hi, i bought a car that was advertised on autotrader in august and sold it on in september,
the guy i bought it from only had the green slip from the v5. he said he hadnt owned it long,hence no full v5.
The mans wife has now contacted the person i sold it to.She says her husband had no right to sell it.the police are involved on her behalf. I have an invoice/receipt from the guy that says he is the owner and it states he is entitled to sell it .
The police are asking me for a copy of this document,
The problem is if i give the police a copy of the invoice it will increase thier chances of prosecuting the guy for theft.
If they succesfully prosecute him have i then bought stolen goods?
The police agree that i wont be prosecuted for receiving etc.
However could i then be liable for the value of the goods in a civil court ?
Could the wife recover the car from the person who i sold it to ?
Does the fact that I bought it legitamettly and then sold it on have any bearing on the case.
In simple terms if its proven that the guy stole the car from his wife ,or at least sold it without her knowledge,can title on the car, or ownership of the car pass to any one else.
any information would be appreciated
Edited by Pugugly on 15/01/2010 at 16:35
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"Could the wife recover the car from the person who i sold it to ?"
I am not a lawyer, but I think her best/only hope at this stage is to recover the money from her husband! Or just divorce him...
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How did the wife know the new owner address. Who name was on the V5C prior to you purchasing the car do you know. Regards Peter
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If this is a 'domestic' type situation I think you will find that the this is civil matter between her and her husband. Ownership tends to be split both ways until there is some formal agreement regarding possessions.
If she considered it 'stolen' why was it not reported in August.
Messy?
Edited by Fullchat on 15/01/2010 at 15:58
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Just for your piece of mind speak to a solicitor they normally offer 20 mins free consultation this provide usefull if not at least so you sleep at night.
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How did the wife know the new owner address. Who name was on the V5C prior to you purchasing the car do you know. Regards Peter
hi, as i said, i bought the car just with the V5C/2 green slip.This doesnt show the owners name and address. I contacted the person i sold the car to this week . they say the previous keeper shown, is the guy i bought the car from . The guys wife got the present owners details from the DVLA at swansea.just as a footnote i always get a clear hpi check before i buy a car.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 16/01/2010 at 13:57
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Just a nasty, domestic squabble that you want no part of. Make sure you copy the bits of paper as requested as you really don't want a bored PC putting his searchlight on you for non-cooperation.
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The wife's beef is with her husband and you cannot therefore be held responsible for his actions or for receiving 'stolen' goods.
I bought a car from a trader in Poole a few years ago who turned out to be selling on commission and not paying the proceeds to the owners (hence it took so long to get the new V5C back from the DVLA because he wasn't submitting them as this would prompt a letter being sent to the previous owners). He sold nearly 50 cars before being caught. In all cases, the original owners lost their money and were not granted compensation/recovery from the new owners, despite many going to court.
You must however fully co-operate with the police or risk being charged.
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good point bazomis talking to another trader today and we were trying to work out why a place we knew never sent off any log books but always gave the green slip and we came to the same conclusion as you
ie no record of the trader having any part of the deal
the customers eventually sent the slip off to dvla to get a log book
the crooks were scott free
so dont accept a green slip unless you see the trader has the log book and you can sign the bottom right corner
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bazomis.
You have some bad luck with your car purchases.
To paraphrase lady Brackley 'to buy one stolen car is unfortunate, but to buy two seems like carelessness'.
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A bit unfair bathtub.
I've purchased 15 cars over the past 5 years - 12 privately and 3 from dealers/traders - for me, my family or my business. Have come unstuck only once.
As for the Poole purchase, the rightful owners rather foolishly handed over the V5s, keys, MoTs, all paperwork, etc to the trader, who offered to sell them for £500 commission. He then sold them as trade-ins on eBay and Autotrader. He ran a well-established and apparently legitimate motor business locally, with his own pitch and signage.
HPI and all other checks showed the all clear, the full V5C was available to view, signed as having been transferred, with the trader section removed. Previous keeper details all checked out. He issued legitimate invoices for sales and accepted bankers drafts or electronic bank payments. Everything checked out. If cars were bought by another trader, they got to take the whole V5 away. If private buyers, they got the green slip and a receipt. Either way, if the owners turned up at his pitch and didn't see their car, he would tell them he had taken another in part exchange and he couldn't give them their money until he had sold this on too. Some managed to get their money out of him, but not many.
Months later, trading standards and the police got involved. He ended up getting a suspended jail sentence and declared himself bankrupt.
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Ignore this. Question was answered in a previous post.
Edited by Bill Payer on 17/01/2010 at 13:35
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Nope, as mentioned above, I didn't lose it...as you say, nothing to do with me at all.
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>>A bit unfair bathtub.
Sorry! An opportunity for a cheap laugh at someone else's expense.
However, you say you've bought fifteen cars in the last five years, two of which were not the sellers to sell. That means you're experiencing 'iffy' cars in more than fifteen per cent of your purchases. Do you think that's indicative of the market?
I doubt if I've owned fifteen cars in my forty-odd years of motoring (I tend to hang on to them for a good few years), so I'm not putting myself at as much risk as someone who makes more regular purchases. I've certainly walked away from many more than I've bought. Perhaps I've just been lucky.
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