Stolen Bike

If you buy a stolen bike, then be prepared to lose the bike and your money.  You have no legal rights to keep the bike!  The general rule is that it remains the property of the original owner and the police can take the motorcycle from you to return it to the original owner or the insurance company if the owner has been paid out.  You may not get any compensation, even if you bought the motorcycle in good faith!

If you knew the bike was stolen, or had some inkling it might be and turned a blind eye, you need to face up to the fact you may be charged with handling stolen goods and receive a criminal record.  It looked like such a good deal at the time, didn’t it?!

The insurance company or original owner may have a claim against you for your use of the motorcycle.  Yes, that’s not fair, but you used it when it wasn’t yours!!  If there has been a depreciation in value as a result of you using the bike they will have a potential claim against you for the difference. 

The only situation where they may be prevented from claiming is where at some stage they have made a positive representation that the seller owned the goods, or where they have signed a document which gives that impression. 

You can sue the seller for your losses, but this may be very difficult if you bought it from a bloke who only gave you his mobile number and is now nowhere to be found.   You will have the right to the reject the goods even after long use, and will be entitled to claim the full purchase price, and interest, despite having the benefit of the goods.  (This may soften the blow a little bit when it comes to paying off the original owner.)

You may have to wait until the criminal investigations are complete to ascertain whether you bought the stolen bike or a clone.  If your bike was the cloned one, then you may get nothing at all. 

If you bought the bike on finance or credit, you may still have to pay off the loan.  However, you may also find that they bought the bike and sold it on to you, in which case you may have a claim for all of your money back form them.  The problem would effectively pass down the line.  Contact your finance or credit provider in the first instance to find out what the terms of your agreement with them are.   Generally, you should not stop paying your credit or finance payments without the express (preferably written) agreement of the company.

If you have sold on a motorcycle which later turns out to be stolen, then you may be sued for the price you sold it for and any additional costs of depreciation the buyer may face.  You may not, however, have any remedy against the person who sold you it in the first place.

We suggest you check out our bike buying advice by clicking here.

Don't be someone else's learning curve. Call our 24 hour help hotline on 0800 783 6191 for clear, expert legal help or e-mail us at contact@whitedalton.co.uk

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