A Mini adventure . . . that leaves no one a winner
Probes a world of scams and scandals
Ms A.R writes: My ex-husband Christopher had a stroke in April 2013 and is now in a nursing home. I have power of attorney in respect of his finances. In September 2013, he purchased a Mini Cooper car from Dave Negus Cars of March in Cambridgeshire, for £4,995. But Christopher never received the car and it was not registered in his name. At the time, he owned a Ford Mondeo, bought in 2012 from the same dealer. Mr Negus took the car to sell on my ex-husband’s behalf, but did not hand over the proceeds. I believe Mr Negus has sold both cars and retired. Can anything be done to recover the money? YOU are right that Dave Negus has retired, but neither he nor your ex- husband’s money has disappeared. In fact, as soon as I found him – still in March – he was keen to talk to me.
He knows you want him to hand over the money and he told me: ‘I have never denied this money is outstanding.’
The car dealer added: ‘ I will gladly pay it if Ms R supplies me with all the information I requested from her nearly two years ago.’
What information was this? Well, you have told me: ‘The only information Dave Negus requested from me was Christopher’s address, so that he could go and talk to him.’
You explained: ‘Christopher is a vulnerable adult and I do not trust Dave Negus’s intentions for visiting him.
‘How do I know that his purpose for the visit is not to trick Christo- pher into signing a gift affidavit or similar?’
I have to say I found this unlikely. In the circumstances you described, it would be easy to have any such gift overturned. But I went back to Dave Negus and put all this to him – and he came up with a fairly convincing argument.
He knew Christopher quite well and regarded him as a friend. He actively discouraged him from buying the Mini Cooper as he felt sure Christopher would never be in a position to drive it. It was only after your ex-husband made repeated visits that he agreed to sell him the car.
But the crunch point is that Dave Negus says that when he last discussed the money with Christopher, he was absolutely clear it should not be handed over to you.
Your marriage had broken down and Christopher was living with someone else. Negus added he had never seen the power of attorney in your favour.
I was able to help on this last point by confirming to him that the Office of the Public Guardian has certified that Christopher did indeed appoint you as his attorney in 2015. Legally, you stand in his place and are entitled to demand any payment due to him.
I hoped this would be a step forward and I proposed to Dave Negus he should transfer the money –around £5,000 in all–into Christopher’s bank account, which is in his sole name. If Christopher was then happy to let you have access to it, then that would be for him to decide.
Sadly, this did not work. Negus told me: ‘I am going to be just as stubborn as Ms R and try to work out why she does not want me to see Chris.’
I admire Negus’s loyalty to his friend, but everything I have seen puts you legally in the right. Your next step can only be to sue for the money on Christopher’s behalf.