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Original poster

been given a car, no log book. owner missing. what do i do with it?

76 replies

freezingmytitsoff · 13/12/2012 12:08

i have a family member who used to live near me. about 3yrs ago he moved abraod. he left a car at one of his freinds houses who lived near me. the car has sat there for 3yrs, his friend contacted me and said the council was going to tow it if it wasn't moved so i got someone to pick it up and park it at there parents house.
now the problem is we have no keys and no logbook!
i have till jan 1st to move from where it is.
the family memeber who owns it is uncontactable, i have tried every possible way of finding him but can't.
it is worth about 2,000 and i could really do with the money.
i don't drive and know nothing about cars.
what the hell do i do?

OP posts:
Original poster
freezingmytitsoff · 17/12/2012 09:58

thanks for link beaver!

OP posts:
trueblood1fan · 17/12/2012 09:58

so owner has not given you permission to sell & spend his money?! if you sold car i would put money aside incase he comes back. he could report you to the police theft/take you to small claims. by all means charge him reasonable storage fees but cannot be resolved until he comes back.

poor man & his poor family - so feel for them :'(

Original poster
freezingmytitsoff · 17/12/2012 11:05

i am his bloody family!!
we are not the kind of family to report eachother to the police or go to a small claims court, i don't know what planet some of you are living on.
and if he came back i wouldn't charge him fees, he is my family.
you are talking like it is a strangers car.
if he came back and wanted the money i would get it for him, but i know he wouldn't.
if he came back and found out that i let the council tow away his car he would be really angry with me.
how can i store it for him when there is a 99% chance he will never come back for it?

OP posts:
trueblood1fan · 17/12/2012 11:32

just sell it then lol. stop asking & do it.

Original poster
freezingmytitsoff · 17/12/2012 11:41

i was more asking about how to go about it than wether i should do it or not.
i don't drive and know nothing about cars, DVLA, logbooks ect.

OP posts:
trueblood1fan · 17/12/2012 12:16

but youve been told time & time again by posters who are police/solicitors you cant but youre not listening so i give up lol.

Original poster
freezingmytitsoff · 17/12/2012 12:57

what else am i meant to do with it? leave on a public road to rot/get towed away? wasting the councils time and money? and my relatives money?
people don't seem to understand that there is room for common sense within the law. you don't have to behave like a robot and follow the law to the letter.
if i rang up the local police station and told them the situation, do you think they would come and arrest me?
or do you think they would use a bit of common sense and say try to order a log book in my name?

OP posts:
bradywasmyfavouritewiseman · 17/12/2012 13:44

The rules on abandoned property is different if he has been reported missing. He would have to be declared dead for his property to be released to next of kin.
If there is record of him entering the US there would be record of him leaving. You are allowed to stay 90 visa free. His passport would flag him up leaving after that as an over stayer. The same if he had a visa.

You seem more concerned about his possessions than him. Return the car to his mother.

Bet you wouldn't care less if it was worth £250.

MOSagain · 17/12/2012 14:07

ok, its time for a Xmas Biscuit

trueblood1fan · 17/12/2012 14:09

yes, leave it - its NOT yours :-\

Original poster
freezingmytitsoff · 17/12/2012 14:32

his mum lives in a flat in london and has no where to keep it. i would just be handing her a huge problem. and i live miles away, how would i get it to her?
and you have got a cheek saying i don't care about him, how the hell would you know?
this thread was nothing to do with my relationship with him or about him going missing, it was simply about the car. so i have not talked about it. that doesn't mean i don't care, what a huge assumption to make on such little information.
cheeky cow.
anyway if there is anyone who has a mind of there own and is not just a robot who lives there life 100% by the book, even if it means wasting thousonds of pounds. just because thats the 'law', i would like to hear your opinion.

OP posts:
titchy · 17/12/2012 14:45

I think if you'd started a thread saying a relative has disappeared and left a car worth thousands of pounds, what should I do for him to make sure it doesn't get taken away by the council, people would have been more sympathetic.

But you didn't, you said you were broke and wanted to sell his car cos you wanted the money.

You started a thread asking how to steal sell something that isn't yours, so YOU would benefit. Not how to sell something on behalf of a disappeared relative so that HE/his next of kin would benefit if he was ever found.

MOSagain · 17/12/2012 14:46

I am not a robot and have a mind of my own. Also, having worked as a police officer and a lawyer, I know and respect the law and don't cherry pick which aspects of it I abide by and which I ignore because it suits me financially.

I appreciate it must be a difficult time for you and your family, however, there is no need to be rude to people who have offered you advice that you have sought. I do not understand why you keep coming back for advice and keep attempting to justify your position when you don't like the advice you are given.

You have posted in legal, several lawyers have posted in response to your question but you are hellbent on ignoring their advice. Please don't waste peoples time then come back and abuse them.

bradywasmyfavouritewiseman · 17/12/2012 14:56

Yes I am the cheeky cow. Clearly.

The fact is that this car is NOT abandoned. He may intact want it. However he may be being prevented from returning to collect it. that's why there is a difference.

If his mother is the next of kin, advise her and let her deal with it. If he turns up next month and wants his car what will you do then?

Call me what you want, you are coming across terribly and I am still convince you wouldn't give a crap and would be letting the friend sort it out if it was worthless

bradywasmyfavouritewiseman · 17/12/2012 14:59

the reason his friend gave it to me is he said the my relative had left everything to me in his will and always said he wanted me to have everything. he has no children or wife.
you have no proof of this, though do you?
and you would have to have him declared dead to claim.

What activity was on the bank accounts? Why is there no record of him leaving the US, if he is in London?

Viviennemary · 17/12/2012 15:55

The car isn't yours. The car wasn't his friends. You have no right to ownership of the car. That's the way I see things.

EuroShagmore · 17/12/2012 16:11

There's a car parked outside my house. It looks quite shiny. Would anyone like it?

I am rather horrified that anyone would think this was the right thing to do. He might sort himself out and then turn up looking for his vintage car (that's one thing to think about - it's probably not something that can be exactly replaced if he does). It's not your car, OP, and it is not OK to assume ownership and sell it (not just legally, also morally).

trueblood1fan · 17/12/2012 16:22

whoa op - you asked a question & abused the people that didnt agree with you. you are in the wrong & assuming your defensive nature is because you realise you are money grabbing. you didnt buy the car - it will never be yours to sell but hohum you can try :-\

MOSagain · 17/12/2012 16:59

Euroshag, I think it is mine, must have mislaid it a few years ago Wink

HECTheHallsWithRowsAndFolly · 17/12/2012 17:13

if he shows up and if he wants his car back - what will you do?

You want to take his car and sell it, nobody on here can stop you.

You want to spend the money that you get from selling his car, nobody on here can stop you.

but you need to know what you will do if he shows up one day wanting it back.

Will you give him the money or will you say tough luck, I spent it.

I assume that you want him back more than you want the money for the car, so obviously you will be hoping against hope that he does show up one day.

And if he does - will you be repaying him the money you got for his car?

Original poster
freezingmytitsoff · 17/12/2012 20:48

of course i would repay him and i know 100% that he would rather i sold it than let the council tow it away. he would also understand that there is no way that i could store it on the off chance he wants it back.
i also gave became abusive because somebody who doesn't know me has said that i care more about a car than my relative. and i stand by that, she was out of order to say that. it was nothing to do with the thread.

OP posts:
HECTheHallsWithRowsAndFolly · 18/12/2012 06:31

Well, what can anyone say? You will do what you will do. You do it knowing that it is against the law and so if there are legal consequences to you for doing it - you will have no right to moan or feel aggrieved in any way, you must just accept whatever happens. Maybe nothing will happen. But if it does - you won't be able to complain about it, because you will have gone into this knowing the legal position and that there was a risk.

If you're willing to take it, then that's your choice.

I hope your family member turns up, it must be very very worrying for you all. Particularly his mother. I can't imagine how painful it would be for me if I didn't know where my child was - or even if they were alive. It's so painful to imagine it, I can't even begin to know how painful it is to live it.

Original poster
freezingmytitsoff · 18/12/2012 09:29

yes it's awful not knowing where he is, unfortunatly inheriting money seems to have caused him so many problems. before that he was fine.
the last trace of him was coming back into the uk from america. ive messaged all hisa friends on FB but none of them have seen him.
im not sure what the police have done to find him.

OP posts:
HECTheHallsWithRowsAndFolly · 18/12/2012 11:37

probably not much.

Adult male with money and no mental health problems or other vulnerability?

Have you tried things like salvation army - they're apparently quite good at finding people? newspaper ads?

CajaDeLaMemoria · 18/12/2012 11:42

It's worth remembering here that it isn't about him.

He might not kick off if he comes home and you've sold it. But if any other agency comes to have an interest in the car, they would kick off and involve the police.

That is why you cannot sell it. It doesn't matter if he would be okay with it. If he is a missing person, do not touch it. It will eventually become property of whomever his estate goes to, whether that is as an asset to someone or owed to someone.

Until then someone will have to pay to store it, or let the council tow it away.