Ex took my Car

peterl26

When me & my now ex were together, her car broke down so I put her as a named driver on my commercial van. She used this van to pop to the shop occasionally for groceries.

We have since split up but she took my van along with the keys.

The Commercial nct & tax has since expired but I don’t have access to the van so I cannot bring it to be put through the test.

The insurance is soon to expire. I have a solicitor who has written to her officially to ask for the van back. The van is solely in my name, I bought it and own it.

In the meantime of hopefully getting it back, I am wondering if they crash the van and there is no insurance..am I responsible because I am the owner of the van?

Is there anyway they can take insurance out on the van without being the owner and with no NCT or tax?

Can they sell the van either legally or illegally?

Could they sell it for scrap either legally or illegally?

banie01

If the van is in solely in your name? Report it stolen.

peterl26

the Garda don’t want to deal with as they say it is a civil matter. They should as it is a stolen van!

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535173#Comment_122535173

There you have it "the Garda don't want to deal with (it)" That doesn't mean its not their job just that they can't be bothered.

ELM327

report as stolen. unless you do this you may face legal issues, toll fees, parking fines etc as the R/O

peterl26

I totally agree with you. Honestly it’s a disgrace. I think If I parked my car and came back to it stolen they would deal with it but because I know who has it, they won’t do anything about

blackbox

The person responsible for making sure they are insured in the vehicle is te driver. The driver is also responsible for ensuring it is taxed an has a current NCT.

The owner could get caught out on tax if the car is parked in a public place.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535233#Comment_122535233

contact a solicitor and ask them to send a letter to your ex advising them of the situation and threatening legal action unless the car is returned. Not sure how much a letter costs these days but was about 50 euro the last time I used these services.

Former Former Former

Not sure you can give someone the keys to your van, put them on the insurance, and then report it as stolen.

Dial Hard

Have you not got a spare key? I'd be going over to wherever she's keeping it and taking it straight back. Then get the ignition recoded.

I suspect there's more to this story than we've been told, though. You hardly woke up one morning and she and the van were just gone, like.

peterl26

she took the spare key also. There really isn’t we broke up, she moved out and used my van to take her stuff away and hasn’t given the van back! Truly spiteful!

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535295#Comment_122535295

Did you ever actually go and stand in front of her and be like "I'll have those keys now, thanks"? If so, what did she say? If not, why not???

Larbre34

If you know where it is, do all the tyres, smash all the windows, report her as having taken it without consent (not a civil matter) and then have her arrested for it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535398#Comment_122535398

Do not do this. Contact a solicitor and let them do the rest.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535398#Comment_122535398

She had consent to take it.

Charles Babbage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535548#Comment_122535548

But no longer has that consent. If I lend you my car today you cannot just use it for the rest of its life on the basis of my lending it to you for an hour!

selectamatic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535263#Comment_122535263

Absolutely you can. In this scenario it's in the ops name; he's the sole owner.

Herself would have had his consent to use it however now she clearly doesn't therefore the vehicle has been taken without the owners consent. She wasn't given the keys she took them.

The guards have to follow up on such a report and would.

Therefore you can almost be sure this thread is a wind up.

ledwithhedwith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535995#Comment_122535995

hahaha wow . What an incredible noble and naive view you have of the Gardai.

tayto lover

Go back to the Garda Station and ask for the Sergeant-in-charge. Tell him the story and he should deal with the matter. You obviously met a lazy Garda the first time.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535263#Comment_122535263

theft under section 4 is appropriating property to deprive the owner of it, temporarily or permanently. It does not require something to be stolen per se. All that it needs is that you fail to return it to them or ensure that they cannot recover it. This is a criminal matter for the gardai.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122536036#Comment_122536036

The gardai are reluctant to involve themselves in domestic matters (even and up to the point of violence and abuse without direct evidence) so the op is probably best to contact a solicitor and have them contact the ex and clarifying the matter. If the ex fails to respond or return the car at that point then the gardai will be more likely to act on his behalf.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122536550#Comment_122536550

and this is why the Gardai are so useless - why on earth would you advocate this approach. The ownership of the vehicle is clear, retention of all keys and possession of the vehicle clearly amounts to theft. The Gardai should intervene to encourage its return informally failing which they should be obligated to investigate the offence. There should not be any need in a non-corrupt society to engage a solicitor. An unwillingness of the Gardai to intervene is prima facie evidence of corruption.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122538886#Comment_122538886

It's just how they tend to deal with domestic matters, probably because there can be a lot of complications (but ye they are that bad). They will act on a court order where one is in effect but the op can save himself the hassle of dealing with them and just having a letter drawn up with a legal preface. For the sake of fifty quid he's more likely to get a response without things getting mucky.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365746/ex-took-my-car

Given that youve already engaged a solicitor to deal with this, im surprised that you're still looking for advice on the basic stuff which you'd have discussed with the solicitor.

Nonetheless, remove her from the insurance policy and then report her to AGS for driving without insurance!

I completely missed the part where you had asked a solicitor to write a letter 😅

Depending on the time frame and if there hasn't been a response your solicitor can advise you on how to proceed.

Charles Babbage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122535295#Comment_122535295

I don't suppose that the main dealer can provide a key, when you bring the registration documents and id? Then just go an collect the yoke.

wandererz

It's your van right?

I am going to give you 3 options, you decide:

1. Just call a towing company and ask if they can help under these circumstances.
2. Get an Auto Locksmith, who should be able to get you into the van and started.
3. Get one of these, figure out how to use it on all four tyres.

https://amzn.eu/d/938EWM7

wandererz

Is it a physical metal key to start the van or an electronic type key?

shansey

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