During my hiatus period, I was spending most of my time up in London as it is easier to get to work from there. I was also preparing for my move and one of the things of big concern was my car. See, I haven’t passed my driving test yet (yeah, yeah, stop the snickering!) so I have registered the car as off the road (OTR) with the DVLA. Having done this, I also cancelled my insurance. So, in order for me to move with the car, I have to either take the car off OTR registry, get it MOTd and obtain a tax disc then ask a friend to drive it to my new place or sell it. I was leaning towards the latter option but in order for me to get a good price out of it, I must have it MOTd and taxed at any case. This was quite a dilemma and as the dates moved closer and closer, I still haven’t resolved how to bring my car with me.

But to my shock and surprise, when I went home the weekend I started to pack for my move, the car was moved! Yes, it was gone from the parking bay just underneath my flat. I thought at first that some teenagers were taking the piss by moving it. But as I search my immediate vicinity, the car was actually gone! That was when I started to get nervous.

I ran back to the flat to find the keys, which have always been sitting in a bowl in my dining table. So, my flat was NOT broken into and the keys got stolen.

Went back down to the parking bay to check for broken glass, there was nothing.

Having no idea where the car went, I rang P, my nerves shaken at that point. He suggested I call the police and report the incident. Suddenly, I remembered the recent events that occurred and one of them being the biggest robbery ever committed in the UK and it happened in Kent, the county where I used to live.

What if my car was used there? What if the police are already looking out for the people that could be linked with the robbery through the vehicles used?

These were running through my head and somehow, I didn’t have the nerve to ring the local police station. But I did. And to my relief, the people I spoke with, albeit over the phone, were very helpful. They checked the local council for any scrapping and there was none. My report also alerted the DVLA so when someone tries to register the car under their name, the relevant authorities would be notified, including me.

And it happened.

This morning, the Rochester police rang me to tell me that someone had attempted to register the car. They also found out what happened and who the perpetrator was. It was my neighbour.

Apparently, my neighbour had a huge debt with his landlord (who also lives in the same building, by the way). So, to pay off part of his debt, he offered my car. He noted that I was away so he got away with passing it off as his. The supposed landlord/buyer accepted and checked if it was stolen. At that time, I hadn’t realised that my car was stolen so there was no report to flag with the DVLA nor the police. But between then and now, he did attempt to register the car with the DVLA thus alerting the police and they called me. The kind policeman told me that this landlord/buyer didn’t know that it was “hot” and was apologetic and was willing to pay some money to buy the car.

I already spoke to this person and offered me £200 for the car. Hmm … not quite what I was expecting and he went on to claim that the rear window was smashed. And of course, the car did not have MOT and a tax disc. Therefore, it was only worth that much in his opinion. I said that I can’t let it go for that price, maybe £300 and he said he’d think about it. Otherwise, he’d simply return the car.

I’d probably end up selling the car to him but I’ve got questions that I will need answering:

1. How did the person (his alleged tenant) moved the car? Was he the one who smashed the rear window?
2. How could this landlord/tenant accept such an offer when the rear window is smashed? Wouldn’t that raise a concern for anyone buying a car?

Maybe I will get the answers to these questions or maybe not. The car been stolen was a bit of “blessing in disguise” as it was a dilemma when I was moving. Now it’s been found and I am grateful but am I not being “tricked” here by simply taking any money offered to me?

Need to think.

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