HELP - sold a car and it was repossessed from the buyer

[motoroller]

R8Steve said:

You need to find out why then because it is applicable here unless there is more to the story we are not hearing.

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned but do you have a receipt for the car/swap and if so what does it say?

Apparently it's not applicable on PCP/HP kind of deals, or something like that. I will find more details on a call later.

I have a receipt, it says both cars swapped as seen. Sellers and my name and address, along with details of both cars. No mention of the finance (obviously - as I didn't know).

[motoroller]

Sharted said:

Have Barclays (or more likely their partner Clydesdale Bank) actually repossessed the car?

I'd be a bit surprised if they have as the poor muppet at the end of the chain can claim to be unaware of the debt.

Our man was aware and tried to escape by selling it on, however, Barclays would struggle to prove this if they cannot conclusively prove that their phone call (or other comms) got the message across.

Buying in good faith is key despite what has been claimed, the OP should have engaged with Barclays when he had the chance, punting the car on to some innocent party stinks and will always come back to haunt which is now the position.

Engaging with Barclays now, I can see that wouldn't have got me anywhere. They are in hiding - "Data Protection Act" etc. and when I try escalating I can't get through to anyone.

[motoroller]

funkyrobot said:

The longer this thread goes on, the more and more I'm wondering whether the situation is a scam, or this event hasn't even happened.

So many things don't add up. As has been mentioned plenty of times, there are so many gaps in the information the OP is giving, or the OP is massaging the truth.

Either the car hasn't been repossessed and the seller and buyer and in cahoots, or this is something that is being made up as the OP goes along.

Excuse me? After the legal disputes have taken place I'll gladly scan all documents and post them here.

Which parts don't add up?

[motoroller]

funkyrobot said:

You didn't tell us you knew about the finance (and then still sold the car, which is really stupid), you seem to say that Barclay's are doing things that others have said they shouldn't do, and you still haven't cleared up whether or not the car has actually been repossessed.

You drip feed information to the thread and keep missing out important things.

It just seems to me that this situation is either a scam that you need to get on top of, you are actually the perp here, or you aren't telling us everything.

Also, the legal advice seems to be a blanket 'give 'em a refund' thing that you aren't even questioning either.

Sorry if I have missed anything and the above makes no sense, but I don't think we have the full picture here.

The car has been repossessed - as I said it was towed away from the buyer with the handbrake on and their possessions in the car. I have no reason to disbelieve that.

The legal advice isn't a blanket - those are professionals. Who am I going to believe, some anonymous posters on a forum or a professional I've consulted? Let me think...

[motoroller]

R8Steve said:

You let the finance company concerned know that you have good title to the car and they should remove their security over it.

The debt will then go down as a bad debt, the original debtor defaulted and efforts made to get the money owed.

I did do this, their response was effectively "call your lawyers, this will have to be settled legally"

[motoroller]

R8Steve said:

Which is the wrong advice, call back and press the matter. E-mail Jes Staley, that should get you a decent response.

I've just done this, all the details are now circulating internally at Barclays so hopefully they get back to me.

[motoroller]

Devil2575 said:

OP comes on and asks for advice and he is told to get proper legal advice. He gets proper legal advice and then he is told to ignore it.

Maybe the people who gave the legal advice have answers to some of the questions that people on here don't...

Or maybe they just know what they're talking about?

It's the internet - remember that everyone here is right!

[motoroller]

SiH said:

Any further news OP?

Current situation is that the buyer will start legal proceedings next week if I don't refund, but at the same time I've been chasing Barclays and FINALLY got through to someone who understands and deals with these situations. They have sent me forms to be filled in, it's been logged with ActionFraud, and am awaiting response from Barclays.

[motoroller]

R8Steve said:

That's some good news at least, did they give you any idea of what the outstanding amount is?

No news on that front. I doubt I'll ever find out.

[motoroller]

Just had an update. Barclays are removing their marker from the car and will *apparently* return it to me "soon". There had better be a large cheque on the passenger seat if/when it's returned.

I have refunded the buyer, out of goodwill and to prevent any legal action which may impact me (mortgage / job applications in coming years). I have full signed paperwork about having the buyers cooperation and that I have full ownership of the car. The car is, in all honesty, worth a little bit more than what I sold it for, so I don't mind the "burden" of having to sell it on again. There was lots of interest when I did sell it.

[motoroller]

R8Steve said:

A positive update at least.

I'd still have left all this in the new owners court right enough as you now have a car back that you don't want, is older with higher miles and could potentially have damage done to it.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out.

Good luck to you though and i hope it does.

Thanks - I completely understand why some people would rather leave the main headache with someone else, but for me it's not worth having something silly like this which would take a long time to explain, come up later against my name or personal record.

Part of the problem here is that the buyers weren't native English speakers so I doubt they would have had the same luck or means to chase things up the way I've been able to.

Fingers crossed it all works out in the end!!

[motoroller]

The Spruce goose said:

Who paid off the car finance?

No one has paid it off. Barclays seem to have realised they are in the wrong and do not have ownership rights to the car.

[motoroller]

gooner1 said:

How was this information passed to you?

Barclays fraud team called me this morning. It's not been settled in writing or anything yet but I've been calling them once per day or every other day so they realise I'm anxious to hear back from them.

[motoroller]

funkyrobot said:

This whole thing has smelt rather fishy from the start.

And now, Barclays just remove the marker?

What are you suggesting? Sorry, being a bit slow this morning. You think the buyer is in collaboration with Barclays or the seller? All extremely unlikely.

[motoroller]

kiethton said:

I'm thinking that you shouldn't have refunded them without getting the car back yourself.

I'm also thinking, even then, you should have deducted a from any refund to cover additional mileage, additional owners and any damage/service expense due.

I'm more likely to see that money from Barclays than the buyer. In hindsight, I should have deducted something for the mileage and additional owners.

[motoroller]

gooner1 said:

I fully understand your anxiety.
The " large cheque" you hope to be on the passenger seat, did you or Barclay's discuss this during the phone call?

I made it very clear to them I will be expecting and pursuing compensation. They didn't object or say anything otherwise, maybe as they realise they are in the wrong.

[motoroller]

The Spruce goose said:

did you raise a complaint with them formally as posted a few times? Did you speak with the financial ombudsman?

Relying on a ,phone jockey to sort this out, could be considered naïve.

I really don't understand refunding before you get the car back as it make no sense considering they said they would give it back to you, i.e you wait for car back then refund the person who bought it from you, no court drama.

I did speak to two different lawyers, and to CAB. They all gave the same advice which is what I've followed.

I've not relied on phone jockeys, I got past them within about 3 days of trying. This was a call back from one of the Barclays fraud team with whom I've been liasing.

[motoroller]

Could someone explain how I'm being fleeced? The advice to begin was "Consult a lawyer". I've asked two lawyers and CAB and taken their advice. Now it's "you've been fleeced mate"

[motoroller]

robinessex said:

I think this goes in the top 5 of weird PH topics.

I'm surprised no one else has had this "repossessed unjustly" experience yet.

[motoroller]

funkyrobot said:

Errrmmmm..... I think other people check things before allowing themselves to get into a situation like this.

I did check. There are plenty of people (e.g. the buyer in my case) who don't even do the check.

robinessex said:

One puzzle for a start. What is a Basic HPI check? YES or NO I would think would suffice as answer re outstnding HP. So why didn't the OP get even this answer? What did he get for his money, a "we know, but we're not telling you" reply" ?

I'm baffled how they can even call it a check. Maybe someone has a business selling data on whether a car has a valid MOT or not?!