Help PLEASE - we don't have title of our car

GSDMum

Hi 

We purchased a car from a well known (and trusted) main dealer. Mainly due to covid issues, the transaction was done on line. We purchased the used car for £7,400 in cash. The car is sound.

For various reasons we now want to sell the car having been in our possession for 15 weeks. 

The V5 never arrived so we contacted DVLA Swansea about a month ago to see when it would be issued and they confirmed the V5 had been issued but it had been returned to them undelivered because of an incorrect address. They also confirmed we were not the registered owner either. Due to data protection DVLA couldn't reveal what name and address had been added to the V5.

We contacted the dealer, who insisted at first they had completed the V5 transfer correctly, they wrote to DVLA asking them to issue an amended V5 as it appeared to be their error.

Since that letter was sent, we've heard nothing. Circumstances have changed and we are now desperate to sell the car, we've had a quote from 'We Buy Any Car' for £7,590.

We contacted DVLA again yesterday, they told us no such letter has been processed in their system, and they'll only say that the 'letter maybe in the system' and they can't do anything about it. They suggested it's going to take another 6-10 weeks to issue a corrected V5.

We contacted the dealership again yesterday saying they sold us a car without title, and that we want to return the car, which is our only option. There was a suggestion from the dealer that if they brought the car back they wouldn't refund what we paid for it.

We're not sure what our rights are here, I'm sure we have a claim that the car sale transaction was not complete?  

All ideas gratefully received - thanks  

user1977

"Registered keeper" isn't the same as "owner", so V5 isn't the "title". You've bought the car, so you are the owner, no matter what mess the dealer made of the V5. 

AdrianC

The V5C is very clear that it is nothing whatsoever to do with ownership. All that's happened is a straightforward human error on the keepership transfer. The actual ownership of the car is not recorded anywhere centrally, just the same as almost everything we own except for houses. There is no "title" in the UK. You have a receipt from the vendor? Then you can prove your ownership.

The onus was on you to chase the V5C up after about a month or so, if it had not arrived. You did do this, a month ago.

The worst case is that you needed to submit a V62 (which would have been free, since you had the yellow V5C/2 new keeper slip, right? You used that to tax it, after all...) to get a V5C through. This is probably what the dealer did on your behalf.

So everything has been done correctly, and is going through, albeit a bit delayed... DVLA have massive postal delays at the moment, because of last year's COVID closures and this year's COVID-precaution-related industrial action.

GSDMum

user1977 said:

"Registered keeper" isn't the same as "owner", so V5 isn't the "title". You've bought the car, so you are the owner, no matter what mess the dealer made of the V5. 

Except we cannot sell it because of an error that was not of our making.

AdrianC

GSDMum said:

user1977 said:

"Registered keeper" isn't the same as "owner", so V5 isn't the "title". You've bought the car, so you are the owner, no matter what mess the dealer made of the V5. 

Except we cannot sell it because of an error that was not of our making.

An error that is in the process of being corrected.

The_Fat_Controller

You bought the vehicle 15 weeks ago and became the owner on that day.

The dealer did not sell you a car illegally and are not obliged to give you a refund.

They may offer to buy it back, but that will be subject to negotiation on price, however as used car prices have risen in some areas of the market, you may get a good offer.

You should have contacted DVLA 11 weeks ago as they advise it should take 4 weeks to get a new V5C, why did you delay so long ?

It's a mess, especially with DVLA industrial action, Covid and the backlog of over a million pieces of mail that they need to process.

oh_really

A v5 isn't required to sell a vehicle.
Do you have a receipt issued in your name and address?

The_Fat_Controller

@oh_really, it is required if, as the OP states, they want to sell to WBAC.

It is in their Ts and Cs !

AdrianC

Certainly few sensible people will buy a car without a V5C.

neilmcl

oh_really said:

A v5 isn't required to sell a vehicle.
Do you have a receipt issued in your name and address?

I don't know of many that would buy a car from a private seller without the log book, not unless they were dodgy themselves.

Ectophile

oh_really said:

A v5 isn't required to sell a vehicle.
Do you have a receipt issued in your name and address?

Technically, it isn't.  But at the same time, people are always strongly advised never to buy any vehicle if the seller can't produce the V5.