Do You Always Have To Settle Your Garage Bill Immediately?

Sometimes, I go to work and do a full months work and when it's pay day they don't pay me and give me an invoice for next month... oh wait, no, they wouldn't do that ..
 
[TW]Fox;28170139 said:
No.
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No he is right, there is case law on that scenario...

http://e-lawresources.co.uk/R-v-Turner.php

It would be possible that in such circumstances someone could be charged with making off without payment however it has legally been shown to be theft previously, bizarre as it sounds.

The garage has a financial interest in the car (being owed money for its repair) and possession and control of it at the time it is with them.... I'm sure you've heard it said that possession is 9/10ths of the law before....

Big thread on Pistonheads discussing the case and issues around it if you're interested...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1264830
 
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It's not as clear as that as it'll depend on the circumstances (Which are not explained in that small link). Theft requires intention to permanently deprive, which if he took the car with the intention of never paying is fine, but to just blanketly say 'its theft' is, IMHO, wrong.
 
Every case on its merits of course, but the case law is still there. 'It has been considered as theft', would be a more accurate assessment than 'it is theft' perhaps, but the legal precedent is there all the same...
 
Will said:
Every case on its merits of course, but the case law is still there. 'It has been considered as theft', would be a more accurate assessment than 'it is theft' perhaps, but the legal precedent is there all the same...
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The legal precedent is there as long as the requirements are met which is absolutely not the same thing as saying 'it is theft'.
 
[TW]Fox;28170274 said:
The legal precedent is there as long as the requirements are met which is absolutely not the same thing as saying 'it is theft'.
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It's a more accurate and conversationally useful statement than "no" though

I can see how it could quite easily be considered theft - if I have a garage fit a new clutch and take the car without paying, I might not have stolen my own car but I've certainly stolen a clutch that didn't belong to me
 
George Hincapie said:
If you don't intend to pay for the clutch, then that would constitute theft. However, if you intend to pay then it isn't. S1(1) Theft Act 1968 is pretty clear.
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Choice of when to pay is not necessarily on your terms though so if the garage requests payment prior to releasing the car and the terms were clear then if you drive off with the car despite not having paid for work and parts then you may find yourself in a bit of a sticky situation legally. It will naturally come down to the merits of the case but a vague intention to pay as some future date may well not be good enough if you've broken a perfected lien.

George Hincapie said:
They can't keep the car, the car doesn't belong to them. The worst they can do is to remove any parts they have fitted and raise a separate bill for labour.
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The garage can hold onto the car while there is non payment for work done and/or parts fitted, it does need to go to court for the garage to take further action and at that point it will be determined what the appropriate action is but colloquially the garage can "keep" the car until settlement of the bill or there is a decision by the court. All cases turn on their own merits but this is a recognised course of action for garages to ensure payment.
 
I wasn't suggesting a vague intention to pay. But that's irrelevant anyway; the burden of proof is on the Police to show there was no intent, it's not on the individual to prove there was.

The scenario I was thinking about was where the garage closed before the owner could collect, the owner takes car and returns next day to settle - not at some random date in the future ;)
 
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