A solicitor at Stephensons Solicitors LLP is urging people to take a closer look at ALL of their credit agreements.
Heather Korwin-Szymanowska believes many people could be paying out more than they need to for new cars and other domestic purchases, because of errors made in their credit agreements.
She says: “During the excitement of buying a new car, household electrical appliances or even a new three piece suite, it can be tempting to sign on the dotted line without looking closely at the details of the agreement. But we have successfully handled many claims for consumers who were in possession of unenforceable finance agreements, so it’s important people check what they are signing to avoid paying out more than they should be.”
The solicitor recently reached an out of court settlement for a client whose consumer credit agreement with Black Horse Finance appeared unenforceable.
Michael Stanway, from Chesterton in Staffordshire, approached Stephensons when he got into financial difficulty after taking out a loan to buy a new car.
Mr Stanway agreed a £5,600 loan to purchase a car which he was able to drive away the same day. He also part-exchanged his old car for £600, which was used as a deposit. His credit agreement was only posted out to him days later, when he signed it, and so he did not notice any immediate problems.
However, after three years of making regular payments totalling £4,000, Mr Stanway began to struggle with the repayments and sought advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) who referred him to Stephensons.
Heather Korwin-Szymanowska says: “Despite paying a substantial amount of the loan back over a three year period, Mr Stanway still owed around £5,000 on the original loan.
“We took his case on a ‘no-win, no-fee basis’ and soon discovered there were discrepancies with the original agreement. On closer inspection, the part exchange deposit for £600 correctly appeared on the sales invoice, but not on the credit agreement, meaning the amount of money requested from the finance company was £600 more than was actually received.
“The impact of this not only meant Mr Stanway was paying interest on the higher amount, but the agreement was also unenforceable so we were able to reach a settlement with Black Horse Finance on Mr Stanway’s behalf. The company wrote off the remaining balance of the debt and paid his legal costs.”
Mr Stanway adds: “I would like to thank Stephensons for all their help. They have acted quickly and achieved a great settlement. These documents can contain mistakes, and if in doubt, I would urge people to have their agreements looked at by Stephensons."