By James Bryce

A BRITISH expat has been left with a hefty bill after being forced to pay four years of outstanding fines on a car he sold in 2008.

Richard Oswald, from Coin, offloaded his Peugeot 206 in a €5,000 part-exchange deal, which included a fee to have the ownership of the vehicle transferred.

But the paperwork was inexplicably never completed and he and wife Leigh, who moved to Spain in 1993, have now had to shell out €1,000 in unpaid car tax and a speeding fine incurred by new owner Christine Birne.

“We found out during a visit to Coin Town Hall that the change of ownership had not been registered,” Oswald told the Olive Press.

“However the fines had been incurred and we were the mugs expected to foot the bill.

“We have been told that Birne insured it in 2009, but the insurance company did not check who the registered owner was.

“To our mind this is a form of identity theft, as someone is incurring debts and fines in the name of another person,” added the 60-year-old, originally from Essex.

The Oswalds insist they have tried on various occasions to trace Birne, who also lives in the Coin area, but have so far been unsuccessful.

“We have even spotted the car while out driving but have so far been unsuccessful. We hope she will get in touch with us, as it might be a genuine error on her part.”

Meanwhile Coin Town Hall insists they will not have to pay any more fines, despite the new owner still not having the car registered in her name.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. That’s the culture in spain now days, fine fine and fines. One of the many reasons why I’m leaving after 26 years. No common sense exists here and never has. I get demanding letters (fines) in the post all the time with no explanation as to what they are, enough is enough, I’m leaving and will never return. I’ve put off over 50 or more people to come here to live including my parents and best friends. The place is a joke to live in and they deserve to be in the mess they are in. Very soon they will all be back riding donkeys and wondering why all the foreigners have gone. Adios spain, no amount of sun is worth this agro.

  2. I am in a similar position. Sold a car to an expat. The Compra Venta and Justificante were signed and dated before the speeding offences occurred. However the idiot I sold the car to failed to fully complete his paper work with the guestor. The fines (six of them) started at 2340 euro. I have had three revoked but three are still outstanding. This dopey expat has cost me nearly 1000 euro in costs alone, untold heartache and I still do not know if the outstanding fines have been cleared yet.
    I have no option but to take this idiot to court to try and recover my monies. Even then its not guaranteed that I will succeed, but I have to try. Anyone want to donate 1000 euros just to start this off??? I, as a pensioner, can ill afford these costs. I have done nothing wrong and when my wife and I tried to sort this out with the man he told my wife to ‘f*** o**’. And he accused me of fabricating all the documentation.
    I do not know how he sleeps at night. This will be a good story for the Olive press when it is resolved.

  3. “I have done nothing wrong”

    You did, you trusted the buyer to make the trip to the gestor and update the paperwork, which he then did not do, according to you. You should have done the paperwork all together at the gestor to ensure everything was in order and completed and the sign-off was properly completed and witnessed.

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