ExP says he can't afford to have the car he's driving pass the MOT test. Is there anything I can do?

[drasticpark]

I'm not even sure he's telling the truth. His car is very old so quite likely to fail and he would not want to spend any money on it if he could possibly get away with it but it's the sort of thing he might say to try and prove a point. You know, look what a mess you've landed me in, look what you've reduced me to now, poor me etc. It was said in front of ds age 12 so I didn't have an opportunity to challenge him.

There is absolutely no point in me trying to talk to him about it now as he does not answer his phone or rely to texts. He is very bitter about our break up and only communicates through ds. He is very hostile towards me even though it was his behaviour that led to our breakup when I discovered his 2 year affair with a family friend.

So now I'm wondering if he's driving ds round in a death trap and the risk of other road users being injured or worse. I understand his insurance would be unlikely to pay out, even for a 3rd party, in the event of a claim if there is no valid MOT. On the other hand it migh be a load of bollocks.

If he is winding me up and I rise to the bait I will never hear the end of it. It will be used as a huge stick to beat me with and make me look like a crazy ex. But it is also completely plausible as his car is 11 years old and I get daily phone calls from his bank and other credit card companies and a debt collection company has been chasing him too.

I really don't know how to handle this.

Personally, I wouldn't have DC in the car if there's a chance it's not MOT'd, but I wouldn't report it to anyone as there's a chance he's playing silly buggers.

I would not allow him any longer to communicate all his so called woes through your son. Use Solicitors instead. Like many abusive types he is using any means possible to get back at you as some form of revenge for having the gall in his eyes to leave him. His sole mission now is to make your life a complete misery. Do not give him that power and control to do so.

Am sure your son does not like him either.

What do you say to the persistant callers who are asking for your ex?.

I would seek legal advice asap from Solicitors. Its the only language these people understand; being at all reasonable with such types is only asking to be further abused. He does not give a toss about his son and he certainly does not give a fig about you.

You ignore it. If its a lie, so what he's just trying to wind you up. If he crashes his car it's his problem to sort out if he's stupid enough to be driving with no insurance.

If you're worried about your child being driven around with no insurance then you decide whether to call the police before hand. I wouldn't stop allowing your child to go, he has equal responsibility to carry them around safely.

Personally it wouldn't bother me enough but if it did I would just call the police and say there's no insurance.

Ds was sitting in the car when he imparted this information. They drove off as I was computing it all and he now has him until Monday. It's eating away at me in a nagging "what if" sort of way. But I do over think things sometimes.

It's his car and therefore his responsibility to make sure it's legally roadworthy, taxed and insured. Lack of MOT doesn't make something a death-trap necessarily... it's usually the idiot behind the wheel that sees to that. If you think the car is being driven illegally then put his local PCSO onto the job perhaps rather than getting involved personally?

Attila, I had a solicitor and he received several letters. He simply ignored those too. He sends a text to ds along the lines of, I'll collect you at 6 blah blah and then forwards it to me as a way of avoiding actually addressing me. He's very odd. It doesn't bother me really. I just think how rude and get on with my day. If anyone calls on the landline for him I explain that he hasn't lived there for over 2 years and give them his new details. I guess he continues to ignore them as they usually end up phoning my landline again.

Laurier, if he crashes his car he might kill ds or someone else. I don't give a flying fig about his repair bill. But I do agree that it really shouldn't be my problem to angst over when he doesn't give a toss.

Honestly? I might call 101 and ask their advice...

Cogito, yes his car may well be quite safe. I really hope so. He is a fairly safe driver. Very good idea to contact PCSO. It seems less vindictive somehow and hopefully i could do it anonymously? I just keep thinking what if, what if? What if someone pulls out and his brakes fail?

...off to google 101...

PCSOs where I live are always 'having a word' with people parked too close to a nearby school, checking tax discs, that kind of thing. They might be able to say they're doing a 'random check' and ask to see documents. Don't know... just an idea.

Yes, call 101 (police non-emergency number) and ask them what you should do about someone who says they are driving around in a vehicle that has not passed its MOT.

Brilliant. Thank you.

I know it's not my problem but I can't un-know the information he gave me so I feel I have to do something. By the way, afaik he does have insurance but my understanding is that the absence of an MOT invalidates it in the event of a claim. The offence would be driving without MOT rather than driving without insurance. But in my mind that is worse as no MOT might mean the brakes are shot or something equally serious. The fact that he said it failed on "loads" and is too expensive to repair makes me think it isn't just a bulb and a wiper.

Thank you all.

Watching with interest as ex driving vehicle with no mot. It was also deemed dangerous(these were exes words).
I've told him not to drive ds in it and alerted his family as to the dangers and that I wouldn't hesitate to report him if I found out ds was in vehicle.
We live on a small village so hopefully I'd know or be told. Also think ex quite likes me doing all drop offs cos he is lazy.
Hope you sort it op- I know exactly how you feel, the what ifs etc.
My primary concern is obviously ds but there are other road users to think about.

There was also a thread on legal not so long ago about the mot/invalid insurance topic.
Apparently it does not void insurance in all cases. Totally depends on insurer, policy and whether any accidents could have been prevented by mot. Hope this helps x

Not is a legal part of owning a car 99% of insurance firms would be invalided with no mot most police cara have cameras that it will flash up that something is wrong you have to have a in date & valid mot cert to be driving a car call the police and report it look up 'just mots' and u put in the car reg and it will tell u if mot is due or run out

You can check it on the visa website but you need part of the reg doc number. Or previous mot no. I'd guess he's bluffing but 101 will investigate and impound the car if its a problem

His car, his problem