HPI check?

[B20]

Hi,
I`m going to buy another car, for more than my usual 500 - 1000 quid, I thought a HPI check would be good to have.
I`m only really interested in "outstanding Finance" + Stolen (Woz advice) on the new one, so whats the cheapest check that offers that? and works!
Thanks in advance

 

[Wozzaaah]

You should be more concerned about a car being stolen than there being outstanding finance on it.
If there's finance on it you can usually keep it as long as you bought it in good faith but if it's been stolen then chances are you'll lose it.
I think most checks cover all possibilities anyway don't they?

 

[MoreWellie]

not just stolen but cloned cars apparently happen more often than you would expect

I went through this recently and as far as I could see whatever you did was pretty much worthless in terms of comeback unless you follow their terms and conditions to the letter

I discounted the very cheap or free services and looked hard at rac £15, hpicheck £20 and AA £20

I found quite a few posts suggesting that the rac had supplied checks that were less accurate so ended up going with hpicheck for the information and accepted that the deposit we paid in cash meant we wouldn't have any comeback

 

[Kent]

You need to check chassis number and plate. Selling a car with history people will try and put a cheap personal registration on it as a cover up. Outstanding finance becomes your issue if it's repossessed, your just lucky if there is a small amount on it and it's not worth the hassle.
When checking a chassis plate look carefully.

 

[Wozzaaah]

You need to check chassis number and plate. Selling a car with history people will try and put a cheap personal registration on it as a cover up. Outstanding finance becomes your issue if it's repossessed, your just lucky if there is a small amount on it and it's not worth the hassle.
When checking a chassis plate look carefully.

If you bought it "in good faith" it can't be repossessed.

 

[the snooper]

You should be more concerned about a car being stolen than there being outstanding finance on it.
If there's finance on it you can usually keep it as long as you bought it in good faith but if it's been stolen then chances are you'll lose it.
I think most checks cover all possibilities anyway don't they?

But it is proving it, if the dodgy seller wants rid of the finance he could say the buyer was fully aware of the outstanding debt

 

[Mee]

If you bought it "in good faith" it can't be repossessed

That's rubbish as normal policy is to repossess the vehicle as they are essentially stolen goods and not the vendors goods to sell, actually they can charge you with a number of offences if they believe you knew it was stolen or suspected it was stolen.
In many cases the legal owners of the vehicle who are the insurers if they have paid out on a vehicle as a total loss, may choose not to repossess the vehicle if they think you are legitimate and offer to do a deal for you to pay for the vehicle, this saves the insurers the cost of court proceedings for a repossession order, a repossession agent, a company to collect the vehicle, and the cost of storage before the costs of auctions of written off vehicles, and in most cases they will let you keep and continue to use the vehicle during the negotiations.

 

[the snooper]

That's rubbish as normal policy is to repossess the vehicle as they are essentially stolen goods and not the vendors goods to sell, actually they can charge you with a number of offences if they believe you knew it was stolen or suspected it was stolen.
In many cases the legal owners of the vehicle who are the insurers if they have paid out on a vehicle as a total loss, may choose not to repossess the vehicle if they think you are legitimate and offer to do a deal for you to pay for the vehicle, this saves the insurers the cost of court proceedings for a repossession order, a repossession agent, a company to collect the vehicle, and the cost of storage before the costs of auctions of written off vehicles, and in most cases they will let you keep and continue to use the vehicle during the negotiations.

you should have a read up on things before posting your opinion, this is from a HPI Checking web site.

You do have a defence though, and that’s section 27 of the Hire Purchase Act (1964). This says that if you buy a car in good faith and the vendor doesn’t tell you of any outstanding finance agreements, you still have good title to the car

 

[tlovatt]

It is my belief (i.e. do not rely upon this information) that provided you meet the requirements, a good faith sale passes title of the vehicle to the buyer under the Hire Purchase Act 1964 where there in finance remaining on the vehicle. For stolen cars there are some mechanisms where a good title can pass (e.g. sold by a garage, estoppel or selling a vehicle on before the cheque bounces) but often a title can not pass as it was not the purported sellers item to sell.

 

[Mee]

not just stolen but cloned cars apparently happen more often than you would expect

I went through this recently and as far as I could see whatever you did was pretty much worthless in terms of comeback unless you follow their terms and conditions to the letter

I discounted the very cheap or free services and looked hard at rac £15, hpicheck £20 and AA £20

I found quite a few posts suggesting that the rac had supplied checks that were less accurate so ended up going with hpicheck for the information and accepted that the deposit we paid in cash meant we wouldn't have any comeback

Good information, but I would add to it with the most important issue is what comeback you get against the checking company if they give duff information, some companies offer a 100% comeback and pay out the full value of the car and your time and expenses while others may cap their limits to a fixed value, others often have variable limits in various steps and charge differing fees based upon the value of the vehicle at the time of the check, so checking what comeback you have is vital as you don't want to to a company with a reimbursement capped at £5000 if you are buying a £20,000 vehicle.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

@B20 I'd also want to check if the vehicle is accident damaged/repaired.

 

[Mee]

You do have a defence though, and that’s section 27 of the Hire Purchase Act (1964). This says that if you buy a car in good faith and the vendor doesn’t tell you of any outstanding finance agreements, you still have good title to the car

I am fully aware of this, and I am fully aware that to date nobody has won in court using this defence as stolen goods comes into play, if a vendor sells a vehicle while it is on finance it isn't theirs to sell unless they obtain written consent from the finance company (the legal owners) to sell the vehicle all the finance company do is report it to the Police and it changes from a civil matter to a criminal matter and the Police intervene as it is a cheap way for them to get a positive result and clear up a crime and add it to their figures.

 

[Mee]

@B20 I'd also want to check if the vehicle is accident damaged/repaired.

Most include this Slim.

 

[the snooper]

I am fully aware of this, and I am fully aware that to date nobody has won in court using this defence as stolen goods comes into play, if a vendor sells a vehicle while it is on finance it isn't theirs to sell unless they obtain written consent from the finance company (the legal owners) to sell the vehicle all the finance company do is report it to the Police and it changes from a civil matter to a criminal matter and the Police intervene as it is a cheap way for them to get a positive result and clear up a crime and add it to their figures.

and you know this how, there are many court cases

 

[Mee]

Just look up the legal precedents.

 

[B20]

So "morewellie`s" shortlist is RAC £15
Hpicheck £20
AA £20
What`s the favorite??

 

[rtbcomp]

"The Sheriffs Are Coming" type programmes do HPI checks. If a vehicle is found to be on finance they can't take it "because it belongs to the finance company". Sometimes the Sheriffs repossess cars on the behalf of finance companies. I did hear of a case where a guy bought a car in good faith which was under finance and he was allowed to keep it. I can't remember any other details though.

 

[the snooper]

ive just been reading up on a few stories and one that interested me was log book loans, be very careful that there are no loans against any car you buy, apparently these loan sharks use an old law to do business in that when you get the loan and sign for it you are actually signing a bill of sale for the car, so the loan company own the car and if the owner defaults on payment they simply go round and collect the car that they already own and nothing can be done about it.

 

[tlovatt]

Just look up the legal precedents.

If you were looking at the legal precedents then you would not see most of these types of cases as they would be littigated through the inferior courts. But if you wanted a HC ruling what is wrong with VFS Financial Services Limited v JF Plant Tyres Limited EWHC 346 (QB) Whilst in that case the disposition was held not to fall under s27, the dictum of the case clearly supports that it would have been so if the exchange had been for money?

Agin, just my opinion not to be relied upon

 

[Mee]

The Sheriffs Are Coming" type programmes do HPI checks. If a vehicle is found to be on finance they can't take it "because it belongs to the finance company". Sometimes the Sheriffs repossess cars on the behalf of finance companies. I did hear of a case where a guy bought a car in good faith which was under finance and he was allowed to keep it. I can't remember any other details though.

You have to remember Sheriffs or High Court bailiffs work under the auspices of the High Court and have to stick to the law, the private bailiffs and debt collectors usually bend the law as most are not employed by the company and are self employed, so looking at their own financial interests. Most likely they negotiated with, or tried to negotiate with the insurers and agreed a final figure in full and final settlement.

ive just been reading up on a few stories and one that interested me was log book loans, be very careful that there are no loans against any car you buy, apparently these loan sharks use an old law to do business in that when you get the loan and sign for it you are actually signing a bill of sale for the car, so the loan company own the car and if the owner defaults on payment they simply go round and collect the car that they already own and nothing can be done about it.

This is a very interesting one and an excellent post as many are classified as "private loans" and it is a very grey area as the loan company had to "prove deed of title" as they don't show up on a normal HPI check. Some people are trying to use them as "private loans" to avoid repossession, but possess legitimate paperwork to show they don't have deed of title as the loanee has deed of title.