We bought a car privately, but when we tried to sell it in part-exchange the garage discovered through an HPI check that the man who sold us the car still owes money to the finance company. The car therefore shows up as still belonging to him. What can we do?
When something is bought subject to a finance agreement it usually belongs to the finance company, not the buyer, until all the instalments have been paid off. So if the item is sold while money is still owing, the new purchaser will not become the true owner. Fortunately for you, cars and motorbikes are an exception to this rule. Ask the finance company to send you a form to sign stating that you are an innocent purchaser, and get them to forward it to HPI Equifax asking for the vehicle to be removed from their database.