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Original poster

Car has been towed for someone else’s debt

73 replies

Imaybecontagious · 11/02/2020 11:18

Hello everyone just wondering if anyone has any knowledge of this unusual issue.

I own a car, friend is registered keeper of the car (separate personal debt issue), has taxed it and has driven it a few times with temp insurance. However I’ve had long term insurance on the vehicle. Friend had some debt and by chance a bailiff has spotted the number plate and towed the car. It’s a huge mess, I have called the bailiff and he asked me to provide ownership proof. I have emailed copies of my receipt of purchase for the vehicle from two years ago along with my current insurance certificate, bank statement of me buying the car etc. Only thing I haven’t been able to send is obviously the log book as I’m not the registered keeper but I know a v5 isn’t proof of ownership anyway.
Am I likely to be able to get my car back?

OP posts:
ZebrasAreHorsesInPyjamas · 11/02/2020 12:21

So you bought the car and have full insurance on it? Does your insurance know someone else drives it on "temporary insurance"? Do you ever drive it? Why did you let your friend put themselves down as the registered keeper? Where does the car stay most of the time? Your address or your friends? Why didn't your friend pay the car parking fine? What was the car parking fine for and where? Council parking or private? How long have they had the car for and how quickly did she tell you about the fine as the amount seems to have escalated very quickly?!

So many questions... all seems very odd!

TreeTopTim · 11/02/2020 12:26

What a mess that is. What is your friend saying about it all?

Incontinencesucks · 11/02/2020 12:27

You might be best off getting this moved to legal.

Your friend has been very out of order letting the ticket price ramp up especially with bailiffs involved and the car situation. Can you afford to pay the 500 pounds which they should be doing now.

DogInATent · 11/02/2020 12:29

I own a car, friend is registered keeper of the car (separate personal debt issue)
Who has the (probably not) separate personal debt issue and is benefiting from this ownership/registered keeper fiddle?

Is your insurance company aware of this arrangement?

Puzzledandpissedoff · 11/02/2020 12:29

Sounds like between you both you've hatched some sort of scheme to avoid some sort of financial issue and it's come back to bit you on the arse

Sounds about right ...

FebruaryBlueberry · 11/02/2020 12:31

OP I work for an enforcement company - don't hate me.

V5 is not proof of ownership so would not worry about this. If your provide receipts this should be sufficient. I always thought tho that parking tickets were made to the owner, I am not sure where you would stand here.

TheHumansAreDefinitelyDead · 11/02/2020 12:31

What was the idea behind all this?

TeacupDrama · 11/02/2020 12:38

it seems simple to be

OP owns the car and bought it as her friend had debt issues and couldn't buy a car therefore OP owns it and has legal right to sell it

OP friend uses car on day to day basis therefore it is right that she should be registered keeper as she arranges insurance MOT etc and it is at her address, none of this gives her a legal title to the car

insurance companies want one of the drivers to be registered keeper but the keeper doesn't need to be owner for insurance purposes

you can own a car without a licence but you can't insure one without a licence

this is a perfectly legitimate arrangement however as car belongs to OP she is not responsible for any debts run up by the registered keeper once she has proved car is hers it should be returned, this does not mean the bailiffs can't repossess something that actually belongs to friend but you can't legally as a bailiff take anything except stuff that belongs to the debt holder if a debt is solely in a husbands name you can't take wifes possessions to clear debt if it is a joint debt then you can take possessions of either party

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 11/02/2020 12:39

For the bailiff to have towed the car they would have needed a court judgment. Did your friend ignore all that too?

GabsAlot · 11/02/2020 12:39

By chance he spotted the number plate at a diferent address? you sure she didnt send them over as she didnt want to pay

itisaverywindyday · 11/02/2020 12:43

If you get the V5 from your friend you can change ownership online using the document number, but it will take 3-5 days to arrive.

SorryDidISayThatOutLoud · 11/02/2020 12:43

If someone gets a parking ticket (and actually, it is more likely to be a speeding ticket which start at £60 - £100) then the first thing is that the police send a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to the KEEPER. Details are obtained from DVLA taken from V5.
The NIP asks for the driver of the vehicle at the time. I assume that the friend has either ignored the NIP or has replied saying she was the driver but either way she hasn't paid.
I would think the likely scenario is: she got a speeder, got the NIP, ignored it and then has been summonsed for court and the offence would be Fail to Notify Driver Details. Also the original Speeder. If she didn't turn up it would be convicted in absence. When she didnt pay the fine, it goes to bailiffs. It's usually between £500 and £900 by this stage.
(dealt with tickets/court etc in an old job)

Hingeandbracket · 11/02/2020 12:51

I love how people are filling in an elaborate back story based on massive extrapolations of the scant info in the OP.

We should use this resource to crowd write a novel.

Ghostontoast · 11/02/2020 12:51

Doing financial favours for flakey friends often results in being massively financially bitten on the arse as you have discovered OP and I have to my cost too.

It really rankles paying ramped-up fines when the flakey person who incurred it doesn’t give a shit about it, but you know you have to do it.

TalbotAMan · 11/02/2020 12:51

Assuming there is a county court judgment against your friend, there is a legal procedure for this. It is set out in Civil Procedure Rule 85 Section IV.

Within 7 days of the car being towed you should write to the enforcement officer giving notice of your claim to own the car and include:
(a) your full name and address, and confirmation that such address is your address for service;
(b) a list of all those goods in respect of which you make such a claim; and
(c) the grounds of your claim in respect of each item.

The enforcement officer then has to notify the creditor who must within 7 days say whether they admit or dispute your claim.

If they dispute your claim then you have to apply to the county court which issued the enforcement order for a judge to decide who owns the car. You will likely need a lawyer for this.

ZebrasAreHorsesInPyjamas · 11/02/2020 12:55

TeacupDrama
OP friend uses car on day to day basis therefore it is right that she should be registered keeper as she arranges insurance MOT etc and it is at her address,

The OP said her friend has driven it a few times with temp insurance. She hasn't said whose address it stays at most of the time. When the OP took out her FULL insurance, she would have had to tell her insurance who was the main driver and where the car was parked for the majority of the time. This is because it affects the amount of insurance premium (postcode, parked on road / in drive / in garage etc). The OP may find out her own insurance is invalid if the car stays mostly at her friends house and is only insured on an occasional temporary basis. I might be missing something, but it doesn't seem simple to me...

woodencoffeetable · 11/02/2020 12:56

I vaguely remember a thread from the other perspective a couple of weeks ago...

ChicCroissant · 11/02/2020 12:57

I think it is the OP that has the personal debt issue, and the car has been registered to a friend to prevent exactly this scenario happening to the OP! Either way, it looks like an attempt to conceal assets has gone badly wrong!

My understanding (not an expert) is that the Registered Keeper does not have to be the owner of the car though.

woodencoffeetable · 11/02/2020 12:57

this one... www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3808241-Bailiff-advice

DCOkeford · 11/02/2020 13:10

The person who paid for it is the legal owner. Your receipts are evidence of this so you will ultimately get the car back.

Its been a while, so this advice may be out of date, but bailiffs certainly used to have to lodge a 'bond' of £15k as a kind of insurance with which to compensate people should they act outside of the bounds of their authority.

They do seem to have done that here, so I would be inclined to add up all your losses incurred as a result of the vehicle being towed and put in a claim against the bailiff who towed it.

I'd double check that info though, I may be wrong.

DowntownAbby · 11/02/2020 13:13

There will also be insurance issues in terms of the car's owner not being the registered keeper.

There are VERY few insurers who will insure a car where the keeper isn't also the owner (other than in HP terms, etc).

I'd be surprised if there's an valid insurance on this car at all.

Al1Langdownthecleghole · 11/02/2020 13:15

Does your friend live at the same address as you?

Al1Langdownthecleghole · 11/02/2020 13:19

There will also be insurance issues in terms of the car's owner not being the registered keeper.

Not necessarily - I bought and was the registered keeper of the cars my DC learnt to drive in. Once they had passed their tests and had some NCD, we moved the insurance into their names. Not necessarily dodgy!

Whynosnowyet · 11/02/2020 13:21

Is the car owned outright or on car finance?

CoffeeRunner · 11/02/2020 13:49

I can see why the Bailiffs are having trouble believing the car doesn't belong to your friend OP. It is registered in her name, there is insurance on it in her name, she still uses it sometimes...

How can you prove that the money you paid to your friend was for the exclusive ownership of the car? I can't understand why you wouldn't have had the V5 changed into your name. That is usually the first thing you do when you buy a car - unless you are actually joint owners?

In who's name is the vehicle taxed? As far as I knew only the registered keeper can tax a vehicle (with the exception of when you've just purchased it and have the New Keepers section of the V5 only.)

I'm confused.