VRT and legal questions

L

Lynx

Sunday Drivers
Hello all,

I need some legal clarification about the vehicle registration.

I found myself in a funny situation.

I am the vehicle owner on paper and the only driver.

The VRT exemption notification was somehow issued in my husband's name and temp address (we didn't have the permanent address at the starting point of transfer of possession, and the relocation was performed by a company. I wasn't present at the customs office.)

When I came to the NCT to register the vehicle, they put the name and address from the exemption letter into their forms and said they can only take them from there, if I want to have it changed I should mention it on the phone when I get a call from the Revenue. So I did. They have registered the car in my husband's name. They can't say anything definite but recommend to get another exemption. The phone number on the exemption letter is out of service :icon_grin:

Is it legal to register the vehicle in other person's name? We don't even have the same surname. Will I have trouble insuring it and driving it like that?

Is it legal to register it into the false address, despite the proof of the current one provided?

Thanks in advance for answers.
 
Yes you can legally insure a car that is not in your name; however, with all insurance things in Ireland it will be difficult and yet another reason to refuse you or load your premium. You will be in a bad situation with insurance anyway as the car is a left hand drive and many will either not insure them or load your premium... add to that the kind of car it is... etc etc.

The best is to have it in your own name - less hassle with insurance.

As to what the clerks put on the paperwork -- they are a law onto them selves.
Had issues when importing my Hawk from the UK.
The paperwork said 5 seat and there were 5 seat belts present; however, the Irish paperwork said 4 seats and then on inspection they refused to import it. And then tried to charge me more when they "made up" a new "stat code" to reflect 5 seats (every bug, blob and hawk has 5 seats and not 4).

My advice is to get if fixed if you can show it was a clerk admin error as down the road you may prefer it in your name.
They are the ones who made a mistake, so get them to fix it and don't accept an additional registered owner on the log book (transfer from your husband to your name). The revenue should issue you a new exemption letter in your name (as the vehicle was in your name to start with). Then go through the NCT import again.
 
Keadeen said:
Yes you can legally insure a car that is not in your name; however, with all insurance things in Ireland it will be difficult and yet another reason to refuse you or load your premium. You will be in a bad situation with insurance anyway as the car is a left hand drive and many will either not insure them or load your premium... add to that the kind of car it is... etc etc.

The best is to have it in your own name - less hassle with insurance.

As to what the clerks put on the paperwork -- they are a law onto them selves.
Had issues when importing my Hawk from the UK.
The paperwork said 5 seat and there were 5 seat belts present; however, the Irish paperwork said 4 seats and then on inspection they refused to import it. And then tried to charge me more when they "made up" a new "stat code" to reflect 5 seats (every bug, blob and hawk has 5 seats and not 4).

My advice is to get if fixed if you can show it was a clerk admin error as down the road you may prefer it in your name.
They are the ones who made a mistake, so get them to fix it and don't accept an additional registered owner on the log book (transfer from your husband to your name). The revenue should issue you a new exemption letter in your name (as the vehicle was in your name to start with). Then go through the NCT import again.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
Did the have the right to change the owner without any document, proving that, like purchase contract etc?
 
"the right to change the owner"... mmm... strictly speaking you did not ask for a change of ownership, nor did you submit a log book with a completed change of ownership request section. So it should not have happened. In fact they should have seen the difference between the two names and should have correct / tried to charge you for vrt (as only the person with the vrt exemption form can import without paying vrt and the vehicle needs to be in that person's name for over 6 months to qualify for the exemption).

Similarly if you import a vehicle with using the exemption based on moving country, you can then not sell the car (change ownership) for 6 months because else you are still liable for the VRT (this how it was in the past as still believe it is this way).

This is one of the reasons you should get it corrected, because if you find it hard to get insurance when registered to a different person you will not just be able to change it to your name as you could be hit with a retro-active vrt bill if within 6 months of registering in the state.
 
Keadeen said:
"the right to change the owner"... mmm... strictly speaking you did not ask for a change of ownership, nor did you submit a log book with a completed change of ownership request section. So it should not have happened. In fact they should have seen the difference between the two names and should have correct / tried to charge you for vrt (as only the person with the vrt exemption form can import without paying vrt and the vehicle needs to be in that person's name for over 6 months to qualify for the exemption).

Similarly if you import a vehicle with using the exemption based on moving country, you can then not sell the car (change ownership) for 6 months because else you are still liable for the VRT (this how it was in the past as still believe it is this way).

This is one of the reasons you should get it corrected, because if you find it hard to get insurance when registered to a different person you will not just be able to change it to your name as you could be hit with a retro-active vrt bill if within 6 months of registering in the state.
Click to expand...

It's 12 month of pre-owning and 12 months of not selling it in my case.
They saw the difference, and asked to bring my husband's driving licence or pps. That's all.

Irish clerks are fantastic. Some other assigned me my husband's surname in the official document. Who cares?!
 
Not sure about the other bits you mention there, but insurance wise you are fine as far as I am aware. You can insure the car if you or your spouse is the legal owner of the car. Good luck with the rest.
 
jimgti said:
Not sure about the other bits you mention there, but insurance wise you are fine as far as I am aware. You can insure the car if you or your spouse is the legal owner of the car. Good luck with the rest.
Click to expand...

So I just come with a car in someone else's name and get insurance in mine without any additional fuss?
 
jimgti said:
Not sure about the other bits you mention there, but insurance wise you are fine as far as I am aware. You can insure the car if you or your spouse is the legal owner of the car. Good luck with the rest.
Click to expand...

Legally... yes you are 100% correct.

In practice... it all depends on your insurance company.

Point in case... few weeks ago my mrs sold her jeep and decided to start driving one of my cars. Her insurance would only cover her for max 2 weeks as temporary cover on a car not registered in her name. For a permanent change of insurance she had to first register the car in her name and send them a copy of the logbook as proof this was completed (AXA through the AA Ireland). Seen this a few times now with different companies, whereas in the past this was never an issue (and several times had cars in my wife's name and visa versa).

With other words... you need to check with your insurer what they will accept.

Hence, my advice was to have it corrected as I am sure that it will already be a challenge to find affordable insurance given the OP is not Irish, probable doesn't have an Irish driver's license, has a left hand drive car that is also a performance vehicle. The vehicle ownership is yet another potential hurdle (that can at least be fixed).
 
Iv had this with with insurance companies in the past and from my dealings with them you cant insure a car that is not in your name. What they told me was that you cant insure something you don't own. There is no insureable interest in same. And all they would say if i did do it is that cover "would not be in order". So basically if i had an accident or the guards came asking they would not cover me. That was Axa and also liberty. Same story from both.
 
It's actually bullshit if you think about it
the log book makes you responsible for taxing the car and that is all
it not a ownership title
loom at the way anyone with finance has a log book
but they are effectively insuring something they don't own also
 
Not an issue in any other country I have ever insured a car in either.
It doesn't matter who owns the car... only the person who took out the insurance, and who's name the insurance is in, can claim under the policy anyway...

Indeed as Colm said... until you make your final payment on a HP car it is not legally yours... yet the insurance is in your name.

It is just another example of insurance companies in Ireland doing their own thing regardless of the consequences or inconvenience to the general public (their customer). We now need to put additional owners onto cars just to appease the insurance provider (and thus devalue our property).

Probably somewhere somebody in one of the companies said : "you know what.... lets say it has to be in their name" and over time all the others started copying that behaviour. Maybe it was originally to do with insurance companies getting fed up with 20 y.o. Johnny buying a car... unable to get reasonably priced insurance on it he gets mammy to insure it with him on the policy as a named driver. In such a scenario it may well make sense for insurance companies to enforce that the car should be in the name of the policy holder as "Johnny" would be the main driver and in such a scenario is clearly "bending the rules". It however, has no bearing on a situation where the main driver of the vehicle takes out a policy in their own name, but does not actually own the car... there is no "bending of rules" or "disadvantaging" of the insurer.
 
MartinWRX said:
Iv had this with with insurance companies in the past and from my dealings with them you cant insure a car that is not in your name. What they told me was that you cant insure something you don't own. There is no insureable interest in same.
Click to expand...

That's incorrect - see the definition of insurable interest here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurable_interest

I know the source is Wikipedia but for once is actually correct 'A person has an insurable interest in something when loss of or damage to that thing would cause the person to suffer a financial or other kind of loss'

And see an official statement from Liberty Insurance on their website

https://www.libertyinsurance.ie/customer-care/insuring-an-unregistered-vehicle/

Yes, you can insure a vehicle registered in your own name or the name of your spouse, civil partner, parent, common law partner or a lease company. If the vehicle is registered to anyone else we cannot provide a quote.
 
Sorry meant specifically if registered to your spouse and not anyone else. They always ask me "is the car registered in your or your spouse's name" when ringing for quotes.
 
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