Friend sold my car and has passed away

saint87george

Hi all, so I'm in a very difficult and confusing position and need some help and advice before my mental health takes a turn for the worse.
Last year I decided to buy a car from an auction which had been stolen and recovered in the view to fix it up and sell it on. I bought the car in my name, registered it in my name and had the work done on it to get it roadworthy and ready for use again. 
When the vehicle was ready to sell, a friend (of a friend) of mine who has a unit and a used car sales business agreed to advertise the car for me through his website/social media etc and when he had someone interested I would meet him there and the buyer and do the transaction. 
Last Thursday my friend called me and informed me that his friend (who was advertising my car) has passed away suspiciously in his sleep, potential suicide. 
My friend agreed he would organise to go to the unit and bring me my car back, however, my car is not there.
I was informed there was interest in the car last week and someone was coming to look at it so I had organised for it to have a fresh MOT and service the week before.
Ive checked the GOV website and it says the last log book/owner was only issued at the weekend just gone, so by the looks of it my friends friend had sold my car without telling me and potentially committed suicide leaving me without my car, any documentation or money from a sale.

What on earth do I do now?

I need help as the car was advertised for £11,000 which is a hell of a lot of money to me and a large chunk of my life savings, leaving me in a very unstable mindset about how this could end up for me and my family.

Please advise/help me!

Thank you in advance

Arunmor

Contact his executor to start with, they may be able to find the paper trail otherwise you could try contacting the DVLA to track down the buyer (they may not be receptive). Anything more you will need to get legal advice.  Tread carefully and sympathetically with the executor who will  probably be a family member.  Don't expect this to be sorted out anytime soon.

eskbanker

saint87george said:

When the vehicle was ready to sell, a friend (of a friend) of mine who has a unit and a used car sales business agreed to advertise the car for me through his website/social media etc and when he had someone interested I would meet him there and the buyer and do the transaction

Is it possible that the sale has been put through the business's books - is the business still going despite the death or was it very much a sole trader one?

DullGreyGuy

saint87george said:

Hi all, so I'm in a very difficult and confusing position and need some help and advice before my mental health takes a turn for the worse.
Last year I decided to buy a car from an auction which had been stolen and recovered in the view to fix it up and sell it on. I bought the car in my name, registered it in my name and had the work done on it to get it roadworthy and ready for use again. 
When the vehicle was ready to sell, a friend (of a friend) of mine who has a unit and a used car sales business agreed to advertise the car for me through his website/social media etc and when he had someone interested I would meet him there and the buyer and do the transaction. 
Last Thursday my friend called me and informed me that his friend (who was advertising my car) has passed away suspiciously in his sleep, potential suicide. 
My friend agreed he would organise to go to the unit and bring me my car back, however, my car is not there.
I was informed there was interest in the car last week and someone was coming to look at it so I had organised for it to have a fresh MOT and service the week before.
Ive checked the GOV website and it says the last log book/owner was only issued at the weekend just gone, so by the looks of it my friends friend had sold my car without telling me and potentially committed suicide leaving me without my car, any documentation or money from a sale.

What on earth do I do now?

I need help as the car was advertised for £11,000 which is a hell of a lot of money to me and a large chunk of my life savings, leaving me in a very unstable mindset about how this could end up for me and my family.

Please advise/help me!

Thank you in advance

The cause of death is irrelevant and not sure what purpose you have on speculating about it. 

Was their used car business a company or did they operate as a sole trader? 
Presumably you had a written agreement with them on the sale of the vehicle? 

Sounds like it wasnt just a one man band so would initially approach it via the business angle. If it turns out it was a one man band with no employees then it would be time to present to the executors once they've been appointed. 

Brie

Presumably you had the car insured so have you considered claiming on the insurance to say the car has been stolen?

noitsnotme

Brie said:

Presumably you had the car insured so have you considered claiming on the insurance to say the car has been stolen?

But it hasn't been stolen so that would likely be insurance fraud.

DullGreyGuy

Brie said:

Presumably you had the car insured so have you considered claiming on the insurance to say the car has been stolen?

Insurers won't consider it theft, the OP had handed the keys over to the friend. Most insurers exclude theft by deception even if the OP wanted to try and accuse their deceased friend of such. 

saint87george

He was a sole trader and no I didn't have the car insured or have any official documentation describing the details. It may have been done through the books with a receipt etc but essentially he still sold MY car without informing me so I could be present to sign the log book etc.

And FYI I speculated on the cause of death because if someone decides to take their own life it can be because they are under immense pressure in their own head and can be a lot more to the story than just an accident and everything being straight forward and transparent, there could be endless possibilities for this scenario. For all I know he could of been in debt with someone who was demanding payments and sold my car to pay that debt off or anything at all. So for the purpose of this post for advice I'm hoping to understand LEGALLY where I stand without having to ASK his grieving family to pay me what I'm owed

noitsnotme

saint87george said:

So for the purpose of this post for advice I'm hoping to understand LEGALLY where I stand without having to ASK his grieving family to pay me what I'm owed

What evidence do you have of your arrangement with the deceased?

You're eventually going to have to approach someone connected to the deceased (executor or administrator, who may well be a grieving family member), either directly or through the small claims court, as the debt (if you can prove it) will be owed by his estate.

saint87george

What evidence do you have of your arrangement with the deceased?

You're eventually going to have to approach someone connected to the deceased (executor or administrator, who may well be a grieving family member), either directly or through the small claims court, as the debt (if you can prove it) will be owed by his estate.

TBH all I have is the fact I purchased the car it was in my name and a new log book has been issued by the DVLA without my consent. My friend has already approached the family and explained the situation which they are very sympathetic and want to do the right thing to clear the debt he owes me. But for me I want some confirmation or advice to state what legal rights I have to either my money or my car

saajan_12

saint87george said:

..
So for the purpose of this post for advice I'm hoping to understand LEGALLY where I stand without having to ASK his grieving family to pay me what I'm owed

Did friend have any assets himself? If so, then before his family inherit something you (and any other creditors) should get repaid. That can sometimes colloquially be phrased as asking the family to pay, but its not technically. 

However if no assets, then legally you wouldn't have any claim against the family.