Car ownership

[alidonna]

Recently made redundant, I had (still have) a company car, nobody has been to collect it or contacted me about. Shall I charge storage? or does the car become mine after a period of time?

[redcrx]

Are you still on a notice period? If so it would be yours to use as before until that ends.

[alidonna]

No finished work on 16th July

[factor-fiction]

Does the company still exist? If so I suggest you ask them.
If you are within your notice period, as redcrx says, then you may still be entitled to drive it until you reach your termination date.
You must check though whether you are still insured to drive it.

[redcrx]

you say you finished work on 16th but when does your notice expire?

[alidonna]

I served my 90 day notice and finished work on the 16th July (with redundancy payment) I see it as the companies problem about collecting the car. I know i'm not insured to drive it (and havent) I feel entitled to charge them storage and security for it since the 16th

[redcrx]

i think you would have to notify them of your want to charge storage. You have to give them the chance to avoid the costs

[factor-fiction]

Have you mentioned it to the company. Seems to me like a good starting point.
Is it taxed and is it on the road?
Are you sure you weren't asked to return it?

[alidonna]

Never asked to return it, its sitting on my driveway....on my letter telling me what to bring back on my last day were fuel card, company id and mobile....NO CAR - to be honest I just want to as awkward with them as they were with me lol.....anyway isnt posession 9/10ths of the law

[redcrx]

no, its not.

[alidonna]

It is now

[redcrx]

well if youre that adamant that your'e going to keep it etc then good luck to you.

you cant charge storage unless you give them notice and you wont call them, so basically you're happy to just have it sat there on your driveway forever more.

[buildersmate]

It sounds like the company has just fouled-up and it has been forgotten.
I suppose you can pay to have it insured. But you can't re-tax it when it runs out and you can't sell it.
And since there is no other way of making money out of it, you might just as well contact them and remind them. You never know when you might need a job reference from them.

[lardhelmet]

You could always push it out on to the road, then report it as an abandoned vehicle. With a bit of luck the local council might lift it & scrap it (sorry - I meant depollute & fragmentise it)

[cazzz1975]

bite the bullet and contact them about the car, if you dont you may incure charges, its not like you can sell it or keep it. contacting them would be the sensible thing to do, no matter how aggrieved you feel with the comapny.

[chas2008]

the worst scenario is they could report it stolen once they wake up and realise they dont have possession of it , easy option for them and to cover their a*se in the event of a possible insurance claim.
Next thing is you drive through an ANPR camera and you will have the plod on your tail...

[factor-fiction]

Is the fleet managed by an external fleet management organsiation such as Inchcape?
If so you should probably contact them to arrange it. While it's in your possession if it gets damaged (big scratches for example) the company could try to argue that you did not refurn it in a fit condition.
For peace of mind you need to get this sorted out.

[twix123]

Many years ago, one of my colleagues was called back from holiday to be informed that he had been made redundant. When asked for return of the company car he gave them the keys and informed the company that it was still in Spain where he had been holidaying!

[Whoever]

Contact the company and ask for it to be collected. It's probably just an oversight on the company's part, especially if a number of people have been made redundant at the same time. Apart from anything else, while it's in your possession either the tax or the insurance could expire and if you were stopped by the police or had an accident, you might be driving it unlawfully. Sadly the car certainly doesn't become yours after a period of time.

[factor-fiction]

Let us know how you get on with this, alidonna. Thanks