaps we can comb out some of the strands. If I buy some goods or chattels (such as a bike, but could be anything) from a seller, the first question is: Is the seller the owner of the goods, and are they therefore his to sell, or not? If the goods were stolen they are not his to sell. If they belong to his employer, or to a hire purchase finance company, they are not his to sell. If they belong to an insurance company (after a write-off) they are not his to sell. If I buy goods from someone who does not own them, no valid title passes and the goods still belong to the real owner who can take them back. An HPI check should reveal problems of this kind. The next, quite separate, question is: Has the seller used the goods as security against a loan of money (in the case of a vehicle, often called a 'log-book loan') which he has not repaid? If so, there are two possibilities: Case A. He has defaulted on the loan, the lender has exercised his right to take possession of the goods, so the goods do not belong to the seller, he has no right to sell them, and I as the buyer do not gain title to them. The lender can take them back, as they amounted to stolen property. or Case B. The lender has not (yet) exercised any right to take possession of the goods, the goods still belong to the seller, he is able to sell them, and I as buyer gain good title to them. The lender cannot take them back; the lender's recourse lies against the seller. The seller has breached his contract with the lender, but that is not a problem for me as the buyer. In case B, if the lender attempts to take the goods away from me, I as the buyer am in a strong position to resist. If the lender attempting repossession alleges case A applies, my response is to say, if the goods did become your property when did this occur and why did you leave the goods in the custody of the seller? It may turn out that case A does not really apply, it is a case B, and I am therefore able to keep the goods.
Sorry, but I do not think that can be right. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the lender become entitled to seek possession of the car/bike, but that does not mean the car/bike automatically becomes the property of the lender. The question is whether the lender has in fact obtained possession at the time when you as the buyer buy it, or not. In the case of land or buildings, a loan secured against them would be registered, and would go with the land until the loan is discharged. Moveable goods and chattels are different, and loans are not registered against them.
+1^^^^ that I pete. I'm only basing my explanation on what I've seen. All the cases were legal, but you explained it far better than I ever could! in all the cases I saw example a applied.
yes deffo case A as I understand it. infact with all these bailiff shows on the tv, that very example has been highlighted by unsuspecting buyers with bailiffs at the door to either seize or take payment of outstanding amound from duped new owner
