A really interesting problem...friend has been shafted. Who can help?

Spartacus_Mills

Deleted_User wrote: »

Exactly!

Really, no-one seems to be able to help so they're left to their own devices to sort it out.

Essentially there are several issues at play:

When they gave the bike to the dealer, did they pass ownership over to them or was the dealer acting merely as an agent?

When the dealer sold it to the purchaser, what happened to the money? If agent = wasn't their money.

When the new owner registered their ownership with the DVLA, this would have taken title from my friend, surely? Is this proof that the dealer was an agent and not owner?

It would seem to me that the dealer had no legal title to the bike and so it is the ultimate final purchaser who will end up losing out, as they've bought a bike from a dealer without checking that the dealer had ownership? But then again, that was never the intention from my friend's perspective.

Get legal advice. What has happened is certainly illegal as title has not transferred and technically the goods still belong to your friend. The person who bought this bike has been duped and will have to return it to your friend as long as he can prove ownership. As you rightly point out. This is the relevant law.

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=47&NavFrom=2&parentActiveTextDocId=1837068&ActiveTextDocId=1837107&filesize=1331

Anihilator

The seller was acting as an agent for your friend. I would suggest any dispute is between them. The seller had the right to sell the vehicle.

neilmcl

As far as I read it, the dealer had an agreement to sell the bike on the OPs behalf. The bike was sold, as agreed, but the dealer went into liquidiation before settling up with the OP. Nothing illegal there, the OP will have to wait and see just like any other creditor.

maninthestreet

Deleted_User wrote: »

My friend has told them though that the new owner has 'registered' (not sure of the exact wording) the vehicle with them though already. What would that mean though? Perhaps 'registered' isn't the correct word.

'registered' is the right word - they are now the registered keeper of the vehicle.

kalaika

I would probably agree with Anihilator that the bike was legitimately sold by the garage as arranged and so I would say that the new owner has the right to keep the bike.

However, I would have thought that your friend may not be a creditor in the same way as the garage's trade suppliers are, because the £2,000 banked by the garage was not the garage's money to keep.
The liquidator can only liquidate assets owned by the garage in order to pay creditors. Therefore, when the liquidator is setting out the company assets to establish how much money there is to pay the unsecured creditors, your friend may be able to apply for the £2,000 to be set aside for him as the money is not the garage's asset.

I would recommend your friend follows Peachy's suggestion and talk to the legal department of his bike insurance.


Caveat: I have no legal training - this is just my opinion.

[Deleted User]

Right, some answers to your questions.

My friend filled in the V888. The new owner is the registered keeper and my friend is the previous keeper, so the garage was never the 'registered keeper' at any point.

Therefore, it would point towards the relationship being one of agency?

pitkin2020

If the garage went into liquidation it maybe likely they accepted a csh deal for the bike so leaving no paper trail, your friend probably didn't get a written agreement from the garage that they would sell it on his behalf for whatever fee.

Your only recourse maybe to take the garage owner to the smal claims court but I don't know how you will get on without a written agreement or even proff that the garage was in possesion of the bike and your friend never received any monies from the sale of the bike.

Its a !!!!!! situation and I wish you luck with it.