I have had a really awful day today, let me explain why. 3 years ago i bought a second hand car from a private seller. Since new it had had three owners. A few months ago i recieved a letter asking me to fill in a form about my car as they had reason to believe that it wan't mine. I filled out the form sent my reciepts and a copy of the v5 logbook and all the details and thought nothing more of it, as i believe i legally bought that car.Today i come back from my walk with Megan only to find two baliffs talking to my parents trying to reposess my car!! It turns out that the guy who originally bought it, got it on hire purchase and when he sold it on he didn't tell anyone so legally the hire purchase company haven't been paid and still own the car. We tried everything but in the end we had to let them take it as they weren't going to go away without it, although they were being as nice as pie - however they had me down on the form as a non-innocent party, although it is the other bloke that they are taking to court. According to them i should have checked everything out when i bought it. But it was my first car, and lets face it who thinks that a K reg car is going to have been bought on hire purchase and not paid for?! As i said it has been passed through 3 different owners since 1992 and nobody has ever done anything about it until now.  I'm now left without a car to get me to work and uni as its an hours drive away, and all they are going to do with the car is sell it at auction for £120, add another 0 on and thats more like what i paid for it!! Was it really worth all the hassle for them?!
I don't think i have a leg to stand on legally wise, but i was wondering if any of you have ever known of anyone in the same situation. I thought posession was 9 tenths of the law, then surely as i had paid money for it i should keep it.

I'm so sorry to hear about your car. As I understand things, unfortunately they are in their rights to take the car back, and sadly you're entitled to stuff all. :(
It's such a shame for  a genuine person like yourself.

liberty,

Could you not go and tell the police what has happened and then take the original owner to a small claims court for compensation ???

sorry to hear about your car. I don't know where you stand from a legal point of view, but I kind of know how you're feeling. A few years ago I had a car stolen & set on fire. I worked 30 miles from where I lived at the time & hubby worked 30 miles in the opposite direction, not easy when we were left with only 1 car. the inconvenience it caused was a nightmare & to top it all - i lost my no claims bonus too. Needless to say the money the insurance finally paid out was a fraction of what the car was worth.

Hope you get things sorted,

snoopy  :)

:( i very much doubt you have a leg to stand on with the car , but Im sure you can  take the man who you bought it from to court.depending on how much you paid for it small claims court i think its 3000 and under its about £50 to take him there or if its over 3000 then high court, not sure about how much they would want.if you decide to bring it forward then make sure you ask for comp for all the trouble and stress hes made you feel!

Hi,

Its seems that its always the little person that loses out!  Some years ago my husbands motorbike was stolen, after about three months we had a visit from a police-officer to say our bike had been found but we could not have it back as the owner had purchased it from a shop in good faith.  It seems the shop purchased the bike from the thief (no log book) and then sold it on the this chap who could keep the bike.

So how come you have to give your car back :(  it seems to be one rule for some and one rule for another

This is why it is very important to do the search (dealers normally do this for you and you can get written confirmation that they have done which will then stand) and why buying through a private sale can, not always, be fraught with problems, and take along an experienced person with you and preferably have an AA/RAC check. 

Sorry about your day Lucy, I had similar problems several years ago with a car I bought, which, when it went to the garage was nothing at all like its description, and unsafe for road use.

I would be talking to Citizens advice in double quick time if I were you and getting them to recommend a solicitor.

Hope you sort it out.

Julia & Hooligans

Thanks everyone.
I've got an appointment with my solicitor tomorrow, (lovely guy - had a lovely BC) but i'm not holding out much hope. I know there is no chance of getting my car back, but perhaps its time to buy a new one anyway as it was due to have some seriously expensive repairs soon anyway. I would like some compensation though, especially for all the stress this has caused me. I've got my some final uni exams in a weeks time and now i've got to spend time sorting this mess out! :-(

Word of warning, be very careful when entering into litigation for small amounts, it is usually the solicitors who benefit in these instances.  Find out first if the guy you bought it off has any assets otherwise you may end up with a judgement that he can't/won't pay, he may end up filing for his own bankruptcy or the bailiff's may come back saying he has no assets and no means of paying (or he may just disappear), you will then have to find the bailiff's costs as well as your solicitors (which you will have to pay if he can't).  Sad fact of life but in my opinion you should just put it down to experience, unless of course the guy is very solvent, even then you may end up with months of litigation (some of these types are really clever at stringing it out) and hefty solicitors fees - believe me I have experienced it many times over the years (my partner has his own businesses and it has happened to him lots of times).  Think very carefully before going down the litigation route, can you afford it?

im afraid that as you didnt perform a HPI on the vehicle then you dont legally have a leg to stand on... what i would do though - although it doesnt make what has happened right is approach the finance company and offer to buy the car back, They will give you it for auction price and although it doesnt make things right at least you have your car back.

A K reg anything would struggle to fetch more than £100 at auction so you will get it back for next to nothing.

Not the point i know but practical none the less....

Andy

Its about time this country got its act together with justice. the man should be made to work extra hours to pay for a new car lets call it community service :D

Just a quick update - i've spoken to a solicitor and he thinks i may be able to get my money back from the person i bought it from, which is good, but could take time.
On the plus side i bought a brilliant car today - similar to my old one but newer, half the mileage and most importantly has been thoroughly HDI checked and serviced too!! I got it from a good garage and they are going to fix a couple of probs (needs new battery and theres a slight leak in the sunroof) before i pick it up and they are going to valet and wash it too!! (although once the dogs get in it, it will no longer be clean!) I feel so much happier now! Thanks for all your kind words and help.