As the title says, i have a lane change fine for a car i no longer own. It looks like the new owner did not register the car in their name, so what to do with the fine?

it is obvious DONT PAY IT

Go to the police with proof you no longer own the car.

It could be their info is out of date.

better hope they don't rob a bank

My guess it is in your name and as such you are responsible till you do a formal change of ownership and pay the taxes (and the fine )

If the fine is not from a date before you sold the car, then something is really wrong.

When and how did you sell the car?

Was it properly handled at the DLT? (requires attendance/signatures from seller and buyer).

Really important to get that straight.

Think the worst: new owner kills a person and does a runner. Plate noted by witness. Who will get a visit?

The car was sold and taken to be registered in a Northern province about 600km away.  I have the details of the buyer, who is a friend of a friend, and a receipt.

The only proof is look for the owners name in the blue book (car registration) as of today.

 

28 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

The car was sold and taken to be registered in a Northern province about 600km away.  I have the details of the buyer, who is a friend of a friend, and a receipt.

Just read some old threads on here concerning that (some conflicts )

* Seems as though you should of transferred it in your own province

* You should of went to the DLT with a Cert of Residence , Passport & Blue book 

* Filled out the paper work & whoever having to pay Stamp duty 

* New owner then would go back up Nth & swap to their Province 

 

So this new owner may be having problems transferring the car 

Question about the Blue Book....If it is lost, where do I go for a replacement as this has happened..Cheers..

13 hours ago, essox essox said:

it is obvious DONT PAY IT

He may still be responsible for it...not sure. I absolutely would NEVER leave it up to a person who purchased a car from me... to have the title name changed  (I have bought and sold a number of cars in Thailand).

13 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Go to the police with proof you no longer own the car.

It could be their info is out of date.

 

And in future never hand over ownership documents until the transfer of name is fully completed. Take the buyer and the documents to the appropriate government office and get the transfer completed, then hand over the documents to the new owner. And make sure you have a copy of the transfer documents. A little time consuming but not difficult and a good safeguard system.

 

 

"Don't pay the fine". All well and good unless the police get their act together and start linking unpaid fines to other government departments. Extension of stay refused due to unpaid fine? I worked in a country that stopped you leaving if you had unpaid traffic fines.

13 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

And in future never hand over ownership documents until the transfer of name is fully completed. Take the buyer and the documents to the appropriate government office and get the transfer completed, then hand over the documents to the new owner. And make sure you have a copy of the transfer documents. A little time consuming but not difficult and a good safeguard system.

 

 

So true!  I received red light tickets for two vehicles I sold in the same year...one here and one in the States. In both cases the new owners were close friends so I just paid and got the money back from them, but they were also a "heads up" warning to make sure and go with the new owner to change the ownership paperwork next time.

 

In your case I would just pay the fine and call it the cost of an education, but also go to the department of land transport and see if you can somehow report the vehicle sold (if you still have the new owners info). If they don't change the ownership this could be an ongoing problem, don't forget they are talking about new laws here linking people to unpaid fines. 

12 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

The only proof is look for the owners name in the blue book (car registration) as of today.

 

Wouldn’t the blue book have been handed to the new owner when the sale was processed?

If nobody  pay , it seem the actual owner will not be able to  renew the tax sticker , if the Police  and Land Transport computers eventually can exchange information.

 

You can also contact the buyer who is <a friend of a friend.> and ask him to send you the money. 

Maybe your friend can help you resolved the problem as he helped you< sell> the car 

 

Where was the photo taken ? Can you see the driver ?

Maybe  visit to the police station that took the photo and show them the receipt and address and name of the new owner. ??  See what they say.

same happened to me, contact the new owner and forward the fine onto him

15 hours ago, harrry said:

My guess it is in your name and as such you are responsible till you do a formal change of ownership and pay the taxes (and the fine )

HE was not driving the car so why should he pay the fine....I would NOT pay

1 hour ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Wouldn’t the blue book have been handed to the new owner when the sale was processed?

Yes, but:

 

- If it's private sale someone has to take the blue book to the gov't office and get the name changed. Don't assume the buyer will do it. Many people, all countries take an attitude ' I'll do that tomorrow / next week ...' It never gets done. 

 

- If it's a sale through a second hand car tent, some operators are genuine and ensure the documents etc., are completed. Others aren't, even to the point where the car your buy maybe stolen and the car tent operator will make more excuses than you and I can invent in a lifetime. 

 

Or, you sell your car to the tent operator and give him the blue book and he promises to take care properly to ensure the documents are fully completed.  The old saying '...would you rust a used car salesman...'

 

Or, someone sells their car to the tent operator and in reality under unpaid finance, again

'...would you rust a used car salesman...'

 

Don't sell through these arrangements, way too risky.

 

Bottom line, don't pay until the documents are totally completed / don't hand over the blue book until the transfer is completed and make sure you have a copy. 

 

When I sold my last car I made sure to accompany the new owners to the Transportation office to change the title.  Why?  So I don't end up with problems like your now having.  It's a good strategy.

2 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Wouldn’t the blue book have been handed to the new owner when the sale was processed?

Yes.

I should have added: friend of friend has to check or insist on a photo proof that the new owner has been entered.

3 hours ago, alanrchase said:

"Don't pay the fine". All well and good unless the police get their act together and start linking unpaid fines to other government departments. Extension of stay refused due to unpaid fine? I worked in a country that stopped you leaving if you had unpaid traffic fines. 

The car is actually in my wife's name, so no worries there.

 

Also, i have bought several cars that the owner has given me the paperwork and told me to go and register it myself. It is common practice here.

51 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

Also, i have bought several cars that the owner has given me the paperwork and told me to go and register it myself. It is common practice here.

It may be common practice, it is certainly not good practice.

Too many liabilities involved not to change the owners at the time of sale.

If you still own the car take it back, sell it again and pay the fine. Keep the rest of the money for play. ?

4 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Wouldn’t the blue book have been handed to the new owner when the sale was processed?

Should be.

And the DLT process the transfer from the name in the book to the new buyer. All thai.

Plus if change the province, new plates.

 

I can re spout the warnings regarding someone selling for someone else. 

It does happen.

 

I was caught by this.

The seller I bought from had not put his name in blue book. 

Transferring from original owner.

He was using it several months and never updated details. 

Then on sold.

Plus the plates change.

It took 9 weeks all up.

Before actually being in my name.

 

Scary system. Or lack of.

Had a similar incident a few years ago. Received a message from the police saying we had hit a car in Korat. Since we had not been to Korat for a good number of years there was no way I was going to pay it. We contacted them and explained the facts and we heard nothing more about it.

5 hours ago, essox essox said:

HE was not driving the car so why should he pay the fine....I would NOT pay

If, and I believe it is the same here as the law in Australia, you are responsible for certain things done with the car unless you can identify the person responsible and the police can locate him.(It is not enough to say it was Bill driving, you would have to say it was Bill Smith of 123 Fourth Street...  It is also your responsibility to ensure the vehicle is transfered and the taxes are paid. , The fine for transfer is minimal.

22 hours ago, stubuzz said:

It looks like the new owner did not register the car in their name

My cleaver Thai girlfriend always says, that you shall yourself take the new owner to DLT and make sure a vehicle is transferred; i.e. get proof from an agent or like, if you use one, that the owner's name has been changed in the Blue Book. And not only for cars, also when selling a motorbike...?

13 hours ago, harrry said:

If, and I believe it is the same here as the law in Australia, you are responsible for certain things done with the car unless you can identify the person responsible and the police can locate him.(It is not enough to say it was Bill driving, you would have to say it was Bill Smith of 123 Fourth Street...  It is also your responsibility to ensure the vehicle is transfered and the taxes are paid. , The fine for transfer is minimal.

depends which state your in,in mine the posted fine has a stat dec on the reverse you just fill that out with the details of the sale and post it back.