4th August 2016

I bought a van outright for just under £8,000 just over 12 months ago from a garage called STRATA VEHICLE SOLUTIONS LTD in Wednesbury in the West Midlands. All was ok until 2 weeks ago a couple of guys called at my house working for Peak Collections ltd, I was not at home so they managed to get my phone number and called me to inform me that they were working on behalf of peugeot financial services and that £7500 was still outstanding on the vehicle. At the time I bought it I did do a basic hpi check to ensure it had'nt been stolen, written off...etc but crucially I did'nt do the outstanding finance check as I was buying from a large company that had been around since 1985.

Obviously at this time my heart sank and was in shock. I rang strata but the telephone number had been disconnected. I ran a check on google and found out that the firm which was part of S P HOLDINGS LTD had gone into administration. I rang their number and a guy answered from an administration company explaining what had happened.

Since then I have rang peugeot financial services who have confirmed that there is still finance outstanding and that they have a legal interest in the vehicle. I asked them to send it in writing to me but they would'nt, instead they made an appointment last Friday for peak collections to call at my house again with a "new keeper questionaire",so last Friday they came round again with this form (the vehicle was not at my property when they called). On the form it asked for name, address, when did I purchase, how much for, mileage when purchased, current mileage, how I paid for it, where did I buy it, how I found it....etc. Anyway I asked for a written letter or anything official explaining the situation but they could'nt give me anything (they did have a letter but seemed addressed to someone else, possibly strata vehicle solutions but could not show it me due to data protection)

Anyway I refused to fill this form in so they just walked away and said they would just pass it back to the office. Since then I've rang peugeot again asking for written explanation but again they insist that this can only be done by filling in the form on the doorsep of my house by the collection firm.

In the meantime I've taken the van off the road and am now using a family members car to get about in. I rely on my vehicle every day as a self employed tradesman. Can anyone give me the best advice on what to do next ?