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Original poster

What to do? Bailiffs coming for my car on finance

62 replies

anonymoooose · 14/02/2020 12:30

Hi all
(Will try to make a long story short)
Huge financial difficulties. Not earning enough to pay off debts. My car is HIRE PURCHASE. last payment end of May. Bailiffs can't take it but can clamp it and I don't have the money to take it off. I'm pregnant plus have a son in school and need the car for work
I have a parking fine that has escalated because I couldn't keep up repayments. Sent them my income expenditure but they don't care
Was wondering if I put my car into my mums name for the will they not be able to clamp it
Will this affect my mums credit or anything?
I don't know what else to do...
Any answers will be appreciated

OP posts:
Original poster
anonymoooose · 15/02/2020 16:03

@LIZS @FreiasBathtub @ThatsSooooGerard
I finished uni October 2018 so they cannot help me now. It's just once I started the course I couldn't keep up with the payments as well as before and then family problems (deaths and problem teenage son etc) just caused things to go off track

OP posts:
Original poster
anonymoooose · 15/02/2020 16:04

@Ilikewinter I understand. Thank you 🙂

OP posts:
Original poster
anonymoooose · 15/02/2020 16:06

@Louise91417 that's ok. Most have been very helpful and given me information I didn't know about

To all - I have been on the phone to my debtors this morning and to step change to get a DRO set up
I guess I will still be anxious until it's in place
Thank you though. You're all really helpful (bar one)

OP posts:
Soontobe60 · 15/02/2020 16:12

Who has actually sent the bailiffs? Is it the parking Ticket? You need to speak to them to try to come to a resolution. You say you finished Uni in 2018 then things got tricky for you. This will not have been helped by having another child. Others are correct in that if your car has been bought on HP it cannot be clamped or taken. Make sure you have the evidence of the HP agreement to show the bailiffs.

Original poster
anonymoooose · 15/02/2020 16:34

@Soontobe60 it's council tax some parking charges and some catalogues (all I was handling before and at the beginning of uni)
My pregnancy was a mistake I was on contraception and it failed but I used to work in an abortion clinic and couldn't bring myself to do that so this is my current situation.
I will look for the HP papers to show as evidence however I've heard they still clamp and demand payment anyway 🤦🏽‍♀️

OP posts:
BrokenWing · 15/02/2020 16:34

@BrokenWing no it's not for the finance company. That is one of my outgoings but not one of the debts. I'm soon to finish paying for the car in May 🙂

That's good for now they can't take your car. But you need to get this sorted before then. As soon as you have made the last payment and the car is yours they can take it. Changing to your mum's name after May you might need proof of selling it to her at market value and you may have problems insuring it she is legal owner living elsewhere.

TantrumsAndBalloons · 15/02/2020 16:44

Court fines don’t count under a DRO do they?
If you are pregnant they will back off for now but will start to chase you again once the baby is born, well a few months after anyways

oldfashionedtastingtea · 15/02/2020 16:50

Is the father of the children in a position to contribute? You're not raising them on much income so it does look like struggeling.

LIZS · 15/02/2020 16:56

So the debts have already been consolidated, or not the parking one?

Soontobe60 · 15/02/2020 17:21

@BrokenWing is right about the car. As soon as you've finished she'd pay Ngbfor it, its fair game. You cant give it to your mum as that would be deprivation of assets.
Hopefully you'll get a DRO sorted asap, but again, the court fines will still stand.

Original poster
anonymoooose · 15/02/2020 17:24

@oldfashionedtastingtea @TantrumsAndBalloons @LIZS still sorting out the debts and fines with stepchange and going through consolidation
I understand they will come for me once baby is here. I'm hoping the DRO will be in force by then. Once I am back to work after baby is here then I will start with repayments if I can
My 8 year olds father doesn't help with our son at all and my unborns father passed away 3 months ago
My mum doesn't earn enough to help out so I'm so worried.
I'm thinking once the car is paid to sell it just so I won't have that as an extra expense as well as something they can take. Car tax and insurance is also killing me

OP posts:
teacuptale · 15/02/2020 17:26

See if your council has a discretionary pot of money you can apply for in order to reduce your council tax debt. Also check with them that you’re getting all discounts that you should be getting. Best of luck.

Soontobe60 · 15/02/2020 17:26

www.stepchange.org/debt-info/what-is-a-debt-relief-order.aspx

A couple of things to think about. Are you a homeowner? If so you cant do a dro. Also, cars over £1000 in value also mean you can't do one. It can be revoked, which could happen once your car is paid for especially if it's value is over £1000.

PurpleGhost · 16/02/2020 16:23

If you've got any unsecured debts (credit cards, loans, overdrafts, etc) that you are still paying, stop paying now and let them chase you for it. They'll phone and send lots of letters but they can't really do a lot for quite a few months if not over a year.
Make sure your bank account is not connected to anywhere that you hold debts though as they can offset anything in your current account against debt for other accounts with them.

Watch out for any letters that say 'letter before action' as that's when you need to act to prevent CCJ's etc.

OriginalTaste · 18/02/2020 12:12

As PP have said, you won't be able to keep the car if you have a DRO, you will have to downgrade to one with a value of less than £1000.

jadey0885 · 19/02/2020 16:36

Bailiffs cannot clamp your car if it on hire. They are not allowed to do that. So don't worry. Call the bailiffs office and explain your situation and that your pregnant, they will sort a payment plan

Original poster
anonymoooose · 20/02/2020 14:39

@OriginalTaste @jadey0885
Thanks for your advice.
However I called stepchange and they won't put me on a DRO. Something about I don't have any money left over. I thought that was the whole point. I will give them a call today to enquire with someone else
I called the bailiff again and explained but he said they council are adamant they want at least 450 today (I have about £4 in my account until my child benefit on Tuesday)
I'm going to write directly to the council with my expenditure and see if they will take it back
After going through everything with stepchange I have over £17k worth of debts. (I know people have way more debts than mine but I'm just saying)
My income is 1434 and my outgoings are 2139. I feel even more sick from finding this out and feeling like there is no way out.

OP posts:
OriginalTaste · 20/02/2020 14:55

OP my DRO was with Stepchange and I had -£17 a month, so not sure if you misheard maybe? They don't count your debt repayments as outgoings, so it may be that you had more than the £50 left each month? Did you use the online tool?

Try not to worry too much, it is awful at the time but it will get better.

If you do go for a DRO you will have to surrender the car and add that outstanding finance amount to the DRO (check that any fees/penalties won't take you over the limit).

Try contacting PayPlan or CAB, too.

TheReef · 20/02/2020 14:57

I may be wrong but I thought if a car was on hp, the finance stayed with the car. So if you transfer the car to your mum, your mum is then responsible for the debt. If she doesn't pay she'll be affected by credit rating etc

jadey0885 · 20/02/2020 16:06

Is this debt regarding council tax?

Original poster
anonymoooose · 20/02/2020 18:46

@OriginalTaste no I spoke to them on the phone.
I will speak to pay plan instead
The advisor said I don't have enough money left over in my budget to have a DRO which I thought was the reason for me getting it
She said for me to write to my priority debts and offer them £1

OP posts:
Original poster
anonymoooose · 20/02/2020 18:48

@TheReef my car payments on HP end in May. Then the car will be mine. I'm thinking to sell it after that because it's been so much hassle and the tax and car insurance is also killing me. Problem is I'm due to have a baby in July so will be without transport but at least I may lose weight 🤦🏽‍♀️

OP posts:
JaniceBattersby · 20/02/2020 18:52

Park the car a few streets away from your house. If they want to clamp it, they’ll have to find it.

Hercwasonaroll · 20/02/2020 18:54

Can you get another job to plug the gap? If things are bad now they will be worse when you have a baby. Could you put your uni course on hold?

Stepchange should be able to help. If not Christians against poverty may help too.

BadToast · 21/02/2020 06:43

Hi, OP.

I would advise waiting until the car is paid off then going bankrupt. To hell with it at this point. I can't see how else you are going to get out this shit. Yes no credit for a few years but with a shit credit rating anyway seems no skin off your nose.

As for the car now, they can't touch it, while on hp.
After hp has finished just park it on someone else's drive. Unless it's changed (and it may have) they can't take the car off someone else's property without the owners consent to enter as they would be trespassing. So dump it on your mum's drive or a friends and SORN it. It will also give a break in tax and insurance. Again after you have cleared the hp, not now.

Hold you head high OP, no one is bloody perfect. You are hurting no one else with this debt. In fact if no one had debt there would be a lot of people out of work. It's all one big merry-go-round.

Congrats on your pregnancy. Smile

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