Follow that car!
by David Carter on 03 December 2010
Vehicles can often be a defendant’s most valuable asset, as household goods, computers and office furniture can have a relatively low value when sold at auction. Therefore, vehicles are often seized by a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) when enforcing a judgment.
Fortunately, HCEOs have a great deal of information available to them on a whole range of aspects regarding vehicles.
DVLA Search
The Sheriffs Office has an electronic connection in to the DVLA and we can check who the registered keeper is. Search results are usually received within 24 hours. The data received will confirm the following:
- Vehicle registration
- Vehicle make and model
- Current registered keeper
- The number of previous registered keepers
- If the vehicle has a valid Road Fund License
The road fund licence is important, because without one, the vehicle cannot be claimed as a tool of the trade.
Checking the car not the person
The search must be performed on a vehicle registration and cannot be performed on a person or company to see if they are registered as the keeper of a vehicle(s). The judgment creditor can greatly support his HCEO by providing registration details of any vehicles they believe the defendant owns.
Details of the vehicles keeper can sometimes be withheld if the keeper is regarded as a security risk. This may include diplomats, royalty and government etc.
It is important to remember that the registered keeper is not necessarily the legal owner of the vehicle. Once a vehicle has been seized, the HCEO will require proof of purchase via an invoice or financial records.
Please note that if the vehicle is not registered to the defendant Data Protection regulations prevent the HCEO from providing details of the keeper.
HPI Search
We also have instant access to all data held on the HPI database. A standard HPI check will confirm:
- If there is a finance agreement on the vehicle
- The details of the finance provider, the agreement number, their phone number, the date it was taken out and the length of the agreement
- If the vehicle has been subject to any plate changes (usually for a personalised number)
- If the vehicle has been an insurance ‘write off’ and if so, the category it is now classed (A – D)
- If the vehicle has been scrapped or exported
- The number of previous registered keepers
- Details of previous HPI checks
- If the car is or has been registered as stolen
If there have been any recent HPI checks, this may suggest that the keeper is trying to sell the vehicle, so the creditor and HCEO should act quickly to secure the asset before it is sold.
© Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd. Please contact us to request permission to reproduce this article.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. The author will not be held responsible for any comments posted by visitors to this site. Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice. The author has used his best endeavours to make this article as accurate and complete as possible, but requests that the reader be aware that the law of England and Wales frequently changes. The author strongly advises the reader to take legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.
