Free Traffic Legal Advice

I recently bought a car from a relative and it was clamped 2 days later.

I have sent them all the paper work to prove the car belongs to me


Did this include proof of what was paid e.g. bank debit, cash withdrawal etc. And have you looked at an independent valuation site to show that you paid a fair market price, allowing for the fact that it was a relative? 

Can you fill in more background pl.

I wasn't aware of any unpaid parking tickets.

The bailiff told me the warrant was from Haringey, so I contacted them and they advised me to fill in a te9/7 forms to stop any further action.

I have sent all docs and as was a cash payment sent a reciept. It was from a lot of cash in hand jobs so there isn't a withdrawal.

acknowledgement from DVLA of change of keeper?
receipt of sale?

From your account I would have expected the bailiff to release the car when you provided the evidence. They haven't done so, so there must be something that arouses suspicion that this is not a genuine sale that occurred prior to the clamping and impounding of the car.

Do you and the vendor of the car share a surname? Else how would the bailiff even know that the vendor is a relative?
Do you and the vendor share the same address? Or ever had the same address?

Did you ask Haringey what you should do when you phoned for the PCN number? What did they say?

I would expect that they told you to submit an Out of Time application and a Statutory Declaration or Witness Statement to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court. Which depends on what the original PCN was for. You need to be careful what you put on the OOT application and be clear about what has happened. The only issue that can be considered is whether you have valid reasons for being late with your SD or WS. Have you had any such advice?

Do you know what the original contravention was for, to determine which forms are required?

We still haven't seen any docs. However, OP can we go back pl:

The car was seized because the bailiff had a warrant of control in the name of  a specified person.

This was not you but, according to you, a relative.

But the warrant doesn't point to the car, only a person. It's therefore a reasonable assumption that the car was specified in the enforcement docs(PCN etc). They have acted on this assumption and then you, who are not the person named in the warrant, approach them and tell them you are the owner of the car which must therefore be released.

As others have posted, they would normally do this immediately, but so far not in your case. If you are the legitimate owner of the car then they must release, their actions - although legally permissible when they clamped the car - become unlawful once you have produced proof. But as you're not the debtor their only issue is whether you are the owner of the car.

With respect and IMO, a SD/WS has nothing to do with your situation. Firstly because TEC only deal with enforcement matters and this is NOT an enforcement matter, it's the Tribunal's and Courts Act - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/15/schedule/12

Secondly, you aren't the 'owner' for enforcement purposes(this is your relative) therefore IMO TEC would disregard anything submitted by you because you're a stranger for their purposes.

You don't have to continue with the bailiff, you could call the police if they would be persuaded that you are the owner.



 

So a month after this started you're back to square one.

OP, we keep getting back to the same issue i.e. can you prove that you are the owner of the vehicle having made a proper arm's length purchase from your, as we now know, brother at a fair market price? If so, then IMO the police would be interested because the bailiff's continued immobilisation is unlawful.

This thread is about you and the car but your brother still has an outstanding warrant of control against him which the bailiffs could enforce against other property of his at any time * e.g. seize, remove, sell at auction etc.

So even if you get off the hook here, he doesn't. The car is the means to an end for the bailiffs, this being that the debt owed by your brother is discharged. They don't care who pays. If they get tired of waiting and choose to seize and remove other property for sale then the debt would increase.

He might wish to start a thread because if the warrant could be cancelled then the issue with the car disappears anyway.

Follow the money......!

The book value at purchase was??

You paid and can show a cash withdrawal or other source of funds other than the cash you had on you at the time....?

And your brother can show a deposit for this sum...?

Would be a start.

OP, let's cut to the chase: it would appear that the bailiff doesn't believe that you are the real owner of the car because it's not in their interests to do so, whereas the police should look at this more objectively.

We haven't seen any docs so we're blind.

Report to the police and see what they say.