returnining my car

[trickywoo4]

hi we have a car on finance the payments we have to pay each month are so high and we have others debts that are more important are we allowed to return the car and if we do are we still contracted to continue paying for the car or not dont really know where i stand and this bill is cripling us what can we do

[Ethel]

Have the repayments been increased? If so, does the contract allow this? If there is no clause in the contract for variation you have grounds for complaint.

If they haven't increased then you knew what the repayments would be when you bought the car.

Was the car bought with a personal loan? If so, it can't be returned - but the car can be sold and the proceeds used to pay off some or all of the loan. You may have to pay an early redemption penalty.

If the car was bought on hire purchase you MAY be able to return it.

Get the paperwork out and read the terms of the contract.

[Gok Wan]

More information required.

Was it a personal loan or Hire Perchase? If a personal loan then no, you can't return the car but you could sell it and use the proceeds to repay the loan.

If hire purchase - how long was the finance over and how long have you been paying it for?

[moomintroll1]

You have a few options.

You should obtain an early settlement figure from the finance company, which will let you know how much is still owing on the agreement. If you can sell the car for enough, you may be able to use the proceeds to clear the finance.

If it was a hire purchase or conditional sale agreement, you may be able to hand the vehicle back. You need to find a copy of your agreement to check this out (your finance company will send you a copy if you request it). If it is an HP or conditional sale, there will be a paragraph headed "Termination: Your Rights". In that paragraph will be an amount equal to half of all the payments added together.

If you have already paid at least this amount, you can hand the vehicle back with nothing further to pay (as long as you have taken reasonable care of it).

If you haven't yet paid this amount, you can still hand the car back, but you will have to make up the difference between what you've already paid and the amount specified under the Termination clause.

This only applies to HP and conditional sale agreements, so if you got a personal loan to buy the vehicle, you cannot use this voluntary termination method (but you can still sell the vehicle and use the proceeds to pay the early settlement figure).

[tamois123]

I did the same thing and yes they can chase you for the debt. They will sell the car and get you to repay the difference, plus their costs, interest, etc. Good luck - hope it turns out ok.

[trickywoo4]

thanks everyone ill did out the paperwork and have a good look thru hopefully all will turn out ok cheers again