Can My UK Lender Repossess My Car Even Though the Guarantor and Log Book Are Not in My Name? – Roy

“Dear Jon,

One family member is Guarantor for a 5 yr car finance deal for my sister, but the log book is in my sister’s name, there is one more year to pay the finance off, but the Guarantor has got into financial difficulty, possible Bankrupcy at the next stage, my sister is worried that the car will be re-possessed by the finance company with only one year left to go, and she has never missed any payments.

Can the finance company re-possess the car even though the finance is in the guarantors name and address and the car log book is in my sisters name and address?

Roy”

Hi Roy,

Without looking at all the documentation related to the car, its financing, etc, it is difficult to give a definitive answer, but from what you have stated, and I am going to assume even though there is a guarantor, your sister is still somewhere on the financing, the car and your sister should be fine.

First off it is a secured debt, and secured debts cannot be included in bankruptcy, so that would not be an issue for your sister. Next as long as the payments for the financing are being made in a timely manner, the car will not be repossessed. And lastly, the logbook is in your sister’s name, so in essence it is her car. The person guaranteeing the financing or loan, is just responsible for the loan should your sister not make payments.

Now let’s assume, my assumption that your sister is on the financing as well is an incorrect assumption.

Again, as long as the payments are being made, there should be no repossession.

The person guaranteeing the financing will need to disclose the guarantee in their bankruptcy, but if they are not making the payments on the financing/car, and the logbook is not in their name, there should be no issues with the car in the bankruptcy.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Jon

Jon Emge is an experienced UK debt advisor who has helped thousands and thousands of people in the UK to deal with problem debt. Jon specialises in finding good solutions for problem debt using a variety of UK specific techniques.

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