I just want my Car back, heeelpp

[yellowsierra]

First off, Hello everyone, I am Ian

Here's a brief outline of my small Trouble (large):tinysmile_aha_t:

Dropped my Car of at a Fairly well known Performance Centre for an engine upgrade March 2003, yes thats right 8 Years ago :tinysmile_aha_t:

Was initialy Promised the car back in 4 to 6 weeks and have been calling every 2 to 3 weeks and always get the same old lies/fobbed off

I have paid the company the best part of 8K (have receipts )

Demanded the car back many times only to be told that i cant have it back until they have completed it but that is clearly never going to happen

No i recieve an invoice for a further 5k for work that should have not have needed to be done :tinysmile_aha_t:

I have dates times, emails, amounts, quotes,demands, letters etc

This one should be on TV as the car is quite well known in the UK Ford circles and the Dealer in question knows it will hurt him which is why he wont let the car go.

I really would like to see my car back the con man shown for what he is as he has done similer things to others as i have found out.

Never said a bad word about him on any forum because i knew this day would come and he needs the suprise of something big and nasty to knock him

I have a more detailed letter of evedence on my pc for anyone legal to take a look should they wish to take it on

Is dont get done get dom still going as this is a good one for him

Hopefully speak to someone soon....Please i just want my car back

Regards
Ian

[Curlyben]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

Welcome to Legal Beagles.

Are you saying you haven't had your car for all this time ?!?!

Sounds like the Lemon Soaked Paper Napkins all over again..

[di30]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

Hi there & welcome

That is a very long time! 8 years is not normal surely!

I do not have a clue about this but there must be some type of organisation in regards of these matters you can write/complain to.

Hope you get your car back soon.

[yellowsierra]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

Hi there & welcome

That is a very long time! 8 years is not normal surely!

I do not have a clue about this but there must be some type of organisation in regards of these matters you can write/complain to.

Hope you get your car back soon.

I have no idea which is why i am posting on here.

Tried sending the company a recorded letter as advised by C.A.B as they had failed to deliver goods under contract and they just ignored it

Yes i have been waiting 8 years and NO its not normal

I am out of pocket and minus my car

Ian

[di30]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

What about your local trading standards perhaps?

[Gorang]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

This maybe a stupid question but

Have you tried just going round there with a trailer and demanding the car back? ?

Do you have any sort of proof that on a certain date, you told them to cease all work on the car and hand it back? ?

If you have proof and they have continued to carry out more work on it then that is their loss from the point that you told them to cease work on it

They will however be allowed to take any parts off that they put on AFTER the point you told them to cease work

My view
providing you have paid all parts/labour up to the date you told them to cease work
providing you have the proof you told them to cease
then if you go with a trailer to get the car and they refuse to give it to you and they call the police then the law will be on your side as they are then basically committing theft in my opinion

Providing you have the proof for the above then personally I would give them one chance to hand the car back, and if they don't, then I would go to the local police station, explain the situation, show them the proof, and ask them to attend with you to get the car back

But others may have a better solution for you

[di30]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

This maybe a stupid question but

Have you tried just going round there with a trailer and demanding the car back? ?

Do you have any sort of proof that on a certain date, you told them to cease all work on the car and hand it back? ?

If you have proof and they have continued to carry out more work on it then that is their loss from the point that you told them to cease work on it

They will however be allowed to take any parts off that they put on AFTER the point you told them to cease work

My view
providing you have paid all parts/labour up to the date you told them to cease work
providing you have the proof you told them to cease
then if you go with a trailer to get the car and they refuse to give it to you and they call the police then the law will be on your side as they are then basically committing theft in my opinion

Providing you have the proof for the above then personally I would give them one chance to hand the car back, and if they don't, then I would go to the local police station, explain the situation, show them the proof, and ask them to attend with you to get the car back

But others may have a better solution for you

Excellent advice Gorang x

[CleverClogs]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

This maybe a stupid question but

Have you tried just going round there with a trailer and demanding the car back? ?

Do you have any sort of proof that on a certain date, you told them to cease all work on the car and hand it back? ?

If you have proof and they have continued to carry out more work on it then that is their loss from the point that you told them to cease work on it

They will however be allowed to take any parts off that they put on AFTER the point you told them to cease work

It would still have to be safe and roadworthy.

Providing you have the proof for the above then personally I would give them one chance to hand the car back, and if they don't, then I would go to the local police station, explain the situation, show them the proof, and ask them to attend with you to get the car back

The trouble tends to be that the plods can be quite useless; when they've stopped asking, "How long ago?", followed by them turning as red as a pillar box as they tried to suppress an instinct to guffaw, the most they'd be likely to aver would be their time-honoured mantra, "Nuffink we can do, you see, it's a civil matter sir."

[WendyB]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

It wouldn't have to be safe and roadworthy if you were picking it up on a trailer.

[CleverClogs]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

It wouldn't have to be safe and roadworthy if you were picking it up on a trailer.

True, but let's not give them that excuse for removing parts added without putting back the originals.

All of the above supposes that they still have the motor-car and that, save perhaps for a cracked tyre or two, it can be driven (or at least rolled) from the garage workshop. One might also suppose that it was a very odd sort of workshop where a motor-car was left to gather dust and cobwebs for eight years in one corner, unless the motor-car was something rather special such as a pre-war Bugatti.

One reason for the "delays" might be that some accidental damage had been done to the motor-car back in 2003 and the garage proprietor had either been too busy or too impecunious to repair it. Another reason might be that the motor-car had been stolen from the garage whilst in their care, or had been sold by the garage without the knowledge or consent of its owner; in each of those cases, the proprietor was merely fobbing off the customer to postpone the time when he to admit that the motor-car could not be returned. Any of those three could account for the recent invoice for £5000 of unnecessary work, with the (false) invoice being a crooked way of getting the customer to pay for a second-hand, replacement vehicle that could be made to resemble his original.

Whatever has been going on, there is a fairly simple remedy: use Special Delivery to send the garage proprietor a letter demanding that, within seven days of his receipt of the letter, he does render up the goods in his bailment (enter full description of the motor-car here) or the full value thereof [1], failing which proceedings may be commenced in the County Court without further notice. If he does not comply, sue the useless bugger.

[1] The full value of the motor-car should be the greater of its value now as a collector's item, or the value when it was sent for the "upgrade" plus compound interest thereon, as if the vehicle had been sold by the customer in 2003 and the money deposited in a bank account. There seems little reason why the customer should suffer and the garage proprietor should benefit from the latter's repeated procrastination.

[Gorang]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

I do agree with you CC, and I would also normally advise to sue the bugga

BUT
As the car is one of a kind by the sounds of things, so chances are, it prob could NOT be replaced without a lot more money than £13k, if indeed at all and the OP said

Please i just want my car back

As the garage has already shown they are unlikley to play nice and hand it back

The reason I would recomend going round (surprise visit with NO prior warning) with a trailer, give them ONE chance to hand it over,and if no joy then say nothing of your next intended move, just leave and go straight round to the police and ask them to attend, and get back to the garage with the police and the trailer asap

Is because

7 days is a looooooooong time to strip/damage beyond repairablity/sell/make dissapear/get rid of a car, and I think time would be of the essence once the garage knows that the OP is hell bent on TAKING/GETTING the car back

BUT

I MUST make clear that I would ONLY do this if

1) OP can prove that they have ordered/told the garage to cease work on a certain date
2) OP has paid all bills up to that date (wether its excessive or not makes no difference at this point as that could be argued in court later)

Also if the garage has put on parts after the OP has told them to cease work, then the garage IS/ARE entitled to remove these extra parts,
(but they are NOT entitled to charge the labour for fitting or removing of that parts)
so I would do 1 of 2 things regarding this

1) allow them to take the parts off, and I would stand (watching for any damage caused) there until the parts has been removed
2) try to convince the police that you are worried that they would damage the car while removing the parts, so you would be willing to get the parts removed from the car by someone of your choice, then hand them back the parts to the garage, and that you would also be willing to sign sumit to give the garage some kind of ensurance that you will indeed give them their parts back

BUT before that happens

I would make the garage prove which parts were purchased and fitted on the car AFTER the cease work date, BEFORE anything is taken off

Once you get the car back then everything else can by sorted out via courts, but as I said above if the car is destroyed BEFORE you get the car back then it is very hard to prove in court the true value of the car as it is one of a kind, and also you may NEVER be able to replace that car (which I have seen happen before to a mate of mine with a Rothmans Opel Manta as he, nor vauxhall could get another car of the same age/condition to replace his one)


Failing the above then yes I think there would be no other (legal) option than go throught the courts, but as I said above my fear would be the lenth of time this took

I suppose you could steal the car back when no one is around, but that would be breaking the law and you could poss end up facing a jail sentence for breaking and entering lol

But like I said in my previous post this is ONLY my honest opinion

[yellowsierra]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

Ok i have contacted a local soliciter and am curantly awaiting there reply so fingers crossed they will help me get it back. I am just bored of all the BS i have had over the years and to be honest lost the love for the car now but want it back as there is a lot of money at stake

Regards
Ian

[Differentjudge]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

you you like some assistance in paying the garage a visit..............

[teaboy2]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

Can i just ask, what their actual reasoning was for keeping the car so long, bearing in mind i used to be an assistant manager at a motor trade shop and fast fit centre, i see no reason why they would need the car for such an incredibly long period of time. And if they have done unauthorised work to your car then they must put the original parts back on, and if they do not have the original parts then thats tough on them as you never authorised the work and they most therefore compensate you for costs of having the work corrected if they take of the parts they fitted or simply not charge you for the work. Either way its their loss.

I think dominic littlewood would have a field day with this one.

[shell]

Re: I just want my Car back, heeelpp

Do you know if they actually still have your car?