A mother from Blaenau Ffestiniog is warning people to take care when buying a car through credit after her own purchase went disastrously wrong.
Vickie Harris bought a car on finance for £6,500 so she could travel to work, but when it burst into flames she was left paying back the loan even when she didn’t have a vehicle.
The mother-of-two, who originally comes from Burton-on-Trent, bought the car from a dealer on credit because she felt she had no other option due to a low credit rating following a divorce.
Vickie said: “I opted for the deal despite high repayments because I needed a car to travel to work at the Field Studies Council in Betws y Coed.
“But when the car caught fire I was left with those high repayments to meet each month and faced the possibility of losing my job as I couldn’t travel to work.”
Vickie thought she might have to give up work, as without a car, travelling to Betws y Coed was impossible. With no car and increasing debts, she eventually heard about her local credit union.
“My boss told me to try Cambrian Savings & Loans, so I went along to the Caernarfon office. It was the best decision I ever made,” she said.
“I told them about the financial nightmare I was suffering and they were absolutely amazing by allowing me to take out a loan.
“Without it I would have been forced to give up my job because I travel 60 miles a day to get there.”
Vickie’s home protection insurance offered her free legal cover and following an investigation by the Financial Ombudsman she was cleared of any debt.
She added: “Thankfully I have kept my job, can afford the repayments and am even saving to the future. I was so lucky to have legal protection on my home insurance and to be offered a lifeline by the credit union.
“My situation could have been so much worse, and I don’t want others to fall into the same trap.”
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