up.yours Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 where to begin. my son has been using a company owned van, it is insured through cobra ( broker) as a fleet car. he has no insurance, as he doesn't own a bike/car. , so i rang cobra the over month and was told as long as he works for the company he is covered to drive as long as he is 21 years old (he is) . but today he came home and said the boss has give him the log book to the van along with mot certificate and other history . will or more to the point "can" , this vehicle still be insured and drove through the company fleet insurance or will he have to insure it himself now that it no longer belongs to the company.. he rang his boss up today . and his boss said don't worry your insured, just keep your head down and don't do anything silly . wtf.
Moderator drewpy Posted May 14, 2014 Moderator Posted May 14, 2014 not seen Lee for a while, hope he's ok?
Moderator DirtyDT Posted May 15, 2014 Moderator Posted May 15, 2014 Has his boss given him the van to own? If so I doubt that the company are insuring it. You can check insurance online at Www.askmid.com just put in the vans reg number.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted May 15, 2014 Moderator Posted May 15, 2014 There are paying options but you can check your own vehicle for free.
up.yours Posted May 15, 2014 Author Posted May 15, 2014 cheers newman . it's showing that the van is insured , he phoned cobra this morning and they say the van is insured by them . he then asked if he took ownership would it still be covered , they said no. but at the moment it seems to be covered. he had a quote this morning for £1326 . . but if he tells the boss to keep the van in their name and he will mot and repair the van while he has it, it will save him a small fortune in the long run.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted May 15, 2014 Moderator Posted May 15, 2014 Just tell him to be careful Kev. If the firm stops the insurance for any reason without letting him know, he will be in a pile of poo if caught. Even more if he has an accident. He may end up playing hide the sausage in Strangeways through no fault of his own.
up.yours Posted May 15, 2014 Author Posted May 15, 2014 yea, thats my concern . he's pretty sensible (you can all fuck off ) and wouldn't drive without insurance , he will ask the big boss when he see's him just to be sure.
Noise Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 I drive a company van twice a week and this is Tax'd, mot'd and insured by them not me, the only thing i do to it is fill it up with diesel and heavy crap that needs repairs. Sounds to me that your boys firm is trying to cut their over heads and getting the lads to pay for their vehicles. He needs to be careful as DDT said, if they are this crafty with getting him to insure it or saying they will pay for it then it wouldn't supprise me if they pass the buck with out informing your son. Has he tried any other insurance companies? or is that £1326 the cheapest quote? As for his boss telling he to keep his head down, id definatly do that...........just id be looking fo a new job.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted May 16, 2014 Moderator Posted May 16, 2014 He has the log book for the van. Is he the registered keeper or the van owner? The log book will state that having it does not mean he is the van owner. The acid test is if he can legally sell the van and keep the money and I would ask the boss for something on headed paper to say that he owns the van. Once that is established if I was him I would insure the van myself. Cobra should give him a note to say he is a named driver on a policy which MAY give a smaller premium. Not sure what the van is worth but if he owns it then this is his asset and could be seen as worth paying his own insurance offset against the van value - safer too! If his boss is trying to offset assets at the moment for some dodgy purpose - and I am not saying he is - he might want to reclaim the van at some point in the future. He may just be the generous sort. The bottom line is; does the risk outweigh the cost?
up.yours Posted May 16, 2014 Author Posted May 16, 2014 The company insurance is a fleet policy, He is not named nobody is, The insurance company explains to me that anyone over 21 years of age who is employed by mccrory,s can drive any vehicle that is on the policy. It seems that the van has come to the end of its life and too much needs doing to it ,so they are passing it off on to my son ,who is over joyed at having a free vehicle. He has been given the green slip but I told him to hang fire before sending it off. He had an m.o.t yesterday , the engine management light is on with the abs light , theirs a large hole in the passenger side dash where the air bag went off ,not replaced. , the subframe or chassis is twisted from a previous shunt, the speedo doesn't work , but it passed with one advisory , a brake light bulb needed to be replaced, I'm not going to name the garage who passed it , but I'm told his boss told him to take it their.
up.yours Posted May 16, 2014 Author Posted May 16, 2014 hey foamy ,, we have a bargain buy for you here.
Noise Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Dont send off the green slip mate! if he has been given the green slip then Mccory's have already sent off the actual V5c (unless they never had it in the first place) which means that in the coming weeks your son will have a new V5 through the door stating he is now the owner of the vehicle not Mccory's, which then says to me he is not insured to drive it under the "fleets" insurance as its no longer the companies vehicle. Its nice of them to give him the van for free but there is always a catch some where and if the van is already fucked looks to me like your son may have to pay through the brown star fish to get it properly road worthy (i hope not tho) If i remeber correctly if an air bag has been deployed then the vehicle is an instant right off, because if the accedent is strong enough to deploy the air bag who knows what structual damage has been done that you cant see? i might be wrong tho.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted May 17, 2014 Moderator Posted May 17, 2014 No issue with an airbag going off - it can still be legal on the road. Don't forget that if the vehicle is a business one (that includes fleet) and the company using it is VAT registered, the first time it is passed into private ownership, the VAT is due on it. Expect a letter from HMRC.
up.yours Posted May 17, 2014 Author Posted May 17, 2014 i didn't think being given a van would be such a bloody headache . vat shouldn't be a problem as he's self employed of a sort anyway. so it's still in company ownership.. i will wait and see if the log book turns up and if it does i will ring the insurance back up and mention it..
Recommended Posts