in jan 08 we px our vehicle due to having another child, we purchased our new car on finance through welcome finance as they were the only company that would give us credit, since having the car its been in the garage once or twice each month we reckoned up we have spent almost £500 its a 54 reg i rung trading standards who advised us as the finance is on a "hire purchase agreement" welcome have to revoke it and write off the debt or pay for any repairs until 6 mnths old, well the car is now coming up for 6 mnths old i sent the invoices out nearly a mnth ago as they said they couldnt deal with the refunds until all had been received so i sent them 1st class recorded, when i spoke to my branch manager he said there would be no guarantee we would get a refund?? when i asked well can we trade the vehicle in for a newer model he said depending on the settlement then yes and reffered us to the liverpool branch i spoke to the manager there and he said we would get £3400 for the car we have now the settlement is £5100 we only borrowed £2500 on finance apr is 28.9% but surely that seems alot??, we applying for finace for our new car being told it shouldnt be a problem i got a phone call this morning saying its fine he just needs a few more details then an hour later the finance application has been declined???? we already have finance with this company and nothing has changed since jan apart from me and my partner earning more money??? so now we are stuck with a heap of *** basically that is costing us more money and not worthy for our childrens purposes?? advice greatly appreciated as im clueless what to do next xx

Hi emgem23

I'm sorry to hear of the problems you are experiencing...I am sure you find it quite exasperating to say the least.

Your best course of action IMHO is to get yourself some advice from CAB or maybe you have access to a free legal advice helpline through some insurance you have for your home or car? There are obviously certain conditions that apply to HP agreements which I am not totally sure about, but in any event these are in place to protect your rights as well as those of the finance company. I feel sure that there are terms in there about the goods being "suitable for purpose" or being of "merchantable quality" and being able to reject them within a set timescale, particularly with a HP agreement rather than a normal unsecured credit agreement.

What I will emphasise to you is this...even though you are in this situation, it is important that you keep to your side of the agreement by making payments as per the terms. By not doing so then you begin to open the preverbial can of worms and before you know it you're having action taken against you and possibly the car being taken from you. It also shows you in a better light than the finance company should you need to start any legalities.

Years and years ago I had an issue with my bank not honouring my claim for payment protection insurance. I saw a solicitor who drafted me a letter for about £40 (probably a bit more now, but still a lot less than the settlement figures you're quoting!) and needless to say I had my claim approved by return. Sometimes it's just about taking the right action and beating them with the same stick that they would have no hesitation in beating you with should the situation be reversed. The key is to do it properly and with a bit of help with the jargon!

I hope that it turns out well for you in the end, it would be great to hear of your success in due course. Best of luck.

thanks for the great advice i will keep u posted.