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Hi everyone,
We are Mark and Muriel Turner, who are new to all this motorhome malarky and are wondering how to get around the situation we find ourselves in:
At Christmas we took delivery of our first motorhome, a two year old Chausson Odyssee 92 from the German dealer Seefeldt Mobilechnik (anyone had dealings with them?) near Dusseldorf.
I spoke to them the day before we flew out to Germany, and they confirmed that all was well apart from them not yet having received the registration document which is kept at their bank.
They said that the delay was due to the post, it being Christmas an all, and if it did not arrive in the morning then it was no problem and it would be posted on.
We collected the camper (less paperwork) the next day (December 30th) having been very well looked after, including being met at the airport and we drove home well pleased with it!
I should have mentioned that about three weeks prior to this, Seefeldt faxed us a copy of the registration to enable us to organise insurance cover with Safeguard.
I phoned them a few days later to see if they had forwarded the document yet, but was told by the owner Edgar Seefeldt, that they were "still waiting for it".....
I left things for a week or so, and phoned them again. I was given the same response with the rider that it would be with them in "the next day or so" and not to be concerned!
Safeguard meanwhile had become concerned! They needed a registration number from me ASAP.
Over the next week I tried talking to the two main English speakers there several times only to be told that either they were not there or were with customers or on the phone and that they would call me back.
In the last few days I have emailed and faxed them with no reply.
Safeguard are about to cancel the insurance ( if they have not already )
and say that we will have to start again. They also informed us that they have as a matter of course advised the DVLA of the situation!
What are we to do next I wonder?
We have a bill of sale. We have a photocopy of the Kraftfahrzeugbrief.
Is this going to be enough to get it registered?
Are we going to get trouble from the DVLA if we go past the 30 days to register it?
Any suggestions welcome!
I had hoped that our first post to this great site would have been on a happier subject......
The following members of MHF thanked mark_2cv for this posting
may I suggest that you telephone the DVLA,tell them your problem and ask for advise.
This will enable you to get the correct procedure. One point also is to make sure that you take a note of the name of the person you speak to and any reference number they can give you. also ask if they can send you a letter confirming the procedures given you to make sure you do not make mistakes.
this is just to give you written evidence in case they say you have done it wrong.
The following members of MHF thanked cabby for this posting
Hi Superk
Was told that they only kept a copy on site for security reasons, as the name of the owner does not appear on the document - so the holder of the document and the vehicle is the owner.
Same as the American pink slip perhaps..
The following members of MHF thanked mark_2cv for this posting
How did the dealer manage to obtain your export plates without the fahrzeugbrief? Did you attend the registration with him or did he do it in advance (he would normally need your passport to get export plates and insurance issued). The German registration office requires the fahrzeugbrief to issue the plates so he must have presented it at the time he applied. Don't forget that in Germany posession of the fahrzeugbrief is considered proof of title to the vehicle.
My advice would be to go to your local DVLA office with all the paperwork you posess and try to register the vehicle, once you explain the circumstances they are usually very helpful. Sorry I can't be of more help, I've never come across this one before.
Don't be too hasty with a call to the DVLA. If investigations prove that the MH has been stolen you will loose it very quickly! Your negotiating ability will be more powerful if you are in possession of the MH.
How did you pay? If it was Visa good, if not, how?
I think that you need to start by trying to establish if Seefeldt Mobiltechnik are a bona fide company. Perhaps you can do a little research on the internet.
There are as I see it two possibilities:
1. They are genuine and possibly selling the MH on behalf of the owner and are trying to get the registration document from them. Perhaps they are trying to delay the payment.
2. They are a bunch of rogues and have sadly fleeced you.
If 1 then it will just need a bit of gentle persuasion.
If 2 then it will be down to how you paid for the MH.
For example I bought a MH that turned out to be stolen. I paid using my Visa card - always a wise move - When I found out I informed the seller that the following day the police would collect the vehicle which would go in a compound. I had a form from Visa that when filled in would mean my money would be refunded within a week.
The following day someone turned up with the cash!
Hopefully someone on the site is either based in Germany or can speak/read German and can help investigate further.
I am not sure what a Kraftfahrzeugbrief is but can this not be used to register the MH?
Finally I sold a vehicle via a garage and gave them a photo copy of the registration document. When they sold it and I went to get my cheque, the new owner had registered the vehicle using the photo copy! How good is the faxed copy?
Regards
Chris
The following members of MHF thanked G2EWS for this posting
We imported in the xmas hols. I was truly astonished at the informality in the UK. We took the 14 day export cover to the limit and then polled up in some trepidation at DLVA. I transcribed what I could from the german reg document and left out what I couldn't figure. The counter clerk couldn't have been more relaxed. Maybe I was lucky. The ONLY original document that I have had to produce was the bill of sale and that was for the Excise Man and this is triggered only after your registration. I may have had an unusually light touch but I seriously doubt that you have a problem.
CnV
When I've taken paperwork to the DVLA for registration they never seem to know or care too much what they're doing. They look at the German documents and make sweeping assumptions because they don't understand them anyway. The only things they seem to be interested in is whether the vehicle is new or not (s
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