Hi thank you for your advice ! A few months ago, I took my vehicle to a mechanic to give me the opinion on whether the vehicle was worth repairing or not. He advise ld me that it was not worth repairing at all and that it would be sent to the wreckers and he would advise me when that had taken place and give me the money for the wrecking of the vehicle. I advised him that I just registered the vehicle and he discussed how I could refund my registration. Thankfully I never got around to doing this and about four months later, I heard that he had been trying to reach me, however I had changed my phone number so he contacted my friend who referred me to this guy and wanted to speak to me urgently , because he went ahead and fixed the vehicle & ordered himself a safety certificate and needed me to take the car out of my name because he couldn’t register it. I guess he never expected that I wouldn’t cash in my registration. At no time was I advised that he would do this with my vehicle and at no time was I advised that the vehicle could be repaired nor was I given a quote and I am so annoyed That he thinks he has a right to my vehicle. I can’t even bring myself to ring him I’m so angry and I don’t know what to do. No paperwork has been exchanged & he has no legal right to the vehicle so I don’t know what to do? I simply dropped the car off and he advised me it wasn’t fixable and we left it at that and I got so busy I forgot all about it
What Tim suggests might be a quick fix if you now want the car back, but I doubt that's what the mechanic wants. He sees a sizable profit here, which is why he has done what he has done - he want's the car. It's as simple as that.
The mechanic has clearly been deceptive. He is trying to obtain the vehicle for himself for the purpose of profiting from it. If this ends up in a legal arena (QCAT or whatever), then it will come down to a "he said/she said" situation where the mechanic will almost certainly tell a totally different story to you. When you look at the two ends of the scale of possible outcomes, you have:
1. the mechanic gets the vehicle and you get nothing;
and at the other end of the scale;
2. you get the repaired vehicle and the mechanic loses all costs in relation to the repairs.
Those two outcomes are equally unlikely, but there's a plethora of outcomes in between, so without knowing what BS the mechanic will come up with, it's anyone's guess how it would turn out.
So what to do? Well, he's clearly running a scam, so show him that you're on to him and threaten him with the one thing that he can't afford to lose - and that's his mechanic's licence:
1. Do not transfer or cancel the registration under any circumstances.
2. Do not comminucate directly with the mechanic - start with a letter of demand from a lawyer and go from there.
3. In the letter, make it very clear what will happen if the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction and include a timeframe.
In other words, play hardball from the start. Have a lawyer send a letter demanding that the vehicle be returned immediately with the appropriate threats of what will happen if he doesn't comply - including reporting his conduct to the relevant government authority (whoever it is that issues mechanic's licences in QLD).
Given that the mechanic is unlikey to be able to get a refund for any parts used, then if he has any brains at all, this "should" prompt him to immediately make an offer to buy the vehicle. If not, then he's an idiot, because he faces the risk of losing everything that he's paid out to fix it - plus a lot more if he has breached the conditions of his licence - which I would think is a certainty.
The most important thing is that you should never deal with a scam artist yourself. In a case like this, use a lawyer for the first communication and to state your demands. The letter shouldn't cost you too much (and you can include that in any settlement anyway) and once the mechanic sees that his licence is under threat, you should get a quick resolution. At the end of the day, his licence is the one thing that he can't afford to loose - because if he does, he's out of business. That knowledge is your best weapon here.
The mechanic has clearly been deceptive. He is trying to obtain the vehicle for himself for the purpose of profiting from it. If this ends up in a legal arena (QCAT or whatever), then it will come down to a "he said/she said" situation where the mechanic will almost certainly tell a totally different story to you. When you look at the two ends of the scale of possible outcomes, you have:
1. the mechanic gets the vehicle and you get nothing;
and at the other end of the scale;
2. you get the repaired vehicle and the mechanic loses all costs in relation to the repairs.
Those two outcomes are equally unlikely, but there's a plethora of outcomes in between, so without knowing what BS the mechanic will come up with, it's anyone's guess how it would turn out.
So what to do? Well, he's clearly running a scam, so show him that you're on to him and threaten him with the one thing that he can't afford to lose - and that's his mechanic's licence:
1. Do not transfer or cancel the registration under any circumstances.
2. Do not comminucate directly with the mechanic - start with a letter of demand from a lawyer and go from there.
3. In the letter, make it very clear what will happen if the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction and include a timeframe.
In other words, play hardball from the start. Have a lawyer send a letter demanding that the vehicle be returned immediately with the appropriate threats of what will happen if he doesn't comply - including reporting his conduct to the relevant government authority (whoever it is that issues mechanic's licences in QLD).
Given that the mechanic is unlikey to be able to get a refund for any parts used, then if he has any brains at all, this "should" prompt him to immediately make an offer to buy the vehicle. If not, then he's an idiot, because he faces the risk of losing everything that he's paid out to fix it - plus a lot more if he has breached the conditions of his licence - which I would think is a certainty.
The most important thing is that you should never deal with a scam artist yourself. In a case like this, use a lawyer for the first communication and to state your demands. The letter shouldn't cost you too much (and you can include that in any settlement anyway) and once the mechanic sees that his licence is under threat, you should get a quick resolution. At the end of the day, his licence is the one thing that he can't afford to loose - because if he does, he's out of business. That knowledge is your best weapon here.
Wow Scruff, thank you so much for your advice and for taking the time to give me such an informative answer and course of action. I am all over this !!
Hi Tim, I was always happy to do that. I’m just so angry I wasn’t given the option initially and he is being deceptive. Does he think because I was willing to send car to the wreckers on his advice. that he has a right to it !! I looked on the internet and the cheeky bugger ordered himself a safety certificate 2 weeks ago. The rego is due to expire on 2/9 so we will renew it Scruff? Thanks again xx
Hi Tim, I was always happy to do that. I’m just so angry I wasn’t given the option initially and he is being deceptive. Does he think because I was willing to send car to the wreckers on his advice. that he has a right to it !! I looked on the internet and the cheeky bugger ordered himself a safety certificate 2 weeks ago. The rego is due to expire on 2/9 so we will renew it Scruff? Thanks again xx
scruff,
With the rego due so soon, you should speak to a lawyer immediately.
If the mechanic has submitted an RWC electronically, then you should be able to renew the rego, but that could cause problems in itself. Even if you don't renew, the mechanic shouldn't be able to transfer the rego without you submitting some kind of notice of disposal.
The issue now is that if you renew the rego without getting proper advice first, it could end up looking like you're trying to take advantage of the situation, because the repairs plus rego will drastically increase the market value of the vehicle - which is exactly what the mechanic is trying to do. Renewing the rego in these circumstances could make it look like you're the one who's now trying to take advantage. So I recommend that you begin by speaking to the Dept of Transport and Main Roads (or whoever it is that manages registrations in QLD). Explain the situation and ask what steps do they recommend to prevent the vehicle rego from being transfered or renewed by the mechanic. Once you've done that, contact a lawyer and get some proper legal advice before doing anything. Always remember that any opinion or advice given in this forum is not legal advice.
Considering that the mechanic has obtained an RWC for the vehicle, there is now evidence of his intentions. You should therefore also consider contacting the Police and reporting the vehicle stolen. But again, I recommend you get legal advice before doing that. There's some unusual circumstances here, so you need to proceed carefully.
If the mechanic has submitted an RWC electronically, then you should be able to renew the rego, but that could cause problems in itself. Even if you don't renew, the mechanic shouldn't be able to transfer the rego without you submitting some kind of notice of disposal.
The issue now is that if you renew the rego without getting proper advice first, it could end up looking like you're trying to take advantage of the situation, because the repairs plus rego will drastically increase the market value of the vehicle - which is exactly what the mechanic is trying to do. Renewing the rego in these circumstances could make it look like you're the one who's now trying to take advantage. So I recommend that you begin by speaking to the Dept of Transport and Main Roads (or whoever it is that manages registrations in QLD). Explain the situation and ask what steps do they recommend to prevent the vehicle rego from being transfered or renewed by the mechanic. Once you've done that, contact a lawyer and get some proper legal advice before doing anything. Always remember that any opinion or advice given in this forum is not legal advice.
Considering that the mechanic has obtained an RWC for the vehicle, there is now evidence of his intentions. You should therefore also consider contacting the Police and reporting the vehicle stolen. But again, I recommend you get legal advice before doing that. There's some unusual circumstances here, so you need to proceed carefully.
Similar threads
