I thought I might update my friends out there regarding my Albion, as I stated before the charming Mr Garland sold my vehicle en route to me to another character of dubious values for the sum of £1300. The actual whereabouts of the vehicle were not made available to me until the last week of October last and immediately rang the individual who had bought it to arrange to pick it up. This was a Mr Searle, of Exeter Coachworks out at the old Frank Tuckers place, who demanded the £1300 he had allegedly paid Mr Garland for it before I could collect it and muttered something about possession being nine tenths of the law and storage charges of £20 a day. Naturally I told him in no uncertain terms that I would not pay to buy my own vehicle back but Mr Searle is a stubborn little man and moaned that all he wanted was his money back.
Now some background to our Mr Searle, in his business he buys and sells vans and small commercials and one would think that someone in his position would be very wary when a complete stranger turns up and offers to sell a vehicle to him for a fraction of its value and with no documents. However he pays £1300 in cash to Garland and immediately sends off to the DVLA for a V5 before the vehicle is reported stolen who then very promptly oblige him making him the keeper. One has to wonder if this is common practice out at Exeter Coachworks where the Albion was concealed until it was discovered by the police a week or so later. Mr Searle claimed to have bought it in good faith but I have my doubts because he MUST have suspected it was not Garlands to sell OR he is a complete idiot. I believe he took a gamble on it but it backfired on him and now he is whinging about being an innocent party to Garland’s deception.
Since October I have repeatedly pointed out to Searle, or rather to his wife whom he hides behind, that if he sells me a vehicle he knows to be stolen he could be guilty of handling stolen goods but to no avail and in fact he has actually sent me an invoice for it. I wrote to the Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable and their legal department but they say it is a civil matter despite the dubious circumstances of the transaction between Searle and Garland and that avenue has proved a dead end. Also the DVLA have been positively unco-operative by stating that they do not get involved in ownership issues, denying all knowledge of a letter I wrote to them explaining what had happened and at one time were even going to prosecute me for scrapping the Albion without telling them!
Finally, in despair, my dear wife as a birthday present to me has paid off the obnoxious Searle because she has seen how this entire business was starting to affect my health and all I need now is to get it transported to my place from Exeter because I have no idea of the Albion’s condition after all this time to risk driving it that far.
Anyway dear friends if you’ve got a dodgy motor with no V5 and you’d like a wad of cash for it you know where to go, it’s Exeter Coachworks and ask for Mr Searle who will only be too happy to oblige I’m sure.
The first question that jumped to my mind is what lead the police to Exeter coachworks to look for the Albion? Also, surely if the police were doing their job properly, the first thing they should have done when they discovered it is arrest Mr Searle on suspicion of handling stolen goods?
At the end of the day the Albion is yours and you should, IMO, have spent that £1300 on a lawyer to get it back rather than give it to Searle. For all we know he could be an accomplice of the chap who nicked it off you in the first place and have not paid a penny for it and if that is the case now he’s £1300 better off.
repton:
The first question that jumped to my mind is what lead the police to Exeter coachworks to look for the Albion? Also, surely if the police were doing their job properly, the first thing they should have done when they discovered it is arrest Mr Searle on suspicion of handling stolen goods?
At the end of the day the Albion is yours and you should, IMO, have spent that £1300 on a lawyer to get it back rather than give it to Searle. For all we know he could be an accomplice of the chap who nicked it off you in the first place and have not paid a penny for it and if that is the case now he’s £1300 better off.
Paul
Mr Searle came forward after a high profile appeal in the local press instigated by the police for information, naturally with publicity like this his employees, customers or anyone visiting his premises would have spotted the Albion so he had little choice. When Garland’s case at last comes up next month and I have to give evidence I will do my upmost to implicate Searle as a party to the theft, deception of the DVLA and criminal intent to extort money from me. I never intended to pay Searle but my wife in an act of kindness bought the Albion from him which in effect makes him guilty of selling goods he knows to be stolen. Thank you for your kind advice but civil actions are very expensive and of course most lawyers are not interested in the true rights and wrongs of a case in my experience.
Only just read this thread. I worked right next to their unit. Hell…Went in there regularly, as they did LCS body repairs,winch exchanges. I never saw it in there. It ain’t a big unit either!!!
It looks like Mr L J Searle is quite a busy & charitable chap, it seems he also has business ties to a care and community centre too as well as his recovery company and a commercial bodybuilders.
It seems such a shame to jeopardise all that by dealing with lorry thieves and n’e’r do well’s.
The operation looks legitimate and the Standard National operators licence is in force with a local haulier acting as his transport manager.
EXETER COACHWORKS LTD
Director(s): WENDY MARILYN SEARLE, LEONARD JOHN SEARLE.
OH1099729 SN
PEAMORE TRUCK CENTRE, ALPHINGTON , EXETER EX2 9SL
Operating Centre: EXETER COACHWORKS LTD, PEAMORE TRUCK CENTRE, ALPHINGTON EXETER EX2 9SL
Authorisation:2 Vehicle(s) and 0 Trailer(s).
Transport Manager(s): STEVEN THOMAS RICHARDSON
Thanks for finally coming back & updating us OP, I often wondered what had happened here. If the lorry was proved as stolen (i.e. you had a receipt for it) I don’t understand why the police were not more pro-active on seizing it.
I don’t think the truck was there. But he had it in his posession. They do buy old trucks and put new bodies on them and sell them on the forecourt outside. It’s next to MAN dealership. There are always damaged cars from auctions, that he rebuilds and sells. I don’t like the prick TBH. And he’s mates with the ex boss, who is also a prick.
artistjeffries:
On Wednesday 13th July 2011 a firm called Northern Connections picked up my 1956 Albion lorry just outside Bodmin, Cornwall to deliver to me at Cambridge. Since then my lorry has vanished into thin air and despite repeated e-mails and phone calls I am met with a resounding silence.
The director of Northern Connections, a Mr Tony Garland, personally collected the vehicle to load it onto one of his lorries but I suspect he drove it himself some considerable distance and has most likely damaged the engine and/or the gearbox in his ignorance of the limitations of such an old vehicle.
If any of you truckers out there saw a chassis/cab four wheeler on the A30, A38 or M5 on the 13th, 14th or knows of the whereabouts of my Albion could they give me a bell on 07884462140 or e-mail me at mike@transportartist.co.uk as I want my pride and joy back!
The lorry has a green cab, red chassis and wheels is about 20ft long and is very distinctive, please can anyone help?
If your information leads me to recovering my Albion I am offering a reward, not money I’m afraid because I don’t have much of that but an original painting of your favourite truck is all I can offer.
LOKKING AT THAT ID TATHER HAVE THE INSURANCE MONEY,HOPEFULLY ITS IN BITS IN A SCRAPYARD BY NOW,WHERE IT SHOULD BE,TIMES HAVE MOVED ON,HAVE A HOLIDAY WITH INSURANCE MONEY OR GET YOURSELF A DECENT TRUCK,ITS THE YEAR 2011,NOT 1911,WELL SHOT OF THAT,that bloke wants locking up for nicking that thing,he must be nuts
id rather see your green and white pile of [zb] in the scrapheap than that truck. idiot
I don’t understand why the police were not more pro-active on seizing it.
Perhaps because they believed the “receiver” had bought it in good faith.
After all if you buy something on ebay, you wouldn’t be happy if plod turned up and arrested you for receiving stolen goods or if they confiscated the item.
What would happen in an ideal world is that the £1300 would be returned and so would the truck, sadly we don’t live in an ideal world and so one of the victims is going to lose out, and as was posted before “posession is 9/10ths of the law”.
Perhaps, on conviction, the thief will be ordered to repay the £1300, but don’t hold your breath.
What baffles me, is why the thief even thought that he wouldn’t get caught.
del949:
What would happen in an ideal world is that the £1300 would be returned and so would the truck, sadly we don’t live in an ideal world and so one of the victims is going to lose out, and as was posted before “posession is 9/10ths of the law”.
It isn’t an ideal world though and at the end of the day even if Searle had bought it in good faith the law says he still does not own the vehicle and it should legally be returned to its rightful owner (or the owner’s insurers if it has been paid out on). It is then up to Mr Searle to pursue the chap who sold him the stolen vehicle for his £1300 by whatever means he sees fit.
That is my understanding anyway. IANAL though so I could be talking nonsense.
I don’t understand why the police were not more pro-active on seizing it.
Perhaps because they believed the “receiver” had bought it in good faith.
After all if you buy something on ebay, you wouldn’t be happy if plod turned up and arrested you for receiving stolen goods or if they confiscated the item.
What would happen in an ideal world is that the £1300 would be returned and so would the truck, sadly we don’t live in an ideal world and so one of the victims is going to lose out, and as was posted before “posession is 9/10ths of the law”.
Perhaps, on conviction, the thief will be ordered to repay the £1300, but don’t hold your breath.
What baffles me, is why the thief even thought that he wouldn’t get caught.
Yes, I agree, but who knows how the mind of a moron works, however I am still of the opinion that Searle MUST have had a suspicion that it was stolen and therefore should have left it alone. If you were offered an item in a pub at a knock down price from a complete stranger you would most likely suspect it was stolen and not touch it because if you bought it you would in the eyes of the law become a receiver. The same argument applies to Searle especially as he is in the trade and if he has done this with my vehicle one must ask whether it’s the first time. I have been trying to convince the police of this but perhaps Searle has friends in high places----who knows but all I know from my dealings with him is that he is not a person I would do business with and as I have said I intend that it comes out in court so that I might, repeat might, get some compensation or my money back from the charmless MR Searle.
bigvern1:
Only just read this thread. I worked right next to their unit. Hell…Went in there regularly, as they did LCS body repairs,winch exchanges. I never saw it in there. It ain’t a big unit either!!!
Thank you bigvern, that’s useful to know as the Albion would stand out a mile anywhere so this could mean that he’s been lying as to its whereabouts all along.
Wheel Nut:
It looks like Mr L J Searle is quite a busy & charitable chap, it seems he also has business ties to a care and community centre too as well as his recovery company and a commercial bodybuilders.
It seems such a shame to jeopardise all that by dealing with lorry thieves and n’e’r do well’s.
The operation looks legitimate and the Standard National operators licence is in force with a local haulier acting as his transport manager.
EXETER COACHWORKS LTD
Director(s): WENDY MARILYN SEARLE, LEONARD JOHN SEARLE.
OH1099729 SN
PEAMORE TRUCK CENTRE, ALPHINGTON , EXETER EX2 9SL
Operating Centre: EXETER COACHWORKS LTD, PEAMORE TRUCK CENTRE, ALPHINGTON EXETER EX2 9SL
Authorisation:2 Vehicle(s) and 0 Trailer(s).
Transport Manager(s): STEVEN THOMAS RICHARDSON
Thanks for the info. wheelnut but I have already had a look on line at his operation which appears to be on a bit of a tightrope with assetts barely exceeding liabilities and a measly £900 in the bank, so where did he find £1300 to give to Garland? Your guess is as good as mine.
Thanks for finally coming back & updating us OP, I often wondered what had happened here. If the lorry was proved as stolen (i.e. you had a receipt for it) I don’t understand why the police were not more pro-active on seizing it.
There’s something fishy to all of this.
I know driveroneuk, I have gone though all of this with the police and their law department at Middlemore who have nothing but praise for this man and the way he has co-operated with them but I still insist that the circumstances of the deal between him and Garland stinks to high heaven and I intend to get some answers eventually. In the meantime I have to get the Albion back to hopefully take part in the HCVS London/Brighton in May, a lifelong ambition of mine to complete the run in my own vehicle.
On Wednesday 13th July 2011 a firm called Northern Connections picked up my 1956 Albion lorry just outside Bodmin, Cornwall to deliver to me at Cambridge. Since then my lorry has vanished into thin air and despite repeated e-mails and phone calls I am met with a resounding silence.
The director of Northern Connections, a Mr Tony Garland, personally collected the vehicle to load it onto one of his lorries but I suspect he drove it himself some considerable distance and has most likely damaged the engine and/or the gearbox in his ignorance of the limitations of such an old vehicle.
If any of you truckers out there saw a chassis/cab four wheeler on the A30, A38 or M5 on the 13th, 14th or knows of the whereabouts of my Albion could they give me a bell on 07884462140 or e-mail me at mike@transportartist.co.uk as I want my pride and joy back!
The lorry has a green cab, red chassis and wheels is about 20ft long and is very distinctive, please can anyone help?
If your information leads me to recovering my Albion I am offering a reward, not money I’m afraid because I don’t have much of that but an original painting of your favourite truck is all I can offer.
