car sold without my consent.

[electricshock]

I WONDER IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME SOME ADVISE ON THIS STRANGE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES....
I had a car that my mother gave me; everything was in my name I paid the insurance etc. She was on the insurance and we shared it even though I paid everything. One day it conked out and as it’s only worth about £300, I didn’t think it would be worth fixing. My mother and myself decided it had to be scrapped so she asked my brother to sort it out which he did. A couple of days later this and a guy came and paid £100 scrap for it. Anyway the scrap man phoned my brother later on and said it only needs an oil change and do you want it back, to which my brother said no (he did this out of spite as we don’t get on). When I heard this I said 'yes I want it back phone him and tell him', but my brother was being awkward and he wouldn’t give me or my mother the number so we could phone him ourselves. My brother made out the guy was going to phone back later but the call never came. anyway a few days went by and my mother had asked for this number several times but my brother still withheld it. He did this so it would be too late to get it back as it was being scrapped.
After about 4 days trying to get my car back, asking for the scrap mans phone number or address and being denied this information while being told lies so as to stall me, my brother announced that its too late and the car had gone.
Has my brother illegally sold my car and do I have a case against him? I have to pay the insurance of £66 per month until august and I have no car. I can’t cancel the insurance as it was a £350 cash back deal with swinton so my brother has well and truly screwed me over. Is there anything I can do?

Thank you for any feedback.

[teaboy2]

Re: car sold without my consent.

The problem here is you asked your brother to scrap the car, which he did. So all you have is the fact he witheld the number from you resulting in a financial deteriment to you, but then you would have still have to had paid the insurance even if the car had been scrapped and not sold, so the financial deteriment argument is out the window, am afraid.

Personally i would seek a free hour consultation with a solicitor, as your brother may have acted in breach of contract (verbal contract). But to be honest i wouldn't hold your breath.

On the other hand, what has happened to the log book as it is your responsibility to fill that in and declare the car off road or you may face a fine from the DVLA. And of course the new owners details will have to be on the log book i believe (i do not drive myself, so i can not say for certain).

Also i very much doubt the car conked out just because it needed an oil change, i used to work in the industry 10 years ago and believe me you would have blown the engine before it conked out if it was lacking in oil. If their had been plenty of oil in but old dirty oil, then i doubt changing the oil would fix the reason why it conked out. Cars in general conk out due to starter motor, alternator, battery problems or worn ignition system components such as rotor arm, dirty/old spark plugs, worn distributor cap, or broken/worn/old plug leads. It could have even have been a broken/blown gasket (which is a much bigger job then the rest to fix). So i really do find it hard to believe that the car simply just needed an oil change.

[electricshock]

Re: car sold without my consent.

Thank you teaboy2 for your response. So it’s not good news. I didn’t actually think I could do much to be honest, but I really wanted it back when I heard there wasn’t much wrong with it. The fact I demanded the phone number several times (which my vile brother grinned as he told me I’m not having it) and denied it, is was what I thought I had going for me.

My mother passed on all the paperwork and log book and I had no problem at first with it being scrapped as I thought it would need loads spending on it.

I sincerely hope my brother, who is a complete retard ends up under a bus. Am really stuffed without my car as I have two children and I’m so angry I have been treated like a powerless walkover because my brother felt like it.

Anyway thanks once again for your feedback. I will learn to toughen up in future and just smash him over the head if he dares to pull a stunt like that again.

[charitynjw]

Re: car sold without my consent.

Don't forget to inform DVLA.

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned
Nor Hell a fury like a woman SORNed"

William Congreve (well, nearly!)

[teaboy2]

Re: car sold without my consent.

Thank you teaboy2 for your response. So it’s not good news. I didn’t actually think I could do much to be honest, but I really wanted it back when I heard there wasn’t much wrong with it. The fact I demanded the phone number several times (which my vile brother grinned as he told me I’m not having it) and denied it, is was what I thought I had going for me.

My mother passed on all the paperwork and log book and I had no problem at first with it being scrapped as I thought it would need loads spending on it.

I sincerely hope my brother, who is a complete retard ends up under a bus. Am really stuffed without my car as I have two children and I’m so angry I have been treated like a powerless walkover because my brother felt like it.

Anyway thanks once again for your feedback. I will learn to toughen up in future and just smash him over the head if he dares to pull a stunt like that again.

His refusal to pass you the phone number, could be deemed a breach of contract. After all he was your legal representative in regards to selling the car (therefore in making the contract of sale). As such he has a duty to pass on information you requested to you, and also inform the scrap dealer that you no longer wished to sell the car. Plus he should not have said you did, without informing you of what the scrap dealer had said first and yourself informing him of your answer.

You have the benefit of your mother as a witness to all this too, if shes willing to be a witness against your brother.

Thats why i said you should seek a free consulation with a solicitor, after all i bet you would much prefer it if it was the legal bus that mowed down your brother.

The only downside is their was no written contract. But you maybe able to argue that he only had your permission to sell it as you thought it was not worth fixing, but if you had known what the scarp dealer had said you would have cancelled the sale and taken the car back. Its not much, but a solicitor would know a lot more about the legal aspects them me on this one.

[bluebottle]

Re: car sold without my consent.

You say you that you and your mother asked your brother, whom you refer to as "a complete retard", to arrange for your car to be scrapped. Okay. Assuming you and your mother have legal title to the car, your brother was acting as an agent for you and your mother in dealing with the dismantler.

The question I have to ask is -

"Did you and your mother give your brother authority to deal with the dismantler as he saw fit?"

If you did, then I'm afraid you have very little, if any, comeback. If, on the other hand, you did not, then your brother had a duty to convey the dismantler's offer to return the car to you and your mother without delay and instructing the dismantler to destroy the vehicle, without informing you of the dismantler's offer, means your brother assumed rights he did not possess and his actions amount to Criminal Damage, as it would mean you and your mother would have given negative consent to the destruction of the car going ahead, even though you had, originally, asked him to arrange for the car to be scrapped.

You have, basically, three resolutions open to you -

1. You could beat the crap out of your brother, which is very messy and could get you into a lot of trouble with the police; or

2. You could report him to the police or pursue him through the Small Claims Court, which is time-consuming and expensive and could cause a family rift; or

3. You could force him to pay off the insurance premiums that are still due as penitence for his actions.

Of the three, making him pay £66 a month until August would be the best to go for as it would be less problematic from a legal point of view. If he objects, tell him that if he wants to behave like "a complete retard", such behaviour comes with consequences and that he should think himself very lucky to have a brother like you who is allowing him to put things right in this way, rather than kicking the brown stuff out of him or shopping him to the police.

I think, if your brother has any sense, he will opt for Resolution 3. If he doesn't, follow teaboy2's advice and speak to a legal professional.

[labman]

Re: car sold without my consent.

You would have had much more chance of success before posting this thread I'm afraid. It would have been very difficult for your brother to prove he had authority to do what he did had it only been verbal - now it is in writing on the internet.

The only chance I can see is when the DVLA send you the letter saying they have been notified of a change of keeper. You could then state you did not consent to this.

Has it occurred to you that the scrap man may have been trying to make a fast buck out of you by telling you something untrue in order to make a quick profit.

[bluebottle]

Re: car sold without my consent.

Well spotted, Labman! Scrappies live on their wits and can be devious so-and-sos at the best of times.

Telling DVLA the destruction of the vehicle was not consented to could open up a can of worms. The dismantler could get a visit from the police as a result of DVLA informing them of the unauthorised destruction of a vehicle. Then the "complete retard" could get a visit and so could the OP. It could all get very messy.

Making the "complete retard" pay off the insurance premiums that are still owing is, probably, the best way of resolving this. It won't get the OP their car back, but at least it will make their brother realise that what he did was not only not clever but it has consequences, too. And having to forgo £66 a month until August is surely better than spending time in one of Her Majesty's Holiday Camps, or having to clean graffiti off walls wearing a hi-viz vest with "Community Payback" emblazoned across the back where everyone can see him and give him grief.

[CornishPasty]

Re: car sold without my consent.

REMOVED

[Bill-K]

Re: car sold without my consent.

Admin can remove this thread. Perhaps they should do so right now. It will not be deleted, but will be no longer visible. I have reported it for such treatment - without prejudice !!!