Newlyn returned car, compensation?

[chub2010]

Good evening

After a two month back and forth with newlyn plc, my vehicle has been released. Long story short the debt was with my registered keeper and I am the owner, I proved my ownership the day it was seized in February but they kept rejecting my claim as apparently a registered keeper is the owner.

eventually emailed the CEO Paul Sharpe and recieved an email back the next day saying they were right to sieze and keep the vehicle and still reject my claim however they would release the vehicle (doesn’t make sense?). I now have it back.

my question is can I claim compensation? They had it for 66 days. I haven’t properly checked for any damage yet however I have continued to pay my insurance without access to actually drive it, have spent a lot on public transport (and taxis as I’m heavily pregnant and have a toddler, my push chair was inside the vehicle and they refused to give it back so sometimes public transport wasn’t an option as my child can’t walk far). I seem to recall reading that you can claim a daily rate for the time they wrongfully have a vehicle but can’t find it now.

any ideas?
thanks!

[ploddertom]

I would hazard a guess and say whatever you asked for they would refuse. Your only option then is to submit a claim but you would need to be able to quantify each instance backed up by receipts for each. As for a Daily Rate then that was something dreamed up by someone who never succeeded and ended up going bankrupt. As for checking the car over then this should have been done at the point of return with photographic evidence.

[Partypooper]

Hi Chub - The answer is yes, you most certainly can claim compensation. However, you might wish to consider a few things first. Who is the registered keeper? Is it your partner or a relative of yours? Was it their debt?


Newlyn normally like to see proof of ownership. Did they ask for sight of your insurance policy? Who is insured to drive the vehicle? If the debtor is included, it won't help your case. Did they ask to see proof that the car was advertised or purchased from a car sales business? Did they ask to see proof of passage of funds in order to make the purchase? Newlyn encounter many debtors who claim to have purchased the car for cash (which is extremely rare these days). These people usually cannot even show evidence of the money being withdrawn from a bank or savings account.


I think you know where I'm coming from. If your case is dodgy, you may well want to quit while you are ahead. However, if you have a genuine argument then of course you can claim damages. The damages would be things like loss of 66 days insurance, loss of 66 days car tax, costs connected to collecting the vehicle and depreciation of your car's value. Ploddertom is not correct. You could indeed claim for loss of use of the vehicle. Only such expenses as are considered reasonable by the court are recoverable and each matter is case specific. Had you hired a vehicle for 66 days, you were entitled to claim the hire charge. You acted reasonably to limit the loss by not hiring a replacement but you still suffered loss. A useful way of calculating the loss of use would be to calculate a percentage of the vehicles worth (possibly the 8% per annum that the courts use to calculate interest) and then divide it by the number of days that you suffered the loss of vehicle.


When asking for damages, it is better to go high than to go low.* If you ask for 50p as has been suggested, you risk being knocked down to 25p. If you ask for £500, you could be knocked down to £250 which could be worth the effort. The critical thing is to examine how reasonably Newlyn have acted before assessing your prospects of success. If you are interested in claiming some damages, perhaps you could give us a little more information as to why the car was held for so long. If Newlyn have genuinely acted unreasonably, you might be able to negotiate some recompense without even issuing a claim.

[peterpiper]

"These people usually cannot even show evidence of the money being withdrawn from a bank or savings account"

Neither are they required to do so. Ownership can change hands without any funds being exchanged. A document
that states who is the legal owner is all that is required. It can even be an invoice of zero value. A car or anything
can legitimately be sold for cash all the time cash is a legal form of tender. The problem of course is the bailiff who
will make up his or her own assertions as to what holds validity

PS
Philip Greene sold BHS stores for £1