Abandoned car!!
Discussion
I've mentioned this subject on these forums before, but I really need someone who is familiar with Scottish law to help me here as I'm at the end of my patience!
To cut a long story short a P**s taking barsteward left a car with me to have work done. He stopped giving me any money in 2006, and since then I've had to spend my own money on the car. I stopped working on it 2 years ago and demanded he take it away and square me up, since then he has repeatedly strung me along. Now car is parked on my private driveway and is a total inconvenience.
Since November last year I have had to become threatening to him and I have been given over a dozen dates when he planned on collecting the car and all have been and gone. He lives abroad, had a property in Glasgow which he sold a couple of years ago and has family in the midlands.
Now I am completely at the end of my patience with him, and want to know am I entitled to either sell his car to get what I am owed and more importantly rid of it, or can I dismantle it for spares to get same result! I cannot get anything done on my own property as this car is a non runner and it is driving me mad that he clearly doesn't give a damn and fully expects the car to stay here for as long as he chooses.
To cut a long story short a P**s taking barsteward left a car with me to have work done. He stopped giving me any money in 2006, and since then I've had to spend my own money on the car. I stopped working on it 2 years ago and demanded he take it away and square me up, since then he has repeatedly strung me along. Now car is parked on my private driveway and is a total inconvenience.
Since November last year I have had to become threatening to him and I have been given over a dozen dates when he planned on collecting the car and all have been and gone. He lives abroad, had a property in Glasgow which he sold a couple of years ago and has family in the midlands.
Now I am completely at the end of my patience with him, and want to know am I entitled to either sell his car to get what I am owed and more importantly rid of it, or can I dismantle it for spares to get same result! I cannot get anything done on my own property as this car is a non runner and it is driving me mad that he clearly doesn't give a damn and fully expects the car to stay here for as long as he chooses.
Just write to him and tell him that if he doesn't settle his account within 28 days and remove the car, you will sell it/break for spares to cover your costs and outstanding bill.
If you have copies of all correspondence that you have sent so far that can demonstrate how long this situation has been going on for and that you have tried all that is reasonable to settle the matter, your proposed course of action to bring it all to an end would not be seen as unreasonable and you have given your friend a final opportunity to resolve the matter himself.
If you have copies of all correspondence that you have sent so far that can demonstrate how long this situation has been going on for and that you have tried all that is reasonable to settle the matter, your proposed course of action to bring it all to an end would not be seen as unreasonable and you have given your friend a final opportunity to resolve the matter himself.
If you have fitted parts to the car that didn't replace anything, or the originals that you replaced with new parts, and haven't been paid for the fitting of those parts (in any way) then they're yours. If he's sent you any money and that money is after the fitting of some of these parts that you wish to remove, I believe you may be into the grounds of a legal dispute and a process that is likely to cost some money ultimately to get your money. Example, if he said to overhaul the suspension and sent you money, and then said to overhaul the brakes and hasn't sent any money, you can return the brakes to the condition they were in. If he said to overhaul the brakes and the suspension, and sent you some money to start the work, then you're in a more difficult situation. You have to place a value on your time and any potential legal fees and weigh it up against the grand. IANAL, but that's the obvious bit to me.
As far as I understand, if you have contact details for this person (even an overseas address) you can issue a letter advising that from a date defined in the future that he's definitely going to have received said letter by, you will charge an amount for storage. This amount must be reasonable (look at costs for storing a car in a large facility, pinch that) but you'll soon make up your money that way. Once the amount owed has surpassed the value of the car, then you're into a much easier process of relieving him of his car. Again, IANAL but this I have seen done fairly regularly by a friend who restores vehicles as a business.
As far as I understand, if you have contact details for this person (even an overseas address) you can issue a letter advising that from a date defined in the future that he's definitely going to have received said letter by, you will charge an amount for storage. This amount must be reasonable (look at costs for storing a car in a large facility, pinch that) but you'll soon make up your money that way. Once the amount owed has surpassed the value of the car, then you're into a much easier process of relieving him of his car. Again, IANAL but this I have seen done fairly regularly by a friend who restores vehicles as a business.
Send letter requesting payment of balance for works carried out £XXXX & collection of car.
Request payment by date, give him a resonable time (14 days from receipt of letter).
State that if payment is not made you will charge storage fees per day at £X rate until car is collected to a maximum of 28 days or something.
If he doesn't, part it out to recover costs.
I can't see you're doing anything wrong if you keep it all written down & give him plenty of warning?!
Request payment by date, give him a resonable time (14 days from receipt of letter).
State that if payment is not made you will charge storage fees per day at £X rate until car is collected to a maximum of 28 days or something.
If he doesn't, part it out to recover costs.
I can't see you're doing anything wrong if you keep it all written down & give him plenty of warning?!
Take all the bits off it, i.e.completely strip it.Then weigh in the shell or ask any passing metal thieves to take it from you. Leave it a couple of weeks then contact the owner thanking him for finally removing the car and could we settle up the bill. He will say he's not moved it, you say its gone and it must have been stolen. Its then his problem.
It does not appear that anyone posting above is a Scottish lawyer. I am not a Scottish lawyer. Unless a Scottish lawyer appears to offer an answer, there can be no substitute for taking advice from, er, a Scottish lawyer. It would be prudent to ignore all the tough talk and "sell it " type of advice until you have some real advice.
This is one of those areas in which Scots law differs from English law. In England and Wales, there is a statutory provision that would help you, but it does not apply north of the wall.
This is one of those areas in which Scots law differs from English law. In England and Wales, there is a statutory provision that would help you, but it does not apply north of the wall.
Breadvan72 said:
It does not appear that anyone posting above is a Scottish lawyer. I am not a Scottish lawyer. Unless a Scottish lawyer appears to offer an answer, there can be no substitute for taking advice from, er, a Scottish lawyer. It would be prudent to ignore all the tough talk and "sell it " type of advice until you have some real advice.
This is one of those areas in which Scots law differs from English law. In England and Wales, there is a statutory provision that would help you, but it does not apply north of the wall.
IANAL but Breadvan is. Ignore his advice at your peril.This is one of those areas in which Scots law differs from English law. In England and Wales, there is a statutory provision that would help you, but it does not apply north of the wall.
gtidriver said:
Take all the bits off it, i.e.completely strip it.Then weigh in the shell or ask any passing metal thieves to take it from you. Leave it a couple of weeks then contact the owner thanking him for finally removing the car and could we settle up the bill. He will say he's not moved it, you say its gone and it must have been stolen. Its then his problem.
So if you leave your car with a garage to have some work done and it gets stolen then it's your problem and not the garage's? 
I have no idea if that "advice" was meant seriously or was a piss take. If the former, ignore, and ignore all similar "advice".
OP, if you did not get an answer from a Scots lawyer the last time you asked the question here, you are unlikely to get one now. Try asking on some website that may be frequented by those with knowledge of Scots law, or asking a local CAB or whatever. An internet car forum where most of the posters know nothing about the law (but pontificate about its regardless), and where those who pontificate about it with a knowledge base (me and a few others) are from south of the border is possibly not the place to find an answer.
OP, if you did not get an answer from a Scots lawyer the last time you asked the question here, you are unlikely to get one now. Try asking on some website that may be frequented by those with knowledge of Scots law, or asking a local CAB or whatever. An internet car forum where most of the posters know nothing about the law (but pontificate about its regardless), and where those who pontificate about it with a knowledge base (me and a few others) are from south of the border is possibly not the place to find an answer.
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