How To Reclaim Hire Purchase Charges.

In the current financial climate, many of us are turning to hire purchase or HP as a way of buying expensive things like furniture or cars and spreading the cost over a period of time. Lots of us don’t have enough disposable income to be able to pay a lump sum of money for the things that we don’t need and this is where hire purchase comes in handy. You can take your time with the payment, choosing to pay back a little each week or month; you may even not need to start making payment installments for a year or so.

There are more and more companies sprouting up all over the country that specifically focus on hire purchase buys and aim to take the pressure off people having to make a large on-off payment. These companies are big business and there adverts are constantly all over the television, radio and magazines. It may seem like a great idea to spread the cost of a luxury item over a certain amount of months or years but it does come with some issues that you would be wise to take note of.

Firstly, unlike a standard loan or credit card, the items that you buy do not belong entirely to you straight away; instead the goods are not legally yours until all of the agreed payments have been made. It is the finance company and not the retailer that own the goods until you have made the final payment. It is important that keep up with the payments as if you don’t the finance company will then have the right to seize the goods from you. You must make sure that you look after the goods as you are liable for any damage caused to the goods until the final payment is made.

The usual process with a hire purchase agreement is that you first will make an initial deposit and then the balance is spread over an agreed period of time and interest is then added to your payments. However, in recent years many financial products such as hire purchase agreements have been mis-sold and if you are one of these unfortunate people then you may be eligible to reclaim any money paid. If you have been mis-sold a hire purchase agreement in the past or you are still paying one that was taken out within the last 6 years then you may be able to reclaim the extra money you paid as an “early repayment charge” if you paid back the amount of your HP agreement early. You may also be able to reclaim payment protection insurance on your HP agreement if it was mis-sold, if it was not explained fully to you, if it was added to your agreement with you knowing or if it was not suitable for your needs.

If you are in any doubt that you have been mis-sold a HP agreement then you should first check your agreement to see if it includes PPI. You may be able to get this money back if it was added on unlawfully. You must then contact a specialist solicitor who will be able to deal with your claim. If it comes to light that you do have a case then they will help you to reclaim all the money that you shouldn’t have been charged in the first place.