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1. What is Hire Purchase/Conditional sale?
2. What if I cannot afford to pay?
3. What is the procedure if the Creditor has to go to Court before they can get the goods back?
4. What if I have paid less than a third & the Creditor wants the goods back?
5. How much will I owe if the agreement ends?
6. You end the agreement - Example
7. The Creditor ends the agreement - Example
8. What happens once the goods have been returned?
9. Appendix 1 - Example Agreement
10. Appendix 2 -Sample letters

What is Hire Purchase/Conditional sale?

Nowadays Hire Purchase and Conditional Sale agreements usually relate to cars although they are sometimes seen for furniture and white goods. They are different from ordinary credit agreements because under Hire Purchase and Conditional Sale agreements you do not own the goods until you have paid off the agreement.

This means you cannot sell the goods yourself without the creditor's written permission. If you sell the goods without permission, it can be a criminal offence.

Also, with Hire Purchase and Conditional Sale agreements, if you do not keep up with the payments it is possible for a creditor to repossess the goods. With ordinary credit agreements, the goods you buy belong to you from the time you take out the credit. The lender cannot take the goods back. They can only ask you to pay the money you owe under the agreement.

If you are not sure what type of agreement you have, check your contract. If in doubt phone us for advice on 0800 074 6918.

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What if I cannot afford to pay?

If you fall behind with your payments on a Hire Purchase or Conditional Sale agreement, the creditor may be able to repossess the goods. Look at your agreement. There will be a box "Repossession: Your Rights" telling you how much you need to have paid to stop the creditor taking the goods back without a court order (or your consent). This should be a third of the total amount payable under the agreement.

If you have paid a third or more of the total amount payable, the goods become "protected goods" and the creditor must go to court for an order for the goods to be returned unless you consent to the repossession. They cannot just come round and remove them ("snatch them back").

WARNING: If you want to work out if you have paid a third or more remember to include any deposit or part exchange as well as the instalments that you have paid.

If a creditor "snatches back" goods without a court order and without your consent where a third or more has been paid, you are entitled to a refund of all the money you have paid under the agreement.

Also, even if you have not paid more than a third of the total amount payable under the agreement, the creditor will need an order from the court, or your consent, to remove the goods from "any premises" they are on.

"Any premises," is not defined but includes your garage or drive but not the roadside. If your car is parked on the road (and you have not paid a third) then it is at risk of being "snatched back". The position of car parks is not clear.

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What is the procedure if the Creditor has to go to Court before they can get the goods back?

There is still a chance that you can keep hold of the goods as the court has the power to agree to this as long as you can pay the debt back in reasonable instalments.

If you have paid a third or more of the amount payable under the agreement or the goods are kept on your premises, and you do not consent to their repossession, the creditor will ask the court to send you a claim form asking for the goods to be returned. This is called an application for a "Return Order". Notice of a hearing date with a district judge is included. This hearing should be in your local county court.

There will be a form (N9C) with the claim that you should fill in and send back to the court within 14 days. You must fill this in if you want the court to suspend the Return of Goods Order and allow you to keep the goods. You need to offer to pay the debt back in monthly instalments you can afford. Especially where you really need to keep the goods, it is important to treat this debt as a priority over ordinary credit debts and offer as much as you can.

Send the form back to the court, not the creditor. The court will send a copy of your form to the creditor. If the creditor accepts the offer the hearing will be cancelled. If the creditor does not accept the offer the hearing will go ahead..

You must attend the hearing. The court will decide at the hearing whether they will suspend the Return Order and what monthly instalments you should pay from then on. If you do not fill in the admission form there will be a hearing anyway. If you don't go to the hearing the court will probably grant the creditor an order telling you to return the goods. If the court has already made an Return Order and you still wish to keep the goods, it is possible to apply for the order to be suspended. Phone us for advice.

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What if I have paid less than a third & the Creditor wants the goods back?

Where you have not paid a third of the total amount payable under the agreement and if you want to keep the goods, you should ask the creditor to agree to a payment arrangement with you. The creditor is most likely to accept if you can afford the full monthly instalments plus something towards the arrears.

If you can't make the full payments, the creditor may agree to reduce the payments, but usually by a small amount and only for a short time. In certain circumstances you may be able to go to court and ask to pay less than the full monthly instalment and extend the length of the agreement.

This is called a "Time Order". We have a factsheet we can send you. Phone us for advice.

The court may be willing to make a Time Order for a specific period if you have temporary financial difficulties. They may make a Time Order even if your financial problems are long term. However, if you have a drop in your income that is permanent you may no longer be able to afford to make more than token payments to the lender. If this is the case then you may have to decide whether you can realistically afford to keep the goods any more. If you decide that you cannot afford the goods you need to decide the best way of ending the agreement.

If you want advice about the options you have phone us for advice.

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How much will I owe if the agreement ends?

If you have to decide whether to end a Hire Purchase or Conditional Sale agreement there are two options:

• terminate and end the agreement, and return the goods voluntarily

or

• let the creditor terminate and end your agreement and repossess the goods.

There can be a difference in the amount you end up owing depending upon how the agreement is ended.

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You end the agreement - Example

You have the right to terminate and end your agreement under Section 99 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 at any time before your last instalment is due, although you will have lost the right to terminate your agreement if the creditor has already terminated it or if the full balance of the agreement has become payable.

If you decide to terminate your agreement voluntarily and hand back the goods to the creditor, you should only have to pay up to half of the total amount payable under the agreement, minus sums that you have paid and sums that are due. Sums that you have paid include any deposit plus the instalments that you have paid: sums due are any arrears/missed payments due at the time of termination.

The one half or 50% figure is stated on the agreement in the box headed "Termination: Your Rights".

You will then also owe any arrears (missed payments) plus damages if you have failed to take reasonable care of the goods (over and above normal wear and tear). The creditor might argue that there will be an extra charge for damage or unusual wear and tear. It is important to look at any charges to see if they are reasonable. See the example in Appendix I.

It is very important that you tell your creditor in writing that you are terminating and ending your agreement. If you do not terminate in writing the creditor will not treat it as a voluntary termination and you will not be able to benefit from the 50% limit on your liability. Keep a copy of the letter of termination in case you need proof of this later. We have included a sample letter in Appendix II, which you may want to adapt and to send to your creditor when terminating your agreement.

Warning: You may have a default notice sent to you by the creditor because you are behind with the payments on your agreement. Once the time has run out on the default notice this may mean you will have lost the right to end the agreement voluntarily and return the goods yourself. It depends upon your agreement. Your creditor may have called in or "terminated" the agreement when the default notice runs out. Some agreements say another notice to terminate the agreement has to be sent to you after the default notice has run out. Phone us for advice.

Warning: You do not need to have paid the "50%" to be able to terminate your agreement although some creditors say you do. All that is necessary is for you to give notice to the creditor in writing that you are terminating the agreement.

Also, where an Hire Purchase agreement contains a separate subsidiary agreement for insurance products (e.g. for payment protection insurance and/or a guarantee or warranty), it is not necessary to pay off this agreement before terminating the Hire Purchase agreement.

However, terminating/ending your Hire Purchase agreement does not terminate a subsidiary insurance agreement. You will remain liable to pay it.

Some creditors try to charge you for collecting the goods after the agreement has been terminated. It appears that this is not allowed under the Consumer Credit Act. If asked to pay an additional charge, you can complain to your Trading Standards Department or phone us for advice. Your agreement may say that you have to return the goods to your original supplier or somewhere similar. You should not be asked to return the goods further away than is reasonable on the grounds of cost and distance.

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The Creditor ends the agreement - Example

If you fall behind on the agreement, the creditor can terminate the agreement in writing. They must send you a "default notice" under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. They will then order you to return the goods. The default notice tells you what payments are outstanding and gives you a date by which to make up the arrears. If you cannot pay the arrears within the time specified, the whole balance may then automatically become payable and the agreement terminated. However, some agreements require notice to be sent to you by the creditor before the agreement is terminated.

Where a creditor terminates an agreement and repossesses the Hire Purchase goods you will usually have to pay the full amount owed on the original Hire Purchase agreement, minus what you have paid and minus the amount the creditor gets back from selling the goods. The "option to purchase fee" is also deducted. The example in Appendix I may be helpful.

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What happens once the goods have been returned??

Once the goods have gone back to the creditor, they can try to recover any balance still owed by you. You can treat the debt as an ordinary credit debt and make an offer of payment using the information pack and your personal budget. If you have not received a self-help information pack "Dealing with your Debts" phone us for advice. If the creditor does not accept your offer, they can sue you in the county court for the balance. We have a factsheet called "What if a Creditor Refuses my Offer of Payment?" which has a set of sample letters that may help. Phone us for advice.

If you dispute the balance the creditor says you owe, then it is important to write to the creditor and tell them. You may have to put a defence in when they send you the county court claim form.

If you put in a defence, there will be a hearing at the county court where the district judge will make the decision about how much you owe. They may decide that you owe less than the creditor has claimed. You will then have a county court judgment which you can offer to pay in instalments that you can afford.

Also the creditor may work out the amount you owe using a different calculation to those shown in Appendix I. Phone us for advice if you want to dispute the balance.

The Office of Fair Trading agrees with this way of working out the debt owed but creditors often dispute it.

If you have a Hire Purchase or Conditional Sale agreement and you are not sure what to, phone us for advice. It would be helpful if you have your credit agreement and any default notice with you when you call.

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APPENDIX 1

EXAMPLE AGREEMENT
HOW THE AMOUNT YOU OWE CAN DIFFER:

Total amount payable under the HP agreement	£4,000
Amount already paid (deposit + instalments)	£1,600
Arrears ("sums due")	£200
Damages for failure to take reasonable care of goods	£250
Value/sale proceeds of goods	£900
"Option to Purchase" fee	£5

WHERE YOU TERMINATE/END THE AGREEMENT

50% of amount repayable		£2,000
LESS	Sums paid	£1,600
	Sums due	£200
	=	£200
	Arrears Damages
PLUS		£200
		£250
TOTAL LIABILITY		£650

CREDITOR ENDS THE AGREEMENT

Total amount payable under the HP agreement		£4,000
LESS	Amount already paid	£1,600
	Sale proceeds	£900
	"Option to purchase" fee	£5
YOU WILL OWE		£1,495

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APPENDIX 2 - Sample Letters

TO BE USED WHEN YOU WANT TO TERMINATE A HIRE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH YOUR CREDITOR

Your Name
Your Address

Company's Address

The Date

VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT

Dear Sir/Madam

Re: Account Number (Car Make/Model and Registration Number)

I am/we are writing to notify you that I am/we are exercising my/our right to terminate the above Agreement under Section 99 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

I/we understand that I shall/we will be liable to you for the amount calculated under the formula in Section 100 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Please send me/us details of how the vehicle can be returned to you.

Please confirm receipt of this request by telephone/fax to me/us on (your telephone number or fax number).

Yours faithfully

Your Name

 

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Remember: You can always Phone us for advice about any difficulty you are having in dealing with your debts

0800 074 6918

© Copyright National Debtline 1994 (updated July 2005)