car loan difficulty

Ihave been watching this topic intently as my son is in the same position. He is thinking of surrendering his car back to the finance co. under the half rule too.

I wish you the very best of luck and I hope things work out well for you. PaddyB is right you will find a car for 2 or 3 thousand euro that will do the job nicely. Like you I used to drive 78 miles to work daily. But that was a long time ago! Life is too short to be worrying like that so enjoy your new baby and your other 2 lovely children .

Let us know how things work out.
 
If you have paid back 1/3 of the loan then the car cannot be taken back by the bank without going to court - what judge would allow a bank take back the car when you are paying what you can.

From http://www.citizensinformation.ie/e...l_finance/loans_and_credit/hire_purchase.html


Can the owner (finance house) repossess the goods?

The finance house can only repossess the goods under certain circumstances. If the consumer has not yet paid off one-third of the total hire purchase cost, the owner can repossess the goods at any time without taking legal action against the consumer.
 
Thanks so much everyone for all your advice. Derry i wish your son well too. Thats an interesting link from citizens information. I am definitely going to give car back under the half rule.i was just calculating up the amount i have paid on the car since 2007, 24 months at e608. 12 months at e300 and 6 months (almost) at e400.its adds up to over e20,000, meaning i owe less than e10,000, but yet the settlement figure is nearly e18,000...is that correct or have i my figures done wrong?
 
I have added up your figures and I am coming up short also, so it could be one of two things. They rescheduled the balloon payment for 12 months - "allowed" you pay the 300e for 12 months. This however would cost you more in interest and maybe charges. They should have told you this at the time. As far as I know you need to get this in writing, but not 100% sure.
The other thing it may be is that they are charging you penalty interest each month since the balloon payment was due - again they should have told you this, but this part will be in the terms and conditions on the loan so they will be covered.
 
thanks iscritto,
i understand what you're saying. i'm going to give them a call and go through it with them
thanks
 
Update.i had a phone call from bank this morning asking about payments from april onwards.i explained i can not pay 600+ a month.i mentioned that i was exploring the half rule process.the lady said it does not apply in my case...that my settlement figure is 17 thousand and something but my balance is 19 thousand and something.can someone here clarify based on figures i submitted on one of my last posts whether i am or not.thanks so much.

edited to add...i told them that any further correspondence would have to be done by letter as i am not going to take any more of their phonecalls. the person said that they conduct all of their business on the phone, but i said i will not nswer their calls, and i am just after posting a letter to them stating the same.

i really am not able for any more of this crap. we are having serious difficulty with mortgage nd basically surviving day to day.would just love to get on a plane...but i guess faraway hills are greener!
 
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rossiewoman, my sympathy goes out to you for what you are going through as we are going through the exact same difficulty.
My wife got terrible personal abuse this morning from Permanent TSB demanding that she increase our monthly payment by 20% which is impossible for us to do.
He closed the phone call by saying he going is going legal with it, we are approaching the half payments mark (3 more months) and I suspect he is trying to head this off by bullying tactics.
My wife was very distressed by his manner over the phone as he raised his voice several times insisting that she makes the adjustment or else.
TSB in particular seem to be extremely aggressive in how they handle these difficulties, as an OAP there is no possibility we can do anything other continue paying what we have been paying.
As a side note I'm confused on the voluntary surrender idea,some seem to say that under no circumstance should we sign this while others say it is essential for it to be signed. Can someone clarify this for me please, rossiewoman don't let these gremlins get to you, they are only junior lackeys trying to flex their under developed muscles. There are better days ahead for you,God Bless you and your new baby.
 
thanks thebigyin....you are very kind and i appreciate your well wishes. i just edited my above post because i didnt have time to fully complete it earlier

i'm sorry that you and your wife are experiencing the same problem. i understand that these people have a job to do but my god they are just so aggressive

i dont know anything about voluntary surrender but if you check the posts above, someone posted a link that explains all of these options.

take care
 
Under no circumstances sign a voluntary surrender , they will simply reposess the car and give it to an auction house to auction off then hit you with the difference between what they got and what you owe plus the reposession and auctioneers fees.
Do not take any more calls from them and inform them in writing that you will deal only in writing with them from now on and continue to pay what you can reasonably afford.
Bear in mind that if you wish to return the car under the half rule then you must have half the HP price paid.
Best of luck hope things work out for you.
 
+1
As the shark says do not sign a voluntary surrender.

My friend gave back his car to aib finance last week under the half rule, they didnt even bother looking over the car just asked for the log book and nct cert. The chap from aib was very helpfull. The moral of the story is if you qualify for the half rule then theres absolutely nothing they can legally do to prevent you giving the car back.
 
thanks theshark and cantona7...ye are evry helpful

its just they said i'm not entitled to the half rule thing but i think i am based on the figures on my agreement form


do you guys think i qualify....
the details of the agreement are as follows :
car : honda accord 2.2 diesel
bank : permanent tsb finance
cash price : e41,625 interest charge: e4,625
deposit/net trade in e11,625 documentation fee: e63
balance : e30,000 purchase installment : e38

initial repayment of e63 followed by 24 consecutive monthly payments of e608. initial payment on 1/7/07 and monthly thereafter. additional payment of e20,033 on 1/7/09

statutory notice :
1. the hirer must put an end to this agreement by giving notice in writing to any person who is entitled to collect or receive the hire-rent
2.the hirer must then either-
a) (i)pay any installments which are in arrears when he gives notice, and
(ii)if, when the hirer has paid those installments, the total amount under the agreement is less than e23,175.50, the hirer must also pay enough to make up that sum, or
b) purchase the goods by paying the difference between the amount already paid under the agreement and the hire purchase price after the latter amount has been reduced in accordance with section 52 or 53 or such lesser amount as may be specified in the agreement

after e15,450.34 has been paid, then, unless the hirer has put an end to the agreement without exercising the option to purchase the goods, the owner of the goods cannot take them back from the hirer without the hirers consent unless the owner has obtained a court order or is taking a motor vehicle back in ccordance with the following :
where the owner has made an application to the court for an order to recover possession of the motor vehicle, he may,if the vehicle has been abandoned or has been left unattended in circumstances likely to result in damage to, or more than normal depreciation in the value of the vehicle, and if the agreement so provides, take back the vehicle and retain possession of it during the ensuing period prior to the making by the court of an order for the purpose of protecting the vehicle from damage or depreciation


the settlement figure is e17, 897.21 cent
but the balance is 19,090.64

thanks
 

Appreciate the advice very much, our car is in really good condition apart from minor wear & tear, considering we have had it on the road for 3 years what would be their expectations of the car condition on return of same.
 
Rossiewoman as far as I can see - figures are -
Car price 41,625 + interest 4,625 = 46,250
46,250 less deposit of 11,625 = 34,625 + 63 doc fee and 38 installment fee = 34,726
You have paid back 20,592 so you have half paid back.

The fact that the balance is still over 19k suggests that there was/is a charge for not paying back the balloon payment. Not sure how this works when it comes to the half rule. I will look into it and see what I can find.

Might be an idea to call the financial ombudsman's office a call. They should be able to help on the half rule and the fact that the bank wont stop calling you. You may have to make a formal complaint to the bank 1st but you can do this in writing rather than on the phone.

Thebigyin - normal wear and tear would be acceptable.
 
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update

i sent the letter that i mentioned previously and also an email.
the jist of both stating that i will not take any more phonecalls, that i am struggliong to make the 400 euro paymnt and cannot make any more

i also asked them to outline why i am not eligible for half rule

i explained that this whole things has me so stressed and that businesses should not be allowed to make someone feel this stressed. i explained that i would get a solicitor involved if they keep badgering me like this...so this morning, a letter came from them asking me to sign an authorisation/consent to speak to a 3rd party. in presume this is the solicitor??

they never acknowledged my letter/email or anything i mentioned in tem

does this make any sense to anyone?
 
I'm in a similar situation to Rossie, I'm very confused as to exactly where I stand with regards to my 1/2 Amount, and I'm with the same lender as she is, they can be prickly to deal with to say the least. So I'm holding off on contacting them until I absolutely have to.

Would anybody be able to shed any light on this for me?

I Entered into a HP Agreement with PTSB in January 08.
Repayments of €250/month for 12 months, followed by €32,570 balloon payment.
Hire Purchase Price, as per contract, was €35,695.00.
Half Rule Price in contract is noted as €17,847.50.

I was unable to make the balloon payment, and then paid €350/month for 4 months, this was agreed with them.
Payments then increased to €661.65/month in June 09, and I have been making those payments ever since.

I recently contacted them and they confirmed that my finance is still a Hire Purchase, and they sent me out a copy of the original agreement, along with a full account statement.

The opening balance on the statement (from Jan 08) is €44,079.
The outstanding balance on the statement (as per Jan 11) is €27,157.58.

So I have so far paid €16,921.42.

My question(s);

Does the original Half Rule Price still apply to me? As in, am I only €926.08 away from meeting the Half Valuation, at which point I could hand back the keys?

Or

Do I now have to have paid half of the €44,079 amount (€22,039.50)?

Or

Do I in fact still have to reduce my outstanding balance from €27,157.58 to the Half Rule Price?


The reason I ask is that the section in the agreement that deals with this is worded quite badly;

"1. The Hirer may put an end to this Agreement by giving notice of termination in writing....
"2. The Hirer must then...
i) Pay any instalments which are in arrears at the time when he gives notice, and
ii) if, when the Hirer has paid those instalments [any arrears], the total amount under the Agreement is less than €17847.50, the Hirer must also pay enough to make up that sum"


Any help greatly appreciated

Daz
 
dazcush, i'm sorry to hear you are having difficulty too. i don't have any answers for you

rossiewoman