Need advice on a legal issue concerning a car

Lum

200888: How do you become the legal owner of your TV or washing machine? You don't have deeds to them or anything. Just buying it makes you the legal owner. It's the same with a car.

Kilty_2

200888 wrote: »

but to change keepers doesnt the registerd keeper have to sign their name..... so if she didnt sign wouldnt it be illegal anyway? because he would have to forge her signature or something?

plus if they used his mastercard and she paid him - surely there would be some trace of it somewhere, a bank statement or something

also, i keep hearing that 'registerd keeper' and 'legal owner' are diffent on here....so if you sign the V5 in your name when you buy it - you are the registerd keeper, how do you become the legal owner then? or is it automatically the person who pays for it?

Anyone can apply for a logbook for a car as far as I am aware but the DVLA write to the current registered keeper and inform them of it - so you can dispute it.

HO87

Regardless of who's name the vehicle was purchased in if said partner states that he has an honest belief that he is entitled to the vehicle then no one is going to be prosecuted and absent some compelling elements the police are unlikely to be willing to become involved. On the basis of the OP's posts demonstrating ownership is going to be slightly tricky. The cousin would be well advised to get to her solicitor as quickly as possible together with all the relevant documentation and proofs of payment.

Lum

The price has gone up, but I assure you that even the "approved" ones are still shady as ****. Let me give you an example.

A few years back my car was stolen from outside a hotel in Leeds. The police found it the next day and recovered it to their approved storage facility. I rang them up, since I was still working in the area, and asked to collect it that afternoon. They assured me that the electrics were "completely f*cked" (their words) and that I'd need a tow truck.

Annoyed I asked a garage in Chesterfield that I know and trust (enough that I still used them, even after moving to the South East) to arrange recovery and repairs.

Current bill: £105

Day 2: My garage sign a blank cheque and give it to the tow truck driver with instructions to pay whatever the bill is and get my car. They say that they won't accept a company cheque without a letter on headed paper to prove that the company exists, the tow truck returns empty, current bill: £117

Day 3: Tow truck driver returns with said letter and is told that they wont take the cheque as it wasn't signed in front of them. He returns empty handed, current bill: £129

Day 4: Saturday, current bill: £141

Day 5: Sunday, current bill: £153

Day 6: Tow truck driver and company manager go up to Leeds, with cheque book and letter on headed paper. They now say they want two forms of photographic ID for the manager, current bill: £165

Day 7: They return with all the above and suitable ID. "Oh we don't take company cheques at all", current bill: £177

Day 8: Annoyed, they send the driver out with £200 cash, they don't take cash, curent bill: £189

Day 9: The manager attends with the driver and his personal chequebook, two forms of IT. They say the cheque is fine but the guy in the yard has gone home sick so they can't get any cars out for health and safety reasons, current bill: £201

Day 10: They turn up and the place is shut, current bill: £213

Day 11: Saturday, current bill: £225

Day 12: Sunday, current bill: £237

Day 13: Finally they are allowed the car. My tow truck guy starts the car, apparently the starter motor was disconnected, and drives it onto the back of the bloody truck. They were lying about it being undriveable the whole time. Final bill: £249

The best part is I had a rather nice car PC I built myself installed in that car, and the GPS logs show that it was started and driven from the place where the police found it, to the storage place, not recovered on a flatbed, so they knew damn well it was driveable. They also deliberately disabled the starter motor so that if I were to turn up it would appear to be broken.

I sent a letter of complaint, sent special delivery and signed for, to West Yorkshire Police and they didn't even bother to reply.