I recently hired a van from a small business while moving house. When I returned the van to the owner he saw a large dent on the rear left-hand side that I hadn’t noticed before. The owner is insisting the dent wasn’t there before I hired the van and is demanding payment. What can I do?
Lawyer Answers (1): Answers from lawyers are general preliminary responses. They are not formal legal advice and cannot taken account of all your circumstances. They do not create a lawyer–client relationship.
Answer by Shamaila Khan, Kingsville 3012 VIC
- The answer will depend on whether or not you and the receiver have registered your respective interests in the equipment on the Personal Property Securities (PPS) register. Being listed on the register is considered proof of ownership and other property rights.
- Since the agreement was for equipment that was leased for more than 90 days the agreement is considered a PPS lease.
- To retain your interest in the goods you must have registered the equipment on the PPS lease.
- If you fail to do so you may extinguish your ownership of the equipment if the receiver has also lodged a competing interest in the equipment.
- If the receiver has also failed to register their interest on the PPS register the chances of you retaining ownership of the equipment and being able to get them back will be higher.
- This will really come down to a question of who has the best proof of ownership.