Hi

I am looking for some advice about Welcome Finance. I have 2 accounts with them, a car on hire purchase and a 2000 pound loan. My total monthly payments come to £356 for both the accounts. I am currently having a lot of problems especially with the car. Since i have got the car Sept 2006 it has needed a new engine, new exhaust and just constantly refuses to start. i have paid over £1500 pounds on repairs for the car which has made me fall behind on repayments. i have sent 2 letters asking them to either reduce the payments or come and collect the car and they have refused to do either! they invite ,me in to chat about the account but i come out with the exact same payments and feeling worse. the staff over the phone are rude and i called today to try and sort it again and told them to take the car away. The girl said if they do that they will apply for 26% to be taken out of my wage a month and she said it would be more then what i pay now. is this true? it has worried me that ill be payin more again. I got roped into the ppi also. another thing they do is discuss my account with my mam, grandma and even called to my aunties, i am not even registered at that address!!!

To top it all off they keep sending letters through the post offering me a loan with them which is laughable when they no i cant afford the current 1. Any Advice?

Well the good news is that the Hire Purchase is regulated by the Credit Consumer Act. This means that as you have the loan on a 4 year term (I presume as that is their standard term) you will be able to hand the car back to them in September this year (you must make sure that all payments are upto date and that the car is in resonable working condition). This is standard terms of any Hire Purchase loan so do not take no for a answer, you are able to terminate early but you will have to make up the payments from now to September.

You may want to look at part exchanging the car in with another dealer/lender as handing the car back is shown as 'early termination' on your credit file and may stop some lenders lending you money.

I spent over 4 years in the motor trade and am a qualified financial advisor so any questions feel free to ask, if I don't know I can always fnd out!

Dan

Hi i have a hire purchse agreement with welcome finance and got the car in June 2006 since then it has been in and out of the garage with gearbox problems. I have just called welcome as i am due to go on matenity leave in a couple of weeks and have got payment protection and shortfall insurance and asked them if i was covered by the ins for mat leave, they said no.I won't be able to keeo up to the repayments as mat leave payments are only £430 pcm and i have to pay rent etc. i don't want to lower or extend the agreement.

I have been looking at my paperwork and i pay £326.25 pcm inc the insurances and it says "Termination your rights" that i have the right to end the agreement and all i need to do is write to the person i make the payments to. They will be entitled to the return of the goods and to half the total amount payable under this agreement that is £5,800.56 it says if i have paid this and kept the vehicle in reasonable condition i won't have to pay anymore.

I have never missed a payment.

Does this mean that i can hand the car back and terminate the agreement, as i have already paid over £6.000,i'm not bothered if it affects me getting finance etc as i pay cash for everything usually anyway, and if can't afford it then i don't buy it,i just needed the car at the time but can now do without it.

any help would be greatly appreciated

fiona

Hi Fiona,

If your Hire Purchase agreement states that then yes you are well within your rights to hand the car back to them. I would suggest giving them a call and letting them know that that is what you are planning to do.

I would suggest getting the car cleaned and making sure that you take some photos of each panel, I know this sounds a little over the top but if they then come back to you and try to claim that there was excessive damage etc then you will have some proof to come back to them.

Remember when talking to them that all you are doing is using the rights given to you under the 'Consumers Credit Act', feel free to use those words often as it should help you get through to them! They may try and sell you another car instead of you handing it in!

Good luck, let me know if you have any issues!

Dan