14 replies to this topic

[Exferes]

hi all

i have an old problem form some months back that i have been waiting on but now my family has gotten involved and im not sure what to do

i bought a car a while back (march roughly) for R12000.00. i gave the guy who organised the car the money but no receipt was given. then i had to get the car fixed as it had some issues. the oil pump gave up and some small engine work. i gave the guy the money to fix it to get it running as he was gonna get the papers so we could sell it and make some profit. i then forked out some more bucks to get the dents and scratches removed. all in all it came to R21500.00, the guy has had the car since day of purchase and i have been asking for it back but he keeps saying wait for papers. so have been. months later my parents have been getting upset and want to know what going on so they got involved. my step dad has gone to him twice and still havnt gotten the car back. today he came to see me and promised to give the car but he wouldnt give me the car and i couldnt grab the key out of his hand as its against the law in this country and he can lay a case of assault. so he told me that wednesday he will bring lawyers papers (like he can even afford a lawyer) and i must sign them and he will hand over the car. i really dont know what to do anymore. this is an on going circle. the more i ask he either urgently needs the car or has plans or says another day or wait till this day. my step dad wants to kill the guy at this point but i told him to wait and lets see as iv been doing for months now.
if i look at the story. i have no receipt as to giving the guy any money. i dont have the car or the papers. i never met the owners of the car. i have no info on the car. just its number plate which i got recently. i dont know the guys full name or ID number. i know where he lives. the car apparently still belongs to the bank. i cant just hook the car with a tow truck and take it out his yard as thats invasion of private property. and he refuses to give me the key. and now that my parents got involved he says im a lier as i never told him that i'm involving my parents, when they only got involved in the past 2 weeks.

im lost in what to do from here on out. im limited with south african contacts to see of that car has been registered in his name or not and our traffic departments dont release info at all. (unless large bribes are given)

i will wait till wednesday and demand the key before any more further matters but to put my mind at rest what would the FOC club do?

regards
JC

[btmaldon]

Personally, I would send some very big friends around and get them ask him for the key in a less than polite manner.

[mr pompey]

With no paper of proof of pay ment u dont have a leg 2 stand on,
With him keep frobbing u off he's takeing u 4 a ride big time,
U either cut ur loses, or do as btmaldon says,
Take some really big friends with u & get the key & paper work,

[dezwez]

looks like you have been done no proof what so ever he can go tell you
to do one sorry but s__t happens

[Danny87]

It sounds like a really horrible situation to be in, especially after forking out all this money and having nothing to show for it (at this point in time).

This sounds very similar to a situation my mother was found in a few years back with her boyfriend of that time. He was a right loser and wasn't working, my mum is the sort of person who would do anything for anybody. So he asked her to 'lend' him the money so he could get transport. He decided to buy a 125cc scooter and my mum felt she was just helping him with transport so he can get a job, he made a few payments but still owed the best part of £700. My poor mum had allowed him to be the registered keeper on the V5. It seemed like he had got away with it when he broke up with my mum, she was £700 down (didn't care about losing him, she ended the relationship!) and he had moved out of the area (still fairly local) and kept the bike. He wouldn't give it back. So we managed to talk the guy into signing the motorcycle over to my mother, so as far as the DVLA was concerned she was the owner, it made it easier for us. It was my older brother who persuaded him to do this, he used to be really friendly with him. Obviously you don't turn your back on family, so my brother was more than willing to play friendly and get the guy to give in.

There was still a problem, he had the keys to the motorcycle. We knew where he lived, and he still refused to give the motorcycle back and said "When I find a job I'll let you have it back..." same old, same old. A leopard never changes its spots.

So after a few weeks I got a couple of my friends in, and we all went over to his flat. He was living in a rough part of town, but we decided to keep focused and not be scared away unless someone comes out with a sword or something! We lifted this bike up, put it in the back of my brothers Escort, and climbed in on top of the bike. It was ours. All I had to do (I'm handy with the spanners) was replace the ignition, which was easy and got one from the motorcycle dealers - we had the V5 in our name.

I know that's not going to work in the case of a car, but you have to think dirty if you want to get it back. By the sounds of it this person you're involved in likes to play rough, and the good news is these sorts of people are usually pretty thick. So people like us end up with the upper hand (so to speak).

I hope that's helped, interesting to read if not lol!

Dan

[Exferes]

Thanks for all the posts guys !!!!! Well i had the police on hold for tonight in case things didn't turn out as planned (my mom knows someone who knows this guy in the police) they even Helped us try trace the number plate to the owner which was a dead end as address had letters changed like 10 drosdy street ersewig park was supposed to be 10 drostdy street freeway park. so we spoke to the owners of that house and they have no idea who the person is that i was looking for and have never seen the license plate. well the guy told me he was gonna get his lawyer to draw up a contract so i decided to get our company lawyer to assist me. so she did and i had it printed like 10 times in case this guy messed and wrote stuff wrong. he was gonna meet me at work so technically he was on my ground and i had a tow truck driver ready to pull the car to a location. could always sort keys out later or change the locks. but anyways he said i must meet at his place so that changed things a bit. so after work i go to his place. we rock up there and bam the car is not there so i phoned him and he said im in the car behind you come climb in. so i did. then we drove to his brothers place which was close by and he got out and said he will pull the aveo out for me. then after that he gives me the key and says here you can take the car. so i was like...... ....um.... and the papers what must i sign or where is this contract from your lawyer?? he said there was non and told his lawyer he isnt gonna draw one up any more ..... ok WTF just happened? even my step dad was stunned... we stood there for a moment like what do we say. this was supposed to turn out ugly... and now you just gave the keys over.. im still stunned. it actually feels wrong like this wasnt how it was supposed to happen. so anyways no one signed nothing and he said i can drive the car since i dont have transport and im currently fixing the ford fiesta (my project at this current time ) he said he will continue to get the papers from the bank so that we can sell this car. i must just organise driving permits so that i can drive the car on the road. and that was it. i had the car and the keys in my hand. my step dad was still suspicious and checked the car out at the garage. oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, brakes, wheels on properly, no bomb attached. all looked clear. i took photos of the thing just in case. i'm still lost to the whole story. how he changed his mind just like that. like here we go take the keys but 2 days ago he was like ill never given them to you cause you wont give me money.
i would ask for someone to shed some light but i dont know who would know the answer

[Exferes]

It sounds like a really horrible situation to be in, especially after forking out all this money and having nothing to show for it (at this point in time).

This sounds very similar to a situation my mother was found in a few years back with her boyfriend of that time. He was a right loser and wasn't working, my mum is the sort of person who would do anything for anybody. So he asked her to 'lend' him the money so he could get transport. He decided to buy a 125cc scooter and my mum felt she was just helping him with transport so he can get a job, he made a few payments but still owed the best part of £700. My poor mum had allowed him to be the registered keeper on the V5. It seemed like he had got away with it when he broke up with my mum, she was £700 down (didn't care about losing him, she ended the relationship!) and he had moved out of the area (still fairly local) and kept the bike. He wouldn't give it back. So we managed to talk the guy into signing the motorcycle over to my mother, so as far as the DVLA was concerned she was the owner, it made it easier for us. It was my older brother who persuaded him to do this, he used to be really friendly with him. Obviously you don't turn your back on family, so my brother was more than willing to play friendly and get the guy to give in.

There was still a problem, he had the keys to the motorcycle. We knew where he lived, and he still refused to give the motorcycle back and said "When I find a job I'll let you have it back..." same old, same old. A leopard never changes its spots.

So after a few weeks I got a couple of my friends in, and we all went over to his flat. He was living in a rough part of town, but we decided to keep focused and not be scared away unless someone comes out with a sword or something! We lifted this bike up, put it in the back of my brothers Escort, and climbed in on top of the bike. It was ours. All I had to do (I'm handy with the spanners) was replace the ignition, which was easy and got one from the motorcycle dealers - we had the V5 in our name.

I know that's not going to work in the case of a car, but you have to think dirty if you want to get it back. By the sounds of it this person you're involved in likes to play rough, and the good news is these sorts of people are usually pretty thick. So people like us end up with the upper hand (so to speak).

I hope that's helped, interesting to read if not lol!

Dan

wow dan sorry to hear that about your mum. im glad you came right. it sucks when people screw your parents. makes you even more upset. glad you guys stayed strong minded and went through with it. the guy must have been so peed when he came out and the bike was gone

[Exferes]

and true @ dezwez and mr pompey... i really dont have a foot to stand on. it was stupid from my side not to get anything signed as proof. i just went with this guy to see a car (who knows if it was stolen) was told it was R12k and it need minor repairs. so i gave the guy R12k cash nothing signed and he bought the car. then i gave him more money to get it fixed (R9.5k) nothing signed either and then 6 months down the line im struggling to get the car from him. and we waiting on the bank for papers. so ya i was stupid to buy without getting stuff signed. i was stupid to not collect the car the day of purchase. i suppose we learn the hard way well some of us least iv had 6 month for this stupid move to sink in:)

[jeebowhite]

LOL, well congratulations to you! Im kinda disappointed though... I was half expecting to come on and read that you had to dangle him by hes male anatomy before he would give you the keys... and I kind of feel like he has let you down - and you may have lost out on the fun part? lol. Never the less, glad to hear you got it sorted! hopefully your lesson will illsutrate to others the importance of private sales and making sure you are covered. For example, dont pay cash, use Bank transfer, or Pay Pal - Something that will offer you security in case something goes wrong!

Or as you said, get the so and so to turn up on your doorstep and then take the car from under him and laugh as you go!

Glad to hear you got it sorted, and @Danny - as has been said above, glad you guys stuck together and that you gave him what for... as you say, you managed to cover it all legally by signing it over, I too would have loved to have seen the luck on his face... In fact, I would have been tempted to have set up a few sticks and put a tarpolin over the top... so he comes out - thinks his bike is there, whips off the tarpalin and starts crying... lol!

My mother was stung by a supposed "friend" - she was a civvy assistant in the Army Cadets. one of her colleagues (shall we say) there got very friendly, and was telling his tales of whoe over how we was going to lose this that and the other. I think she lent him about £1400 and he paid back about £200 if she was lucky! She was fighting for it, and he eventually moved without so much as a thank you. Disappeared and took the money - it was reported to the police, but as has been said above, there was no evidence of wrongdoing as there was no real evidence that the money had been given to him... another loss cut situation and a bitter lesson to taste!

[Exferes]

Thanks jeebowhite ya it was a bit disappointing that it was easy. s*** was supposed to hit the fan, my step dads fingers were itching with excitement and then nothing!!! "you had to dangle him by hes male anatomy before he would give you the keys" would have been the better post. something juicy for the readers i really wanted the tow truck to pull the car and he comes out and there is nothing. just some black tire marks ya im glad i got it off my mind. i really wanna get back to working on my ford as well as i really wanna sell this car i got back to get some money to put towards my ford. ya must say that private sale could have turned out bad... what if the car was stolen that would have been a disaster. i suppose all future buys will be cars,keys,papers then hand over the cash and sign at least some document that states the car has been bought by the new owner

suppose alot of us have hit a learning curve and it seems to be an expensive one! like for jeebowhite's mum... £1400 (that's like R18000.00 almost here in S.A) wow how did your mom keep her cool?
for me that was like almost £1977 (R21500) that would have been lost but i really didnt wanna let that guy walk away with that money!

[Exferes]

hey guys.

sadly the driving permit on the car expired and i dont know where to get another one does anyone know how to aquire one here in south africa? the guy i got the car from wants R350 for another one. thats a bit steep for a permit and i have a feeling that he will pocket the cash anyway and just get a buddy to organise one for free.

can anyone assist?

[jeebowhite]

Not sure, She spent a lot of time going mad at him, my father was itching to get his hands around his neck... In the end they realised they were 'flogging a dead horse' and just put it down to a lesson hard learned! without evidence they couldnt prosecute, and without details of him, they couldnt go through the small claims court... One of those things really. Thats why I have learned the hard way to be careful when it comes to cash!

[Exferes]

hey hey

just posting to let you all know i still have the Aveo . its killing my ford project need tom to buy a radiator and fan and headlights and much more
the other day i noticed the Aveo sinking and i went to look and true as that it was going down. we pulled tree stumps out a while back and i dont think the ground has settled and trust me to park the car right there. it was a case of deflate and do the rocking maneuver(had to google that word )
it finally came out. girlfriend was hosing herself tons of mud too

so far the car looks clean at transunion and the police havnt picked up anything... and the one bank i went to cant trace the car to them... so im wondering if its clean.. just how to get the cars papers is another story. and im a bit scared i pay a back yard guy to register it and it turns out that there is an issue at the license department and the guy scored bucks cause i cant register it.
but ill see and let you all know

[Exferes]

Wow what an old post to bring back up but good news. I finally came right in may this year with the car. after getting it back and all the research to try get it on my name i finally found a contact. seemed cheapish in the beginning but as it unfolded dam it was expensive. in the 1st week he sorted out the license disc for me so car was legally back on the road for another year which meant i could drive it at ease then about a month later i got the papers. turns out the car belonged to lady who passed away in 2008 and her kids sold the car but it was never re-registered and it still belonged to the bank. so this contact i found out had to pull a lot of strings and contact people to get the right documentation to get it onto my name. so R15 000.00 (1100 pounds/1400 euro's) later the can is finally in my name so all turned out not bad in the long run. I'm just happy its finally over. an expensive lesson to learn but if it doesn't have papers... walk away (unless it really is a steal... but not stolen!!)

[btmaldon]

Congratulations for your persistance and getting it all sorted. We dont have the same problems with registration etc over hear. You simply cant buy a car without the cars registration document being signed there and then. Sounds like you have a real beaurocratic knightmare to go through.

Well done.