In November 2018, ‘Edward’ entered into a five-year motor agreement to finance a 2013 Range Rover valued at £17,299.
The interest rate for the motor finance agreement was set at an eye-watering 27.9% for the full length of the agreement. The rate should have been considered too high for Edward to repay, something that would have been evident if the appropriate affordability checks had been carried out.
At the time of purchasing his Range Rover on finance, Edward recalled that he felt pressured into accepting the finance agreement, with the salesperson’s pushy and ‘hard-sell’ tactic not giving him time to think. Additionally, he recalls that no credit check took place, nor was there any verifying of his income and expenditure. Furthermore, he doesn’t remember the provider discussing his financial circumstances at the point of sale.
The sky-high interest rate put Edward in major financial difficulties and he began to miss monthly instalments. This resulted in him beginning to use his personal savings as well as borrowing from his friends and family to keep up with the payments. The struggles left Edward suffering from stress, frantic with worry that the vehicle would be repossessed if he missed any more payments.
Barings Law submitted an affordability complaint on Edward’s behalf. His finance provider responded, admitting: “We now consider that more could have been done to confirm your client’s situation.”
As a result of negotiating with the provider, Barings Law secured a settlement of £14,992.94* for Edward.
*Amount awarded to Edward is before legal fees and disbursements.
