found this on the RAC forum, its a bit of a sorry tale
Bought new van and now find it's Cat B !!!! Help
Right now i know i was probably stupid but as i bought the van from a multi region vehicle rental company (i picked this van on purpose as it came from a company) i expected it to have a clean service history as it was rented to the public by them. So against my better judgement didn’t HPI check it
Top and bottom of it is i bought a 56 Plate Trafic from ebay, listed as used but working order and "family business defleeting older vans" so as above presumed was fine. Paid for van in full after test drive (£1000) of it on a credit card and price was plus vat (have vat receipt).
Seller also stated no known faults with the van, this is what i find suspect as DVLA records show it bought by them 15 months before from the only owner.
When i went to insure the car i get a call back after a week wanting the V5 and MOT, when i call to ask why they advise me it was written off CAT B in 2007 (vans 5 months old) - send them the 2 MOT's i have from the previous seller and the V5C (which states nothing about repaired, scrapped etc)
Right now i'm waiting on their replies but i have contacted the previous owner who freely gave me the details of the original owner (another hire firm) who i called today to chase the history. I am contacting them tomorrow to check to see if they sold this as a van or spares and repair and to ascertain knowledge of the write off it it exists.....
My problem here is where i stand, the Insurance records show this CAT B but the insurer who wrote off the van never completed this and the DVLA was never informed - surely if this is correct they hold liability as the van V5, MOT and most importantly Registration would have been destroyed had thay sent on the destruction notice as they have to do? Resulting on thier neglect that i end up buying a CAT B which should have been a cube and the reg not existing right now.
That or the previous owner, they must have had prior knowledge of the CAT B (if its not a mistake) as i cant see a hire company buying a 2/3 year old van and not HPI checking it for finance more than anything due to its age. Surely they have a responsibility to ensure all vehicles are structurally sound in order to hire them to the public for profit...
My main gripe certainly stands with the insurer, should this be true. As far as i have read they have the responsibility to ensure the vehicle is destroyed (with pictures) and once they are satisfied of this the inform the DVLA and VOSA who complete the removal of the vehicle - this was not completed and has set the train of event going ever since.
The odd thing is i have checked the van back to front, the vin plates add up and look untouched, the welds and i have checked everywhere look factory and baring the odd scratch or slight knock i cannot see any major work which has been undertaken.
My next move is to take this to a friend who can really look at it and see if he can find anything but in the mean time is just costing me money.
Anyway sorry for the rant but after spending £3500 on a van i'm kinda bricking it finding this out and would appreciate all the help i can get (yes i know i should have HPI'd it but what’s done is done)
:w all:
:wal l: