car

[tradey]

hi hope this is in the right place,im after some advice for my son,he was thinking of getting rid of his car as it was costing him too much on the insurance,well his mate who he used to like with said one of his friends was after buying the car,but i think this is silly what my sons done, he trusted the lad and said he could give him the money in installments,well all hes had is �1000 and nothing else,my sons rang him but, he ignores him,hes been round to the house but hes never there,the last time my son heard from him was when he gave him a cheque a few weeks ago which bounced,is there anything he can do,ie go to the police please help thankyou

[Octavius]

Unless your son has a written and signed agreement - and even then - I doubt there is much the police can do.

[redcrx]

try asking in law, body and soul isnt the right section.

I hyope he hasnt signed the car to new owner, and that he has written agreement

[Shadow Man]

The police???

No, this is a civil debt.

The only way the police would be involved is if he can prove a deception. That means the "mens rea", i.e the guilty knowledge at the time of the offence would be sufficient to prove that the purchaser had no intention whatsoever to pay for the car. In otherwords, impossible to prove!!!

A solicitor or the small claims court I am afraid is the only way forward.

However, civil redress could be awarded if he took the car back.

Yes, he does not know own the car as such, but a stone bonker defence to ALL theft crimes is "I thought I had a legal right to"

Dodgy grounds, but a possibility if he can handle himself.

[Octavius]

Did your son sign over the log-book? If not he could always report it as stolen. If he did, then I think he has just learnt a very important lesson.

[crossroads]

last year i brought an expensive stab proof jacket. It never arrived. Contacting the company failed as no responce to emails.
I took matters into my own hands and sent in some nasty computer viruses. From what i heard the viruses trashed all of the companys computer system whitch more than corvered the cost of the product.
in your case the police are useless and other than a PI i can't suggest anything else.

[crossroads]

All been dealt with since the incident so don't bother reporting me.

[4getmenot]

nope dont think there is, he put his trust in him its his own fault

[4getmenot]

my mate lent her credit card to her mate as she wanted to get her child a tv for her bedroom so not even something they desperately needed, she also paid for loads of catalogue things until her people paid for them, Came to about 500 odd pound and she did a runner, my mate went and cried to my boss about it and he bailed her out. wasnt anything to do with company and she's never paid them back

[Dinosaur2]

This is a matter of breach of contract and one for the civil court. Depending on how much is outstanding your son can take his person to the small claims court or should approach a solicitor. As long as your son gives this person ample warning that he is going to take this course of action then if he wins his case then he should recoup all his costs. The fact that he was given a cheque that bounced is important evidence in favour of showing the court that there is a genuine breach of contract and a debt that should be paid.

[Octavius]

But surely for that there would need to be some evidence of the agreed purchase price?

[tradey]

cheers to you all for your help,he trusted this lad that what makes it harder for him.my son still had the log book

[4getmenot]

oh well he could do him for stealing it.

[bednobs]

if the car is still in your sons name, andhe has the logbook then get him to report it as stolen

[tradey]

i know my sons got the log book but not sure if its still in his name,hes at work but ill ring him in abit and ask the question,arent people gets at times,you cant trust anyone these days

[chompu]

NO, possession of the log book isn't sufficient evidence of theft. The police would approach the other person who would state he had a verbal contract with your son and it would be treated as a civil debt. Your son would have to lie to the police in order to make it look like theft landing himself in sorts of possible trouble.
However, there is the possibilty of a criminal offence,if when he presented the cheque to your son, he knew that he had insufficient funds to cover it, then he would be guilty of deception.

[Whickerman]

he's been foolish on two counts then. If the 'new owner' runs up parking fines, guess who gets them posted to them? The registered owner, ie the one whose name is on the log book...

[bundleone]

If the car is still in his name then he is the legal owner, he could take the car back and return the payment already made,

[tradey]

cheers everyone im waiting for my son to get back to me regarding this.xx

[tradey]

right, my sons just got back to me, the car is still in his name but the lad signed the log book but my son hasnt sent it off yet,does that make any difference,so does this mean he can tell the police its stolen,please any advice,we really need it thankyou