Vehicle seized and how to get it back

foundandlost

Hi,

Please no harsh comments or sarcasm as I know I’m 100% at fault here, but I’ve been unable to sleep for 3 nights and it's causing me a lot of stress and grief.

I bought a vehicle in 2017 as the second owner with the intention of converting it into a camper and reselling it for a profit. However, due to various circumstances, I was unable to convert it and left it on my drive.

I wanted to sell it as a one-owner vehicle, so I never sent the logbook back. I financed the vehicle and have proof of this, along with details from the private dealership I bought it from. Unfortunately, I have no insurance proof, MOT, or logbook.

A relative parked the vehicle on a main road, and it was seized because the police believed it was stolen since it was 300 miles away from the registered keeper's address. It turns out the vehicle was on a plate that the original keeper is using on another vehicle, so the registration plate and the chassis number don’t even match.

How can I resolve this to get my vehicle back? Its value is close to £18,000 and it’s possibly the only thing I own of value. The vehicle will be sent to auction if I can’t prove ownership within 2 weeks. The DVLA says registering for a new logbook takes 4 weeks.

Please help.

Thank you.

DullGreyGuy

What have the police stated they require from you? Which police force is it?

Certainly the Met have a process for "new keepers" but if they'll accept that given your attempted fraud and you've been the unregistered keeper for 7 years is another matter. Who's been doing the SORN declarations if you aren't the keeper? 

Its really going to have to be a conversation with the police force in question as you dont have a registration plate for it so can't buy insurance, it doesn't have an MOT so cannot be driven from the compound unless directly to a pre-booked MOT test centre but again you dont have plates for the MOT. 

Hoenir

foundandlost said:

A relative parked the vehicle on a main road, and it was seized because the police believed it was stolen since it was 300 miles away from the registered keeper's address. It turns out the vehicle was on a plate that the original keeper is using on another vehicle, so the registration plate and the chassis number don’t even match.

Surprised that the police are taking such a lenient view. How did a relative end up driving the vehicle on a main road?  

Emmia

I am very surprised that for something of this value, you didn't properly register it when you bought it, irrespective of your plans to convert it into a camper etc.

It would never be a one owner vehicle, since you were it's second owner - and if it still "belonged" to owner 1 as you would be claiming, you should have no right to sell it.

What exactly was your relative doing with the vehicle? How did it come to be on the public highway?

Car_54

foundandlost said:

I wanted to sell it as a one-owner vehicle, so I never sent the logbook back. I financed the vehicle and have proof of this, along with details from the private dealership I bought it from. 

The vehicle will be sent to auction if I can’t prove ownership within 2 weeks. The DVLA says registering for a new logbook takes 4 weeks.

They want proof of ownership, and it seems you have that.

The V5C ("logbook") is NOT proof of ownership, and it says so in a big red panel on page 1.

So it seems you can prove ownership, and so avoid scrapping. However you will still have all the issues preventing you driving it on the road. One is that they probably won't release the vehicle until you can show it's insured. 

foundandlost

Car_54 said:

foundandlost said:

I wanted to sell it as a one-owner vehicle, so I never sent the logbook back. I financed the vehicle and have proof of this, along with details from the private dealership I bought it from. 

The vehicle will be sent to auction if I can’t prove ownership within 2 weeks. The DVLA says registering for a new logbook takes 4 weeks.

They want proof of ownership, and it seems you have that.

The V5C ("logbook") is NOT proof of ownership, and it says so in a big red panel on page 1.

So it seems you can prove ownership, and so avoid scrapping. However you will still have all the issues preventing you driving it on the road. One is that they probably won't release the vehicle until you can show it's insured. 

Hello, thank you for your message. They need to book an appointment and I need to attend in person to prove that I own the vehicle. Will this statement of closing account (finance all paid off with black horse) be enough as proof? The registration number is on this document. 

Thanks 

Nobbie1967

foundandlost said:

Car_54 said:

foundandlost said:

I wanted to sell it as a one-owner vehicle, so I never sent the logbook back. I financed the vehicle and have proof of this, along with details from the private dealership I bought it from. 

The vehicle will be sent to auction if I can’t prove ownership within 2 weeks. The DVLA says registering for a new logbook takes 4 weeks.

They want proof of ownership, and it seems you have that.

The V5C ("logbook") is NOT proof of ownership, and it says so in a big red panel on page 1.

So it seems you can prove ownership, and so avoid scrapping. However you will still have all the issues preventing you driving it on the road. One is that they probably won't release the vehicle until you can show it's insured. 

Hello, thank you for your message. They need to book an appointment and I need to attend in person to prove that I own the vehicle. Will this statement of closing account (finance all paid off with black horse) be enough as proof? The registration number is on this document. 

Thanks 

The problem with this is that the number plate is not associated with your van having been moved onto another vehicle. I doubt they will have access to allow them to interrogate the DVLA history to confirm that plate was on your van when you bought it. Do you have the new keeper slip from when you bought it or was there no V5 available from the garage?

BEBELUCA2017

Do you even know the correct registration that should be on the vehicle now given that the previous keeper has retained the registration that was on the vehicle when you bought it.  

Why would you even avoid registering the vehicle in your name merely in an effort to avoid adding another owner.  Totally stupid thing to do. 

Hoenir

foundandlost said:

Car_54 said:

foundandlost said:

I wanted to sell it as a one-owner vehicle, so I never sent the logbook back. I financed the vehicle and have proof of this, along with details from the private dealership I bought it from. 

The vehicle will be sent to auction if I can’t prove ownership within 2 weeks. The DVLA says registering for a new logbook takes 4 weeks.

They want proof of ownership, and it seems you have that.

The V5C ("logbook") is NOT proof of ownership, and it says so in a big red panel on page 1.

So it seems you can prove ownership, and so avoid scrapping. However you will still have all the issues preventing you driving it on the road. One is that they probably won't release the vehicle until you can show it's insured. 

Hello, thank you for your message. They need to book an appointment and I need to attend in person to prove that I own the vehicle. Will this statement of closing account (finance all paid off with black horse) be enough as proof? The registration number is on this document. 

Isn't the registration number false though as being used on another vehicle on the road. 

sheramber

How can the vehicle be sold when the registration number on it is not correct?

eskbanker

sheramber said:

How can the vehicle be sold when the registration number on it is not correct?

OP has more urgent matters to address before considering issues associated with selling it later on, not least physically getting hold of it again!