Hi, Ive read a few of the posts on the forum before registering and after seeing the sound advice given out I was hoping I could just pinch some knowledge off whoever maybe helpful enough to assist my situation. So I’m submitting my small claims court document online tomorrow, it’s all filled out ready to go but I wanted some advice on what I can claim for and to what amounts. I’ll try to keep this brief. I purchased a car in October for £2000. The car had high mileage at 130k but seemed a good vehicle for me to get to work and back. It had a full service history, lots of receipts and drove fine so was happy to transfer the cash. The very following day on way to work it went into limp mode but on restart it would come out of it, I contacted the dealer who said I could bring it in and he would sort it. I took the car to him and the faults were cleared from the diagnostics and he said hopefully that will be the end of that and sent me on my way (I know, he fobbed me off). A full month later, whilst driving, the car made an almighty sound and grounded to a halt. Again the garage said to send it down and he would sort it. I got it sent to him and had very poor contact from him for the next week. When he eventually told me the issue that the cambelt had snapped, his previous helpful self went as well. Cue a month of going back and forth, him wanting me to pay money towards the fix and me taking advice from citizens advice giving him all the options I was entitled to. He refused all options and when I told him I was seeking legal advice, he totally shut down and asked for it all in writing to which I duly obliged. So tomorrow is 28 days since I sent my letter to him advising him that I was taking him to small claims and I haven’t received anything at all from him. He has my car, my money and I’ve offered him every option but he’s completely refused. My question is, I have put in the price of the car at £2000 and the towing price at £70 but in the meantime he created hell for me without my vehicle, should I be claiming for more? The main thing is I’ve had to go and finance another vehicle, I’ve had to keep paying the tax and insurance as the car is parked outside his garage. Also the amount of personal things like hospital appointments, school runs etc I had to re arrange in that time was a right pain in the backside. I don’t want to put too much in, in all honesty if I got my money back I’d be over the moon but I feel like I should be entitled to more after how he’s handled this and what I’ve had to deal with. Sorry for such a long message and thanks in advance to anyone who chooses to help.

I have been issued with a a PCN for parking at a local council NCP CAR PARK. I have been photographed leaving the parking site without paying for a valid parking ticket. I DO have a parking ticket for the time of parking but it does not display my vehicle reg number, I could not remember my reg number when I got the ticket,couldnt be bothered to walk all the way back to car, so just entered a series of 1111111 in order to obtain the ticket. I have appealed the charge but am expecting in to be rejected, because thats what they do. what will happen if I refuse to pay up.

Hi all, hope you can shed some insight into this situation for me! I'm currently abroad on holiday but received word from a friend minding my car that it had been seized by Newlyns in regards to a previous owner's fines. I've thankfully managed to have it released and it's currently at a friend's. I don't understand why they seized the vehicle, as when they encountered it, it was already in my name (i.e. I was the registered keeper) according to the DVLA. To the best of my knowledge, the registered keeper is the one responsible for any tickets, fines, etc., not the owner (unless it pertains to insurance matters) - is this correct? when I bought the car and the DVLA updated their records to show that I was the new registered keeper, shouldn't they have left the car alone? I understand that they may have suspected that the owner was the debtor, but doesn't a new registered keeper raise reasonable doubt? My friend took photos before driving away from the garage where the car was being stored and I can see clear damage to the vehicle. I have photographic evidence of the condition the vehicle was in before they seized it from a month earlier and witnesses who can attest that when they last saw the vehicle, it was in the same condition. My car is covered in scratches and dents, and they've managed to damage one of the front headlights as well as break some of the chassis under the car (can see a piece of metal sticking out). Once I return and see the car in person, I can make a full assessment of damage. I feel this is clearly on Newlyns and the city council they were collecting on behalf of to fix. I've filed complaints with both - once when the car was seized after it was already in my name and then I updated that complaint with the initial damage I noted. However, with the holiday season, I doubt I'll be hearing back soon. I was just wondering what my options were and how to best proceed. Should I expect that Newlyns and the city council won't easily agree to pay for damages? Should I notify my insurance (I also have legal cover), so that they can help me with this in case Newlyns and the council won't pay? I've also become a bit worried, as if they can take the car despite me being the registered keeper, is there anything I can do to check if other bailiff companies or councils are looking to collect on debts from a previous owner(s)? Thank you!

Hi Needing some advice and guidance, will keep this to the point and hopefully someone can help, It was a 40th treat for myself which makes it even worse for me. Viewed a vehicle on 04/11/18, at a Lookers dealer in Carlisle, 70+ miles from our home address, Paid full screen price, £12,500, paid £8000 on debit card and £4500 on finance, asked for a few cosmetic repair's to carried out as well as serviced, mot'd and fully valeted. Got train back to dealer on 17/11/18 with wife and kids to collect vehicle, only thing was it hadn't been cleaned at all well apart from that happy with vehicle and service received. Drove home, on returning home (82miles covered) not even 3 hours into ownership the vehicle has smoking badly from under the vehicle, the transfer box on the transmission had been leaking all over the exhaust and underside of vehicle causing the burning smell and smoke when arriving home. So at this time on a Saturday night the dealership was closed so emailed the salesman. The workshop manager contacted us Monday to arrange vehicle collection as they wanted the option to repair the vehicle at the purchasing dealership (which turned into a joke), the vehicle was collected on a trailer (20/11/18) and took back to Carlisle. The oil leak was rectified and the vehicle returned to my place of work on 23/11/18. I took delivery of the vehicle as the leak seemed to be rectified, when I left for work I tested the 4wd system which displayed a fault, contacted the general manager as it had been passed to him to deal with and verbally agreed he knew the 4wd was working prior to repair as he drove the vehicle when it was traded in, as I also knew it was working as I tested it before purchase. He contacted me to let me know he had booked it into the Lookers Ford dealer nearer to my home, great, dropped it Monday 26/11/18 to be inspected Tuesday, this didn't happen, the inspection took place on Wednesday, they condemned the transfer box, the General manager from Carlisle contacted me to state a new one would be fitted and he had authorised the repairs. Collect the vehicle 03/12/18 far dirtier than when I dropped it off and to discover a second-hand unit had been fitted not new, which has now shown a fault 1 day after the replacement transfer box. I'm at the end of my tether. Now this is where my problem starts...…. and for my post needing help!! (sorry for the long post) I don't think for one second they will challenge my rejection as he has already made this a evident to me over the phone. We have been more than reasonable and in turn they have been fine with us. But.. Its a 63 reg vehicle and only had 44K miles recorded and had a very high spec. if I'm just to simply take my money back and finance cancelled there is not another vehicle on the market to replace this one for the same value, some are £2000 plus more, I may be being stupid but I don't see why I should now be without a vehicle because of Lookers incompetence or having to be another £2k plus deeper into a vehicle. Not including all the cost to collect the vehicle etc. Is there any advice on how to progress with this? I want the vehicle that was described to me at initial purchase, however I have lost all faith in the one I have. Are they obliged to find me one either from group stock or from an alternative source? and if they are and it is at a higher price - do I have any rights with them to ask them to price match for the one I bought? I don't see why I should be out of pocket and back to square one, after viewing a few vehicles before purchasing this one. Thanks

Hi, Me & my brother are swapping cars, both cars are the same year & relatively the same value. We are simply swapping as his car is an estate and better for my large dog and my car better for him as his daughter (my niece) can only drive automatics and mine happens to be an auto. I'm just confirming the taxation side of things. I pay DD monthly on my car (so kind of runs from month to month) whereas my brother has paid for the full year upfront on his car. His car tax is paid up till May 2019 I'm planning on doing the transfer of ownership/sale online via DVLA website while I am at my brothers (he lives 30 miles away). I am assuming when I do the transfer online for both cars it will automatically cancel my tax DD with respect to my vehicle and as for my brothers car he will be refunded for his car tax for each clear month by the dvla ? We will then need to both re-tax the cars again from kinda scratch? Is this the correct procedure? To be honest I've never sold a car since the new car tax system. Obviously we will update our respective car insurance's at that time too. Thanks in advance ;-)

Hi, I was driving my Mini Cooper (2011) on my new housing development. I drove over a speed bump which was quite high, and as the car came down from the speed bump, the bottom of the car (sump tank) caught a raised drain directly after the speed bump. This resulted in the entire engine oil being leaked across the road. I didn't realise until around quarter mile down the road the oil light came on. I didn't drive the car any further and had to have it towed to a garage. The garage have said that it doesn't look to have damaged the engine, and it will cost £800 to fix everything due to no after market parts being available. However, I was hoping to get some advice on how to proceed. The roads aren't the responsibility of the Council yet, and are technically meant to be maintained by a site management company. They have refused to admit it's their fault. I'm not sure whether to: 1) Go through our insurance and call on their services to repair the vehicle and attempt to reclaim the costs from the site management. 2) Pay the repair costs ourselves and file a small claims court case to try and build a case to recuperate the costs. There were no signs on the road to say raised drains would be higher than the rest of the surface. The speed limit is 20mph which wouldn't have been exceeded due to only just turning out of our street and having to brake to go over the high speed bump. Thanks in advance for any suggestions on the best way to deal with this. I have attached a picture of the drain and road after the incident. As you can see the oil has poured out after coming in contact with the drain. The speed bump is located where the picture was taken from.

Last night, an unknown tall vehicle drove past our home and ripped the mains power cable and bracket out of the wall in our house, causing significant damage to the wall and roof. The vehicle failed to stop. UK power networks were very quick to respond and restore power to our home within a few hours, however, the damage to the building still exists. My question is - Does this count as criminal damage, and should we report it as such? Or is it really not worth it? Does the repair bill for this fall on our shoulders?

Hi CarTrader89, have you had any luck in sorting out this situation with copart I also purchased a Australian import from copart and I myself is in the same dilemma as you, I’m thinking about taking them to court

Hi all, Looking for some guidance regarding 5 legitimate?? (unsure) PCN s on a broken down vehicle. Scenario. My sons car broke down away from his home. He has a valid residents paid on street parking permit for his home. but could not arrange a tow . He tried one garage.... but no availability, until finally contacting an available garage 5 days later which was then free to tow and repair it . He put a note in the vehicle windscreen to advise of breakdown. He received 5 PCN's over nine days. Could anyone guide on a suitable challenge? Please. Also on legality of number of PCN's issued. Many thanks . email me if allowed. Cheers Steve.

Hi, I am posting this as I require some urgent advice regarding a minor and an agreement. I am 17 years old and I got onto an online car auction and won. The vehicle is for £7,900 + VAT + 20% commission + vat, therefore the total plaice is around £11,300. However I don’t have the money to buy the car and I did not think that I will win the auction. I contacted the auctioneer about this and they said that in there terms and condition (which I agreed to over email) they clearly state the following: 1) if a buyer wants to cancel they must pay the 20% commission+ vat. Which works out at £1580+ Vat 2) it is a trade sale so consumer right do not apply 3) there is a 2% interest each day for late payment 4) if an under 18 bids in a vehicle the parent or legal guardian is liable to pay. 5) is payment is not received within the allotted time they will use legal action. 6) If the reserve price is not met the seller may still sell the vehicle to the highest bidder. I need to cancel the bid as I have not got the money to purchase the vehicle but I don’t even have the enough money to pay for the cancellation charge. The auctioneer have got a copy of my driving licence and are saying that I have till 5pm otherwise they will go to court and most likely I will get a CCJ in my name which will be for the full amount of approx £11,300 plus 2% interest each day. I would like to know if they will still be able to take me to court even if I am under the age of 18 and classed as a minor, and I did not think this would happen. My parents are not aware of the situation and even they do not have that hind of money. Adobe is greatly appreciated. Thanks Thanks in advance.

Hello CAG, I have received Letter Before Claim. Briefly will explain how does it happen. In 2017 23rd December me and my friend decided to do surprise for our fried who lives faraway, more then 140 miles from us. In car park (car par is allocated to block flats where lives our friend) we arrived in late evening around 10pm and park on visitor parking space. Due to late evening and Christmas hustle I did not saw any of Private land parking sign. In a next day 24/12 Christmas day our friend ( flat owner ) released that we need parking permit to stay in visitor parking. She was run out of permits and obviously on Christmas day she could not get any new ones. When I went down stairs to move my car I saw that I have already PCN. Now about LBC (Letter Before Claim ) This letter is from Vehicle Control Services LTD If I do not pay 160 £ they will commence legal proceeding against me without future notice. Principal Debt £160.00 Estimated Interest £7.43 Estimated Court Fees £25.00 Estimated Total £192.43 In the envelope they have enclosed a reply form giving me several options/tick boxes: I agree I owe the debt I owe some of the debt but not all of it I don't know whether I owe the debt I dispute the debt (I can explain why in a separate document) I will pay what I owe now I will pay but need time to pay I am getting or intend to get legal advice And then another section where I can request documents from them e.g. a copy of the written contract for the debt. As with everyone else on this site, I don't agree with the charge. Can anyone advise/help on what I should do next? Thanks, P.S. Below I add form that was recommended to fill in. 1 Date of the infringement – 24/12/2017 2 Date on the NTK – 03/01/2018 3 Date received – 05/01/2018 4 Does the NTK mention schedule 4 of The Protections of Freedoms Act 2012? – NO, they did not mention about it. 5 Is there any photographic evidence of the event – No photographic evidence has been provided. 6 Have you appealed? – No, I did not appeal Have you had a response? - N/A 7 Who is the parking company? – Vehicle control Services Limited 8. Where exactly – Car was parked at the postcode - S13 9DP, Sheffield (On PCN letter is Innovation, Sheffield, S13 9DR) For either option, does it say which appeals body they operate under. – They offer appeal through myparkingcharge.co.uk There are two official bodies, the BPA and the IAS. If you are unsure, please check HERE - Vehicle Control Services Ltd 02498820 IPC If you have received any other correspondence, please mention it here. – I have received 8 letters in total (all of them are in PDF file). Letter 1 – 2 from Vehicle Control Services Limited. Letter 3 – 5 from – Debt recovery plus ltd Letter 6 – 7 from Zenith collections Letter 8 from Vehicle Control Services Limited as a Letter before claim.

Hi. I've sold a car almost 2 years ago, it was my first one and didn't know to I should send log book so I gave it to new owner which said that is going to do this but didn't. Now I recived a letter from debt collector which says that I'm still the owner and have to pay £80. I already made it straight but my question is : - What's happening with a car now? - The car has new M.O.T so is still in use - Is there anything that is going to affect "new" owner that have been using car without being owner?

Hi I wonder if any of you lovely people can help me? I was making a substantial delivery to a restaurant in Beverly ( Catering/janitorial supplies). I was in my 4x4 as the van was delivering elsewhere. The bay did have a restriction of 'goods vehicles only' but i did not see that. The traffic warden agreed that she could see i was making a substantial delivery but said that i was using the wrong type of vehicle and issued a ticket. I appealed the ticket giving the copy of the delivery note and explaining that the goods are too heavy and many to park in the multi story and walk with them. They have rejected my appeal. I am not happy about this and feel this is restrictive to their tenants and their suppliers. My concern is that I will need to make future deliveries in my car … how will I do this without getting a ticket or knackering my back by parking in the multi story? Does anyone have any advise or similar situations?

Got stopped by 4 traffic police cars (that were on a roundabout) they checked insurance and driving license which was all good ! Then started looking around the car and said 3 tyres were rubbing as the car is lowered but not excessive (can send pictures on request) They told me they didn't know if it was legal or not so they took pictures to send away to be examined. they also threatened to take my car away from me but in the end they let me drive away. also the accident happened on 27th of june and I received the letter on 12 of july. does it matter that they sent the letter out later than the 14 day period ? thanks

Hi all, please has anyone got any advice or experience on my situation? I moved house a while ago. Sent off to DVLA to update license and V5 log book. Licence came back OK. I overlooked the fact the V5 never turned up, and tax was due in Jan. Realised the other week I have been driving for 6 months with no tax, as all reminders sent to old address. Immediately sorted the issue and paid DVLA for current tax and £80 fine. When phoning DVLA, they say I have 3 outstanding fines from DVLA for been identified driving without tax. First offence is just outside the 6 week period of applying for new address V5. - How easy/viable is it to contest the first fine? - Any way of avoiding/ reducing the other fines? Many thanks!

Hi All In brief my son bought a car 3 weeks ago and applied for the log book (he had the green slip). Whilst parked outside our house it got clamped because of a parking fine the previous owner had incurred. Despite my son having the log book back and in his name the bailiff is yet to remove the clamp claiming that the system his end has not been updated. DVLA have advised we call the police but I know they won't be interested. The car is obviously illegally clamped but where would we stand if we removed it? Thanks in advance

My daughter is NOT self-employed but works for a company that requires her to meet clients within the region she works in. Her contract does not state that she had to have a car but she has been told that she must use her car to go meet clients. Fair enough. When she went to claim her fuel expenses they refused because they said she needs business insurance on her vehicle and once she produces a certificate to prove this they will then pay for the fuels at 45p per mile. W Why should she have to pay for business insurance, it is not her business. She has said she would be happy to get it insured for business and then claim it back from the company but they say they wont pay it. She likes the job and does not want to leave but as I say this was not written in her contract. Others within the company have forked out for business insurance just to get peace but my daughter is taking a stand on this. Where does she stand legally? Any help or advice is much appreciated.

Hi guys, Google has brought me here as it appears a few of you have had similar issues to the one I'm having. Car crashed into back of mine while I was stopped at lights, guy accepted responsibility and his insurer contacted me to arrange repairs (Well, actually their repairer contacted me, I never once heard from the insurer as I recall) They also arranged a replacement vehicle for me which I assumed to be a courtesy car but in fact, as I now know, turned out to be a credit hire. I'm now getting solicitors letters because the insurer is now refusing to pay out for the car and I, like a few others here, have been asked to provide bank statements and credit card bills to aid recovery of the money. I'm confused how this is anything to do with me bearing in mind I had no involement in any of the arrangements and as far as I'm aware, sued the services approved by their insurer. P.S. I've spoken to my insurance who gave me a big "Not my problem"

Hi, i'm looking for some advice on where I stand with regards to a vehicle purchased at a online Copart Auction please. The vehicle was advertised as Unrecorded and in the additional information stated that it was an import, it has never been UK registered, additional charges may apply to register in the UK and it's history cannot be guaranteed. There was no mention of where the vehicle was imported from, so was extremely difficult to trace back any history. I purchased the vehicle believing it to be a UK car, it was right hand drive and sold through a UK company. It was only when I had paid and sent a driver to collect the car that I realised it wasn't a UK car. Not only this, but the damage was much worse than photographed on the website, someone had basically polished a turd. I accepted this and cracked on and repaired the vehicle. The retail of the car here in England was £42,000 and after its repair I have around £40,000 in it. Because the speedometer was in Kilometres, I then had to order brand new clocks before the vehicle would pass an IVA Test, these were on backorder and took 4 months to arrive. Speedo arrived, the vehicle was completed and passed through its IVA Test with no issues. From here is where I tried to register the vehicle with DVLA. I was told by them this would take 10 days and after 6 weeks of waiting I finally received a response from them to the tune of... We have been liaising with Australian Authorities and the vehicle was a statutory write off, because of this we cannot issue a logbook under it's original VIN number. It must have a replacement VIN number and be on Q Plates because of a it's questionable history. I looked into this more now I knew where the vehicle was from and a Statutory Write Off in Australia means "A statutory write-off is too badly damaged to be repaired to a standard that is safe for road use. The vehicle identification number (VIN) is recorded as a statutory write-off, and the vehicle is not allowed to be registered. These vehicles are only suitable for use as parts or scrap metal." - What's known in the UK at a Category B vehicle. These are worth around 10% of a cars retail value as they should never be allowed on the road again - only dismantled for parts and crushed. I have since spoken to Copart who have told me that because the vehicle has never been registered in the UK, that the car is "Unrecorded" and they have not misrepresented it on the advert. They have said they will look into the documentation and come back to me. I was looking to get opinions on this. As I have £40,000 in a vehicle which is worth around £8,000 as a breaker and probably £15,000 - £18,000 as a vehicle with "Q Plates". Not only this, but I am now concerned for my safety as it's been deemed unsafe by an assessor previously. Copart are saying the vehicle is unrecorded, yet I have a certificate confirming it is, although not in the UK. What has happened here is a [problem]mer has purchased the vehicle in Australia as a parts only vehicle, exported it to the UK then sold it as an unrecorded right hand drive vehicle for maximum profit. Surely Copart should have done the due diligence before advertising this car as unrecorded? I have been told international titles will confirm if the vehicle is for destruction or not - something Copart will have asked for before making the vehicle available for auction. Any advice and thoughts would be appreciated.

My husband had a problem taxing his vehicle as he couldn't find the log book. He eventually found it and taxed the vehicle but 3 days before he got the tax, apparently his vehicle was photographed at 2 a.m. in the morning and an enforcement letter was eventually sent out which we received after we had taxed the vehicle. The vehicle was on our drive not on the street, the DVLA claimed it was photographed around the corner from our house. This is not possible as all the houses on that strip of road have dropped kerbs and there is no way he could have parked there. We queried the notice and received a photograph of the back of his van, again claiming it was parked on the road nearby but giving a GPS code of 4 addresses down to ours. We have had problems with this neighbour who doesn't like our van parked on the street so naturally we are suspicious. Apart from the fact who would be out at 2.01 a.m. in the morning photographing our vehicle (any ideas?), is there anyway we can challenge this notice as they have given two wrong addresses. Many thanks.

Hi Can someone please advise whether my car is exempt from being seized by Bailiffs for a debt of £1700 when it's only worth about £400-£500. It's also vital as my role as carer for my two autistic children, it's not an official disability car but I'm their registered carer and need it to take them to appointments and to and from school as public transport is a no go due to their condition. As I understand vehicles with a value less that £1350 that are needed for work are exempt, does my role as a carer put me in this category? Thanks Lisa

I check the mail for a friend who as been out of the country for some months, as is his motorcycle. He has recently been issued with a Charge Notice by Highview Parking at a Tesco. It states his vehicle is a white BMW with an 08 registration. These details and the Model stated are correct for his motorcycle. The Charge Notice gives photos of a car, an estate car, a dark blue Volvo, with an 06 registration - all other digits are the same. Clearly a "Robo" Charge for which no one at Highview has even bothered to look at their 'evidence' in their eagerness to gather cash and alienate Tesco from their potential customers, having obtained DVLA data without justification or proper reason. How best to deal with this for maximum discomfort for Highview/Tesco - and DVLA?

Yesterday booked a vehicle over the phone paid by credit card. Discovered today that I am unable to take the vehicle where I want to so need to cancel. They have said as there is less than a month to when the hire was due to start minimum charge is 7 days, as I booked for only 4 days will lose all my money. I did not see the terms and conditions and was only told my cancellation rights when I tried to cancel. Bearing in mind it is 15 hours since I made the booking, do I have any rights? Thanks

Hi there. I have recently had a letter from the HM Courts Historic Debt team about a fine in 2014 that was for £930!!!! I called the Magistrates court today about this having read about statutory declarations etc and found out a bit more about the case. The offence was that i had used a car on the 16th September 2013 without tax on the A5 through milton keynes. I bought the car in November 2011 and sold it in April 2012, shortly before moving to a new house. Luckily I have a photocopy of the receipt myself and the buyer signed when she took the car, so I am confident that in the case of driving the unlicensed vehicle I have proof it was not mine. However my concern is that will the DVLA automatically come at me with a failure to notify charge. I have been involved in assisting a friend with one of these charges a long time ago and am aware that I fulfilled my obligations under the interpretations act 1978 by posting this. Can they do that there and then at court, enter a new charge, or would they need to separately summons me for that. Likewise should i prepare a defence for that possible charge anyway or should I ignore that as even being an issue until it is mentioned. I am preparing a covering letter to the DVLA/Court explaining the above (that I had sold the car, and sent off the V5 before moving out of the rented property, and I had never heard any more on this until Saturday when the letter dropped through my letterbox from the Historic Debt team. All advice would be appreciated Thankyou

I am currently living with my partner, which is likely to become a permanent arrangement in the near future. As of yet I have not updated any accounts/documents with my new address (incl driver licence/bank etc). I have a spare vehicle that is up for sale and have an interested party coming to view it tomorrow but have just realised the V5 is for my previous address. Will this be an issue? Thanks in advance