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Original poster

Please help - DD & ex-BF

36 replies

chocolateworshipper · 01/10/2018 11:16

DD stupidly let her BF have the spare key to her car. They broke up and he is refusing to return the key. They went on holiday together, which he put on his credit card. The agreement was that she would pay him back her half in instalments, with everything to be repaid by Christmas. She has paid the agreed amount, but he is saying she can't have her car key back until she has paid everything back. Can anyone advise if this is legal? There were no terms attached to her repaying the holiday money, other than it would be repaid before Christmas - and certainly no condition that he could keep the car key as collateral! Thank you.

OP posts:
Watto1 · 01/10/2018 11:19

Can she get the locks on the car changed? Probably won't be cheap but I'd spend money on that rather than give the ex a penny more than he is owed.

NorthEndGal · 01/10/2018 11:21

I'd get the locks changed anyhow, as he may have decided to have a second one made.

sophiec123 · 01/10/2018 11:32

Keep the car in a garage (yours or a friends) and get your daughter to get a statement of all of the transfers she has sent to ex and print it all out. You can speak to a solicitor online for free, I think most have an allocated amount of time. I doubt there is any legality if nothing was written down but seeing as she has paid, him keeping the key is theft and you could even call 101 and be assisted to go and collect the key from him

Original poster
chocolateworshipper · 01/10/2018 11:32

Good point north I will look into costs of replacing the locks. She's removed him off the insurance, so if he decides to come and take the car, he won't be insured. Would it also be theft at that point?

OP posts:
sophiec123 · 01/10/2018 11:33

Telephoning a solicitor, not online 🙈

Original poster
chocolateworshipper · 01/10/2018 12:00

Thanks sophie - I didn't know that you could get legal advice for free

OP posts:
TestingTestingWonTooFree · 01/10/2018 16:55

You can’t always get legal advice for free. See if it’s covered under car/house insurance?

mansplain111 · 01/10/2018 16:57

Get a crooklock in the meantime?

zucchinicourgette · 01/10/2018 17:02

Am I understanding correctly that whilst your dd is up to date on the holiday repayments, she still owes him money for it? If so I can understand him keeping the car key as (not very good) collateral. Or has she paid him everything she owes and he is asking for more?

If the former, I’d say email him saying that she is on track with repayments, intends to repay in full on the agreed schedule, and reiterating that she has removed him from her insurance and he does not have permission to use the car, and ask again for the key to be returned.

If the latter, maybe the police could help? Depends how much changing the locks is.

notangelinajolie · 01/10/2018 17:05

Re holiday - if there is no contract/nothing agreed in writing then he can't demand or enforce anything.

Car key is a different matter as he has taken something that does not belong to him. Call 101. They will tell you if a crime has been committed.

TooTrueToBeGood · 01/10/2018 17:06

Changing the locks will cost an arm and a leg. Assuming she still has use of the car and is just worried about him taking it, a steering wheel lock would be your cheepest option or a baseball bat

Aprilislonggone · 01/10/2018 17:50

Do nothing. If he steals the car ring the police and get up done.

Aprilislonggone · 01/10/2018 17:51

Get him done!!

thinkfast · 01/10/2018 17:52

I'm a solicitor. I don't give free advice.

fluffiphlox · 01/10/2018 17:54

I think changing the locks would be VERY expensive.

KatieMarieJ · 01/10/2018 18:01

Depending on the car it may be quite cheap (sub £100) to have the key's changed as you'd just recode your existing system rather than changing any hardware.

With regard to whether he would be insured, he may be insured to drive another vehicle third party on his own car insurance but as he would technically be stealing the vehicle at that point then that would probably invalidate it.

I would also look at a StopLock type device as well as keeping the car secure.

Good luck.

Original poster
chocolateworshipper · 01/10/2018 18:12

She still owes him money, but is on track with the agreed schedule (and with the credit card deal he got, he is not incurring any interest until Christmas, which is the agreed date for her to finish paying).

I think that notifying him that he doesn't have permission to drive the car is a really good idea - I was worried that an insurance company / the police might not consider it stealing as she had given him the key, but putting it in writing that he is not allowed to drive it should get around that.

The steering wheel lock is a great idea, as it's probably going to be expensive to change the locks (her car has to be physically unlocked with a key, rather than pressing a button on a fob).

Thank you all so much.

OP posts:
sophiec123 · 01/10/2018 20:35

Yes good idea, definitely get a steering wheel lock as soon as. She can use the car then and lock it and he won't physically be able to drive it even if he had the key. As you may not be able to get a free telephone consultation I'd go ahead and call 101. Also- pay him off as soon as possible, can anybody help her out to finish the payments and she alters her payments to that person? Less of a hold over her then

Joe66 · 02/10/2018 01:22

Withhold the final payment until he has returned the key.

Mc180768 · 02/10/2018 14:34

OP,

The payments owed on an agreed arrangement are separate from the exbf having and refusing to return her car key.

He's refusing to hand back property that does not belong to him. That's theft. Regardless of whether she gave it to hI'm.

I'd write an email to him requesting the return of the car key. Offer to send him a pre-paid envelope. I'd add in at the end if he refuses to return the key, then you'll consider it a theft and inform the police.

As for the payments, your DD is sticking to the arrangement and should continue to do so.

Just because he's withholding the key until finished isn't going to wash in any legal capacity. He's being a dick if he thinks he's allowed to behave in this manner.

Joe66 · 02/10/2018 22:23

I don't agree 180768. It is possible to offset the costs from one against the other. So if you owe somebody 2000 pounds and they owe you 1800, you give them 200 pound don't you. Well the same applies here. The cost of having to change the locks on the car for ops security and safety can be offset against the amount she owes him. If he doesn't like that, then he can commence a claim in court, at which point op can counterclaim for the costs she has incurred securing the car. It happens all the time in court.

Mc180768 · 02/10/2018 22:38

Hi @Joe66,

That's interesting.

That's the civil route though. And as you say, it's possible as you've described. It's also costly and the op's daughter is already paying a monthly bill.

Fact of the matter remains, the exbf has not returned a car key that belongs to the registered keeper of a vehicle.

So there's recourse for action through the criminal pathway. That's what I'd do.

RedHelenB · 03/10/2018 07:42

Can you lend dd the money she owes to give him in full and then get hI'm to hand over the key, as others have said it's legally her car so he can't just take it because he has a key. Don't make it into a big deal though unless you have to.

newhousenewstart · 04/10/2018 11:28

If this was happening to me or any of my family I’d be contacting the police. He has stolen her car key. It’s her property, she hasn’t indicated that she wants him to have her car key and has not returned it when asked. It’s surely theft

Collaborate · 04/10/2018 12:24

Re holiday - if there is no contract/nothing agreed in writing then he can't demand or enforce anything.

A contract doesn't have to be in writing to be valid or enforceable.