Car reposessed, do I still owe finance company?

[Kimmy2507]

I bought a car with finance of around 31K. I made payments totally about 12K off the finance. Due to circumstances I was unable to pay and the leasing company terminated the agreement and took me to court. There was a court order placed on my house for the sum of the missed payments until the agreement was terminated (by them) which was about 3.5K. This sum was paid. The leasing company did not come to resposses the car for over 9 months. They have now repossesed the vehcile. However, i am worried as their solicitors have sent a letter saying i owe the remainder of the outstanding finance (some 22K), altho they dont seem to realise that the vehicle has been repossesed. The car has been sold on as i had a letter from DVLA saying someone had requested the log book. What am i liable to pay.... the whole amount, the difference between what the sold it for and the 22k, or nothing at all?? They didnt take the car for almost a year (their mistake) and it has therefore depreciated in value.

[spaced]

The finance agreement would have been done via the leasing company, they have their own financers. If you did not keep upi your payments, the vehicle would be repossessed. When a leasing company apply for repossesion they advise the police also and state that the vehicle is stolen. This is something I, as a fleet manager, could nevr understand. So if you drive aorund in a vehicle not being paid for an being repossessed, dot be surprised if you get stopped and nicked for theft.

It all boils down to the type of lease contract (Contract hire, finance lease, personal lease purchase) as these determine who the registered keeper is. The lease company dont keep their own vehicles, they take them back and have them auctioned.

If you couldnt keep upi the payments, the best option would have been to Early Terminate, which usually equates to 50% of the remaining finance, so �11k.

If you leased the vehicle vbia their finance company, they can request all monies back and this is why....


When you lease a vehicle, say a �10,000 audi. The lease company buy this on your behalf from Audi (dealership). The dealer requires payment directly after delivery. Once your finance agreement has been agreed, the lease company will order and then deliver the car. The dealer then invoices the lease company for the �10,000, which they pay. They are then (technically) �10k out of pocket thus you paying them back monthly plus interest. Therefore, you not paying the full amount leaves them out of pocket. Its not simply, well the car had depreciated and has been sold. You have to take things like residual values, interest etc into account.

Which lease company is it?

[Kimmy2507]

Hi Spaced

Cheers for your answer... it seems way more complicated than i first thought. The leasing company is fortis lease UK... I bought the car from a Saab dealer.. altho it was a second hand volvo. They sorted out the finance. I think it was a personal lease purchase as i was the registered keeper.