Van removed illegally from MY private space

thiscatisalandmine

Hi all,

Ive been a long time visitor to the site and threads here have helped me out many a time.

I now feel i have story worthy of posting, i got up this morning to find the camper van i had allowed my friend to park in my space was not there, after making a few phone calls i discovered the vehicle had been removed by a scrap company earlier, after a complaint had been made by a resident in one of the flats near by.

I live in a flat rented from a private landlord in a block of flats, on a cul-de-sac consisting of several blocks of flats and a few houses. The parking space the vehicle was in is included in the rent of the flat.

It is my understanding that the vehicle was removed by a letting agency acting on behalf of a tenant (a different management company to the one who i deal with) who simply didnt like the look of the vehicle. granted it was pretty scruffy looking and old but had a current MOT and was taxed. the company had apparently sent letters to my friend, but him being in india and not having my address meant the letters were never read.

I'm hoping someone can offer me advice on what to do next. I have contacted the DVLA as they must have been contacted in order for the company to have obtained my friends name and address, and they have said as long as the vehicle was T+T'ed then his personal info should not have been released. suggesting it has been obtained fraudulently.

WHEW, sorry for the rather long post just wanted to try and cover it all.

Thanks in advance

Premier_2

Why did the managing agents send a copy of a letter to your friend in India?

Normally they would simply send the letter to the address the parking space is allocated to, or better still to all the residents. Why wouldn't the company have your address? Surely they know the address of the properties the parking spaces are allocated to.

Anyway DVLA will release owners details to people with reasonable cause.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/AdviceOnKeepingYourVehicle/DG_180097

Why not contact the company that removed the vehicle and recover it from them? It'll probably cost you a few quid though! Be quick, else it might end up in the crusher.

geordieracer

Premier wrote: »

Why did the managing agents send a copy of a letter to your friend in India?

.

I think he means they sent the letters to his registed address of the vehicle and not to him in india.. cos that would be silly

hewhoisnotintheknow

thiscatisalandmine wrote: »

Hi all,

Ive been a long time visitor to the site and threads here have helped me out many a time.

I now feel i have story worthy of posting, i got up this morning to find the camper van i had allowed my friend to park in my space was not there, after making a few phone calls i discovered the vehicle had been removed by a scrap company earlier, after a complaint had been made by a resident in one of the flats near by.

I live in a flat rented from a private landlord in a block of flats, on a cul-de-sac consisting of several blocks of flats and a few houses. The parking space the vehicle was in is included in the rent of the flat.

It is my understanding that the vehicle was removed by a letting agency acting on behalf of a tenant (a different management company to the one who i deal with) who simply didnt like the look of the vehicle. granted it was pretty scruffy looking and old but had a current MOT and was taxed. the company had apparently sent letters to my friend, but him being in india and not having my address meant the letters were never read.

I'm hoping someone can offer me advice on what to do next. I have contacted the DVLA as they must have been contacted in order for the company to have obtained my friends name and address, and they have said as long as the vehicle was T+T'ed then his personal info should not have been released. suggesting it has been obtained fraudulently.

WHEW, sorry for the rather long post just wanted to try and cover it all.

Thanks in advance

you would of thought they would of at least knocked on your door or written you a letter asking if you knew whos it was

I wonder if its been scrapped

duncans-mum_2

Not sure how far it will get you, but round where I live, if I want to report an abandoned vehicle I contact the council. Can you try ringing the council? If it was them that arranged the private company to take it then they should be sorting it out. At the end of the day surely someone should have checked with the owner (or tenant) of the parking space.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

maninthestreet

The council will not remove a T+T car on private property.

tommarsden

If the vehicle was removed by a private contractor, rather than a council or police contractor, then any removal counts as theft. The vehicle was parked in a private parking space with permission from the tenant of the parking space. It was taxed and had valid MOT.

I would report it to the police as stolen and advise where they can recover it from.

Fen1

Ditto contacting the police. The van was taken from your parking space without your authority.

Premier_2

Don't bother with the police, they won't be interested as soon as they discover it was collected by a bona fide recovery company acting on the orders of the management company.

thiscatisalandmine

Firstly thank you for all your replies and comments, i have an update for you all and it gets more intriguing......

It turns out that the vehicle was taken at 10am and immediately scrapped. Unbelievable. Now... there are 2 management companies that deal with properties in this closed flat / appartment block. The person who complained about the 'look' of the vehicle works for one of the management companies - Mainstay, which is NOT the one that manages the car parking space where the vehicle was parked. Suspicious? I think so.

I contacted Mainstay and they confirmed that the complaint came from this tenant. I then spoke with the company that had towed the vehicle and they say they were instructed by Mainstay - the same company that employs the complaining resident!

Mainstay do not manage the car parking space, they have no legal right to remove or take action against vehicles parked in it. The DVLA have advised me that my sister could of parked scrap metal in the space it doesn't matter, it is considered PRIVATE property. The Company that manages the car park space and my sisters flat is called Realty management. We have spoke with them, they were not even contacted, neither was my sister, yet the van has been crushed along with all my possessions. The police have been contacted and if we get a receipt for the van being scrapped, we can prosecute. Fingers crossed.

Because the vehicle was old and worn, even though fully taxed and MOT'd, they made a judgement call and have acted illegally. It is no different to going onto someones drive, hitching up their vehicle and towing it away.

Does anyone know how long these things take to get resolved and which courts it would go through?

best,

Barney (ex-vehicle owner)

Premier_2

thiscatisalandmine wrote: »

...It turns out that the vehicle was taken at 10am and immediately scrapped. Unbelievable....

That was rather silly of them. You need to find out if they did so on the express orders of the managing agent or off their own bat.

Whatever, a vehicle can only be scrapped by an authorised treatment facility (to make sure it is done so in an environmentally friendly way). Who scrapped it are are they authorised? Normally vehicles are dismantled to recycle parts rather than crushed. That isn't immediate.
Also where is the certificate of destruction the ATF must provide?

thiscatisalandmine wrote: »

Now... there are 2 management companies that deal with properties in this closed flat / appartment block. The person who complained about the 'look' of the vehicle works for one of the management companies - Mainstay, which is NOT the one that manages the car parking space where the vehicle was parked. Suspicious? I think so.

I contacted Mainstay and they confirmed that the complaint came from this tenant. I then spoke with the company that had towed the vehicle and they say they were instructed by Mainstay - the same company that employs the complaining resident!

Mainstay do not manage the car parking space, they have no legal right to remove or take action against vehicles parked in it. The DVLA have advised me that my sister could of parked scrap metal in the space it doesn't matter, it is considered PRIVATE property. The Company that manages the car park space and my sisters flat is called Realty management. We have spoke with them, they were not even contacted, neither was my sister, yet the van has been crushed along with all my possessions. The police have been contacted and if we get a receipt for the van being scrapped, we can prosecute. Fingers crossed.

I'm confused. What are Mainstay responsible for?
Normally there is only one management company responsible for a set of apartments including the grounds, usually the company the service charge is paid to

Note: there may be a management company who employs a managing agent to carry out all the work for them ... but they are only agents. The management company is ultimately responsible (but they may have a claim of their own against an agent)

Otherwise, why would a company who is not responsible for the property (and hence doesn't receive any service charges) go to the expense of instructing a recovery vehicle to remove the vehicle. In fact why would they even attempt to contact the registered keeper in the first place?

Also I thought you said it was your space? But now you say it was your sisters flat?

What are the rules in the lease about parking vehicles? Typically it is only for residents own vehicles, and not for other storage purposes. The fact it was not the resident's vehicle (it was your mates) and the contents were not hers either (it was yours) may complicate matters.

thiscatisalandmine wrote: »

... Does anyone know how long these things take to get resolved and which courts it would go through?

best,

Barney (ex-vehicle owner)

Months. The county/small claims court.
Don't bother with the police, they won't be interested once they discover the facts. They'll just tell you to sort it out yourself via a civil claim if necessary.

The problem you may find is the company appears to have written to the registered keeper of the vehicle. It wasn't their fault he was in India and hadn't sorted out someone to handle his mail. It would depend on the notice that was sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, and the terms of the lease as to your chances of success in court... and of course why the company acted when you say they are not the management company anyway