Bought a car from dealer that wasnt registered in UK.

[Rekos]

Hi all,

 

I wanted to see your thoughts about my situation.

 

Firstly, I had numerous conversations with the dealer I have bought my car from BEFORE the purchase as I live in Birmingham and they trade in Devon.

On every occasion I was told that this was a UK car with a private reg and there was MOT and as much tax as I wanted to buy.

 

So I took the day off work and went down to Devon to the dealer to have a good look at the car. After a test drive and a few questions about the servicing and factory recalls I decided to buy.

 

I asked for the MOT certificate, he said I could look at it online but only between Mon-Fri as he didnt have a hard copy.

I asked for 12 months tax (£170) which he added to my invoice and said it will be done online before I leave with car.

I filled out all the relevant paperwork and V5 and was told to give them an hour to check the car over before I left.

 

So I went next door to Little Chef and changed my insurance over and had some chips. (hope I've painted a good enough picture)

 

At this point I had handed my old car over in part exchange and had no vehicle to return to Birmingham with.

 

After an hour I walked back over and was handed the keys and I asked again about the tax and was again told it will be in the post ! So off I went back to Birmingham.

 

This was on the Wednesday afternoon.

 

Saturday morning, I received a letter from the garage stating that they were unable to tax the car and that I would have to go to the local DVLA office to get it ! So I phoned to question the letter, which didn't include a refund for my tax, and asked them if they realised that I was not only covered with road tax on the car but my insurance was void as well, and was greeted with the reply "well that shouldn't be a problem now you have the V5."

 

I then looked abit closer at my V5 to discover it was a V5NI !

 

Quickly I realised that this dealer had sold this car under false pretense ! This was supposed to be a UK registered car with MOT and TAX.

I phone the deader straight back and told him what was going on and that I was advised by the DVLA that the car was not legal to drive on the UK roads. I said I would have to have a new UK MOT and if anything was wrong with the car, would he pay for it? he answered "Of course, no problem"

 

The MOT was an irish MOT disk which expired in Jan 13, which the DVLA can honour but I didnt take the chance as I need my car for work, so I quickly got booked in with my local garage to get a UK MOT.

 

On the Monday, I took a trip to my local DVLA office to tax the car and re-register in the UK. This went without a hitch and I was very pleased. But I'm out of pocket another £170 for tax and the £45 for an MOT.

 

I have sent my receipts and a covering letter to the dealer and asked for a refund of both the MOT and the tax.

The dealer is currently "not at work" and every time I phone when he is supposed to be in, I get someone else other than the guy I was dealing with !

 

I'm really disappointed with the service this garage has provided and they have let me drive away from the forcort in my £7000 car ILLEGALLY!

 

Can anybody advise me on my current legal situation with the dealer and maybe help me to resolve this issue.

 

Many thanks !

 

Richard

[blackknight]

It is still a "UK" car but was registered in Northern Ireland (part of UK), but they have there own DVLA and the cars need to be

re-registered at the DVLA office in the UK.They have conned you on the tax as they would not be able to tax it without your insurance certificate.

They probably thought they could do it online but not possible as the car was not in your name.

So at the least they owe you for the tax and the MOT and ideally some compensation for the extra work.

I assume the car was cheap as you travelled a long way to get the car.

 

Always a reason why a car is cheap!!

[ScarletPimpernel]

You say that you were supplied with a V5NI, which to me indicates that the document originated at the DVANI in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Since NI is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you have a UK registered car.

 

Northern Ireland MOT testing stations issue, as well as a certificate, a disk which can be displayed on the windscreen. I suspect that this is what you have. It is valid in all parts of the UK - but not Ireland, which is a foreign country.

 

So, if the car was described as a UK car, this was accurate. It just wasn't registered with DVLA in Swansea.

 

The remedy is, as you've discovered, a trip to one of the DVLA's regional offices, the completion of a form and payment of the tax, and that's it. You didn't need to have another MOT test.

 

Bizarrely, it is easy to tax a GB registered car in NI; why Swansea make things so difficult here for NI reg cars is just another one of those logic-defying aspects of the empire that is DVLA.

 

Anyway, your issue seems to condense to the money you paid to the dealer for tax which he failed to supply. Send him a letter (recorded delivery) asking him to refund it immediately; I'd add an amount to cover the mileage and time incurred in visiting the DVLA office too. Give him 7 days. If he doesn't respond satisfactorily, send another letter headed 'Letter before action', and tell him he has 7 days to pay up, or you'll bring a claim in the Small Claims Court. If he doesn't pay, come back here and we'll take you through the process of issuing a claim.

[ScarletPimpernel]

It is still a "UK" car but was registered in Northern Ireland (part of UK), but they have there own DVLA and the cars need to be

re-registered at the DVLA office in the UK.They have conned you on the tax as they would not be able to tax it without your insurance certificate.

They probably thought they could do it online but not possible as the car was not in your name.

So at the least they owe you for the tax and the MOT and ideally some compensation for the extra work.

I assume the car was cheap as you travelled a long way to get the car.

 

Always a reason why a car is cheap!!

 

You cannot tax a NI registered car in GB either online, by post or at a Post Office, irrespective of the insurance.

 

A NI MOT is valid in all parts of the UK; a new MOT was not required in this case.

[Rekos]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the replys !

 

Also thank you for clearing up the MOT issue. Would it have been valid with just the disc ?

 

If I can't get hold of the seller tomorrow, I will send the letters as suggested, and keep my fingers crossed.

I'm hoping it is just a case of the seller making time up for the bank holiday.

 

Will let you know about any further interactions.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[ScarletPimpernel]

The disc is part of the certificate, so it should be possible to use it - I've certainly done so when I lived in NI. However, DVLA here may not accept it. A copy is easy to obtain though; MOTs in NI are done at govt testing stations, not garages.

[dw190]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the replys !

 

Also thank you for clearing up the MOT issue. Would it have been valid with just the disc ?

 

If I can't get hold of the seller tomorrow, I will send the letters as suggested, and keep my fingers crossed.

I'm hoping it is just a case of the seller making time up for the bank holiday.

 

Will let you know about any further interactions.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

Was any part of the deal financed, paid with Credit Card or Visa Debit. If so you will have the added benefit of the Credit Provider being equally liable with the seller.?