Question about owner vs registered keeper

Ballistic87

Hi guys. I have a little issue here and wanted some advice. Il try keep it short as possible. 

Brought a car and its it’s on my name, paid for by me, with proof in my bank statement if needs be. 

Borrowed the car to a relative (he helped me repair the car and get it up to scratch) , we were very close, but recently had a little dispute between our two families but we (myself and the family member) are still on decent terms , so he still has the car and im ok with that.  the dispute was over money, I’m a little concerned that his family might whisper in his ear and somehow convince him to take the car. 

Ive heard about people applying for logbooks for abandoned cars etc, and even though it’s on my name, worried he somehow might take it off by contacting  DVLA

my insurance for the car is coming off tommorow, and not looking to renew it as he needs it for the foreseeable future. He will be putting his own insurance on it. 

So to sum up. From tommorow il be the registered keeper, he will be the main driver on the insurance. 

Should the worst happen and we fall out (we probably won’t but you never know with these things) were do I stand in regards to the car?
 

Its pretty valuable, around 18-20k I would guess. I don’t have any sort of written agreement or anything  between  us as didn’t ever think I’d need one, and don’t think I could bring myself to ask him to sign anything right now as it could only make things more awkward between our two families. 


Any help appreciated. Many thanks. 

MinuteNoodles

It says in big at the top of the front of the V5 "THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT PROOF OF OWNERSHIP". He cannot take it off you just by changing the name of the registered keeper. 
My advice is to get the written agreement you don't have. You need to state clearly that you retain ownership and you also need to clearly state their liability in regards to any damage or loss. You absolutely do need an agreement in writing and a proper one especially with friends and family if you ever want to take him to court should it go wrong. Without doing so you might as well just hand them the car and hope they'll give it back.

Scrapit

no bodys gonna comment on borrow vs lend? You've changed MSE.

DoaM

Scrapit said:

no bodys gonna comment on borrow vs lend? You've changed MSE.

You also missed brought / bought

Plus ... criticising spelling/grammar with a post like that?

AdrianC

DoaM said:

You also missed brought / bought

"Bring and buy" sales must really fry some people's heads.

OP - the risk here is handing your ~£20k car over. If you think this person might do some shenanigans, then surely it's simply that you'll never see the car again, rather than the paperwork part...?

If they try and get a V5C in their name, you WILL get communication from DVLA in your name to the registered address.
If you hand them the V5C, and they submit a keeper change, you WILL get a "You are no longer the RK" letter.
If you don't, and they apply with a V62, you WILL get a "This person has requested, is it legit?" letter.

Remember, while you are RK, you are legally responsible. The RK does not show the owner - it says in big letters on the top of the V5C that they are different things. There is no official record of ownership.

Scrapit

DoaM said:

Scrapit said:

no bodys gonna comment on borrow vs lend? You've changed MSE.

You also missed brought / bought

Plus ... criticising spelling/grammar with a post like that?

I'm not critical, the pedantry thats rife on here hasnt emerged which I find unusual, but then you posted and.....business as usual.

NBLondon

AdrianC said:

Remember, while you are RK, you are legally responsible. The RK does not show the owner - it says in big letters on the top of the V5C that they are different things. There is no official record of ownership.

In other words - speeding tickets and the like come to you first and you have to nominate who was driving.  If you trust your relative to own up etc.  that's your call.  Ditto with agreeing that they will take care of insurance.

If you suspect that other family members might interfere, drive the car without your knowledge and agreement or cause a breakdown of your current gentlemen's agreement then maybe you do need to have a simple written contract to say that you are loaning the car to X for an indefinite period and that you retain ownership while he is responsible for insurance/traffic offences/consumables etc.   Maintenance costs to be split or discussed?  What conditions cause the loan to end?

It might be a little awkward to discuss without making it look as if you don't trust him - but more awkward if things do go wrong later.

AdrianC

NBLondon said:

AdrianC said:

Remember, while you are RK, you are legally responsible. The RK does not show the owner - it says in big letters on the top of the V5C that they are different things. There is no official record of ownership.

In other words - speeding tickets and the like come to you first and you have to nominate who was driving.  If you trust your relative to own up etc.  that's your call.  Ditto with agreeing that they will take care of insurance.

And if he doesn't tax it? You get the fine.
If he doesn't insure it? You get the Continuous Insurance fine.

Car_54

Ballistic87 said:

Brought a car and its it’s on my name, paid for by me, with proof in my bank statement if needs be. 
... Its pretty valuable, around 18-20k I would guess.

You handed over £20k for a car and didn.t get a receipt?

TooManyPoints

In other words - speeding tickets and the like come to you first and you have to nominate who was driving.

That isn't quite correct. In S172 (the section that deals with the requirement to provide the driver's details at the time of an alleged offence) there are two types of people mentioned: "The person keeping the vehicle" and "any other person". Note that the "Registered Keeper" is not mentioned at all. Each of those that are mentioned have a different level of responsibility. 

The person keeping the vehicle "...shall give such information as to the identity of the driver as he may be required to give by or on behalf of a chief officer of police." Basically he has to name the driver. However, any other person "...shall if required as stated above give any information which it is in his power to give and may lead to identification of the driver."

Although any initial approach will land on his doormat as the Registered Keeper, the OP in these circumstances will clearly not be the person keeping the vehicle and will therefore be "any other person". He will therefore face the lesser of the two burdens. Providing the details of his friend, whom he believes is "the person keeping the vehicle" will suffice. He doesn't have to know who was driving.

Ballistic87

Thanks for the replies guys. I will see about getting Some sort of written confirmation.

msybe a little off topic, but if anything was to happen (crash,stolen) while he is driving and main driver on insurance, would me as the registered keeper be notified in any way? What about his claim?  Wouldn’t he have have to be the registered  keeper  for the insurance to be valid? Ive always found insurance companies ask “when did you purchase the vehicle and is it-in you’re name”

many thanks.