DVLA Removed Deceased Relative's Car

woodbine66

Long story short. An estranged relative of ours died in January last year, and we have only just found out. We're trying to sort out her affairs. We have only just found out where the relative lived.


We visited her house for the first time today, and spoke to her neighbours. It turns out that our relative had a car that was parked in the road outside her house. According to neighbours, the tax ran out last October. Earlier this year, the DVLA clamped the car and questioned neighbours. They explained that the car belonged to their neighbour who had died and no one knew of any next of kin/friends/family, etc.


In about March this year, the DVLA removed the car. I assume they would have held it for some time then sold it. We don't know what car it was, but the neighbours did say it was a very nice car.


If the car was relatively new and maybe worth thousands of pounds, can the DVLA keep all of the money from it's sale? Or can we claim the balance after paying outstanding tax, penalties and removal/storage costs?


Would appreciate any advice. Will be phoning the DVLA on Monday, but would like to know where we stand.

Keep_pedalling

The DVLA do not remove cars the local authority do.

The really bad news is that they destroy abandoned cars not sell them.

https://www.inbrief.co.uk/motoring-law/abandoned-vehicles/

Aretnap

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

The DVLA do not remove cars the local authority do.

The DVLA, or rather their contractors NSL, remove untaxed cars. The local authority will remove abandoned cars. Obviously many cars fall into both categories.

The really bad news is that they destroy abandoned cars not sell them

Only if the car has little or no value - which obviously applies to 99% of abandoned cars. Cars with significant value do get sold - though at auction with no keys the selling price trends to be well below what you might normally think of as market value. Any surplus after the cost of removal, sale and any penalties should be reclaimable by the owner, or in this case the owner's estate.

agrinnall

I'd be very surprised if the DVLA wouldn't have written to the owner before removing the car, so was there a letter from them among her belongings? There should also be some evidence of possession among her papers, at the least the V5C.

AdrianC

If the car is still with them - and if it was only removed last month, it may well be - then you would be best served by getting it out. You can then sell it or distribute it as part of the estate.

You'll need to tax it to do so, which will require a current MOT and it'll need to be insured. You'll also need to produce proof of dealing with your relative's affairs. Are you the executors of her will, or have you been issued with letters of administration?

However, if you've only just found out where she lived, and don't even know what kind of car you're dealing with, I suspect that you don't have much of a hope of getting anywhere, since you clearly aren't "sorting her affairs" in any kind of official capacity. Yet? Are there other relatives or did she have friends? They may well have far more of a claim than you do... Or, indeed, any charity or organisation she may have left her estate to.

woodbine66

Thanks for your replies.


agrinnall - We don't yet have access to the inside of the house. We're not sure who, if anyone has the keys. I don't doubt there will be letters from the DVLA inside.


AdrianC - Yes, I will be contacting DVLA and the local council first thing on Monday. We have only just become aware of our relative's death. She died Jan 2018. Straight after she died, someone came from the hospital/social services (??) and gained entry to the property and searched for a will and details of next of kin. They found nothing. Their main aim was to locate someone to pay for her funeral. Her body was kept until August, and somehow they made contact with her estate agent who sold her previous property. He paid for the funeral. No will has ever been found.


Our relative was a bit reclusive, has no really close relatives (we're the closest) and no friends as she tended to upset people. Her neighbours all disliked her.


So basically, after the initial search by someone from the authorities, the house was just locked up. As far as I know, that visit by them was the only time anyone has entered the house in 15 months. And yes, I will be applying for letters of administration.

Marvel1

If you dont know what the reg of the vehicle is i don't think the DVLA can help on Monday.

Marvel1

It sounds harsh but it sounds like you are just after money, they died over a year ago and you didn't know.

Mojisola

woodbine66 wrote: »

Her body was kept until August, and somehow they made contact with her estate agent who sold her previous property. He paid for the funeral.

And yes, I will be applying for letters of administration.

I hope you will offer to repay the EA for the funeral.

The council or the NHS (depending on where she died) would have paid for a simple funeral - no-one else should have been pressurised into funding it.

ROY47

If you dont know what the reg of the vehicle is i don't think the DVLA can help on Monday.

Try Google earth it may show the car outside the property ?

worried_jim

ROY47 wrote: »

If you dont know what the reg of the vehicle is i don't think the DVLA can help on Monday.

Try Google earth it may show the car outside the property ?

Lol. You mean street view.