Help! Garage have sold my car without my consent!

goosemc

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can help me with a very complicated issue...

I am the owner of a T reg Vauxhaul Tigra. I still have my logbook and all documents relating to this vehicle.

In june of this year, my car's cambelt broke and a mechanic friend of my boss offered to help out.
He towed my car to the garage he works at and examined it and informed me the car needed a new engine.

He said he would hunt around for a new engine and let me know costs etc. A month went by and I found an engine on ebay and called to let him know. He informed me "oh no, don't touch an ebay engine, you'll end up with worse than you already have"... I trusted him and left him to keep searching for me.

More time went on, it was now September and I called again and he advised me to cancel my insurance as the car was held at the garage and would be covered under their insurance. He also advised that I should SORN the car to get the last few months of tax back while he searched for an engine.
He said, and I quote "don't worry, it can stay here as long as it takes, it could even be months, I'm not having any luck finding an engine yet"
I thanked him and told him to please call me if his boss needed the car moved and they needed the space back and he agreed. As he was a personal friend of my (now retired) boss, I had no reason to doubt him.

On friday evening of this week I received a letter from the DVLA that someone was trying to claim ownership of my car!!!

I called them this morning and was informed that someone had indeed got my vehicle and was claiming ownership.

I called the garage and they informed me that they had scrapped my car without my consent!!! When I questioned this he told me "sorry, we couldn't find an engine and it wouldn't have been worth it anyway due to the age of the car, we thought you'd want it scrapped"

I called the scrapyard, who informed me they took the vehicle an estimated 5 months ago from the garage and put (wait for it) a new engine that THEY had waiting there into my car and sold it.

I called the police who won't do a thing! As far as I am concerned the car is stolen, but they said I need to go to the CAB about it.

This is utterly crazy, the "new owners" will own my car officially in 14 days time according to the DVLA and there seems to be nothing I can do about it as the police are treating it as a civil matter.

This is theft! I never gave consent for the vehicle to be scrapped or sold, To top this all off I even still have possesions in the car - sunglasses, stereo, tapes, a carpark pass to my husbands place of work and personal bits and bobs.

What on earth can I do? I cannot afford to fight this in the courts but I am not elligable for legal aid due to being in full time paid employment.

Help!

DCFC79

What about this personal friend of yours who was helping you ? is he still at the garage as surely he would have said to not touch the car as it was yours, did the garage say why they got rid of it ?

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Of course you can fight it in the courts. Small claims only costs about £30 to make the application. You don't need a solicitor or anything, just keep all paperwork, all correspondence, and state your case.

The garage will no doubt be asked for proof they had permission to get rid of your car. They'll not be able to present anything that you signed, so will be struggling.

goosemc

DCFC79 wrote: »

What about this personal friend of yours who was helping you ? is he still at the garage as surely he would have said to not touch the car as it was yours, did the garage say why they got rid of it ?

The Garage mechanic is a personal friend of my (now ex) boss. When i called the garage they told me "sorry, we couldn't find an engine and it wouldn't have been worth it anyway due to the age of the car, we thought you'd want it scrapped"
My ex-boss isn't worth involving because all he did was give me the garage's phone number in the beginning of all of this.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Of course you can fight it in the courts. Small claims only costs about £30 to make the application. You don't need a solicitor or anything, just keep all paperwork, all correspondence, and state your case.

The garage will no doubt be asked for proof they had permission to get rid of your car. They'll not be able to present anything that you signed, so will be struggling.

Surely this is theft and a police matter though? I just don't understand why they won't seize my car back - they know via the DVLA who currently has it. I have the V5, I have the original sales receipt, I have every receipt for every service and work its ever had, I have the key to it (the garage had the spare key), I have everything document wise relating to this vehicle from the last 10 years!

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

You gave the vehicle to them to look after. They sold it while in their care. That isn't theft.

goosemc

What is it then?
I have never given consent, never signed anything, never gave verbal permission and I still hold all the documents relating to the vehicle.
They sold my car, that I legally own, without my consent and without a V5.

Thats like saying you gave your vehicle to a garage for a service and they sell it without your consent isn't theft? Surely it is?

CHR15

Do you know where the car is??

Just pop round with your key, get in and drive away.

goosemc

I wish I knew where it was. If only it was that simple.

The DVLA won't tell me who has tried to register it in their name instead of mine.

harveybobbles

You need to tell the DVLA NOT to issue a new V5 in the new keeprs name, as it will be legally their car. This is why they write to you and say you have 14 days to object to a new application.

goosemc

The DVLA have told me that they will issue a V5 in the new persons name, so there is nothing I can do. The DVLA do not "get involved in issues or disputes of ownership"...

The V5 only apparantly shows that this new person is the "keeper" and it is not a document of official ownership - apparantly.

Because they have my car, they can apparantly do this quite legally... which to me is madness.

Trebor16

Have you written to DVLA and informed them that you are still the registered keeper and you have not sold the vehicle to anyone?