A car I own has been scrapped by my ex

[AnotherDave]

My exwife has scapped the car I still own I was wondering where i stand.
When me and my wife spilt we had an agreement that she'd use the car so she could take the kids to school. I continued to pay the tax, insurance and finance on the car

A year later she then took on the tax and insurance I changed the v5 to her name so she could tax it herself.

Last month I made the last payment on the finance and I found out today that she scrapped the car yesterday. The police say its a civil case and won't get involved. Any advice?

Thanks

[atticus]

It is a civil case, if you really want to sue your ex for whatever the value of the vehicle was.

[AnotherDave]

The scrapped value is around £340, is it worth pursuing?

[atticus]

To be clear, I was referring to the value of the vehicle immediately before being scrapped.

Whatever that figure, whether it is worth pursuing is a matter for you.

[AnotherDave]

The car had failed its mot pretty hard so I don't think it was worth more than its scrap value

[atticus]

so why pick a fight with your ex over it? Is this really about the car?

[AnotherDave]

It's an agreement we made when we split and the £340 scrap value is a lot of money to me, I'm still struggling to pay off all our debt that was put in my name before we split

[des8]

You could sue her, but as you transferred the V5 to her name you are going to have problems if she claims you gifted the car to her.
I know the V5 isn't proof of ownership, but can you show you didn't give her the vehicle?

[AnotherDave]

I have messages somewhere saying that I was letting her use the vehicle to get the kids to school and when she got her own car she'd give me my car back, which both of us agreed to

[des8]

Of course she may argue that eventually you just said "keep the car, I don't want it".

If you win a court case will she have the money to pay you?
If she has children to look after (regardless of any contributions you make) is she likely to still have the cash?
How much did she get for it anyway, (not how much you valued it for)?

So if you still feel it is worth the stress of pursuing the matter the first thing is to write (first class with free certificate of posting from post office) asking for the money she received for it, and warn her that if she does notvrespond you will initiate court action.

However as everyone else has suggested, is it worth it?
Take into account the stress of a court case, and any possible affect it might have on your relationship with your ex and the children (especially if they are yours)

[MIKE770]

move on

[atticus]

I agree with today's responses.

[AnotherDave]

You both are right , I'll put it down to experience and try to avoid this kind of situation in the future.
thanks for the advice and for helping me to avoid making the situation worse