Did you know that BC’s auto insurance laws have a serious gap that can leave unsuspecting sellers on the hook? Recently, CBC’s Go Public covered a story where a BC man was liable for towing and storage on a car he had sold privately. The problem is a legal loophole in most provincial laws which can result in sellers being held responsible for vehicles after they’ve sold them.

Scott Stanley explained that « only buyers are required to transfer the registration at the vehicle registry office. The seller doesn’t have to be there.

So if a buyer never completes the paperwork, the seller’s name stays on the registration — and with it, the responsibility for tickets, towing, insurance or possibly criminal liability. »

For a Langley, BC man that liability was a $1500 bill when a car he had sold three months earlier was found abandoned without plates and towed.

This cautionary tale confirms that if you are selling a car privately you would be wise to attend at the vehicle registry office with the buyer to make sure the vehicle is properly transferred. 

Read the story here: Man billed $1,500 for vehicle he didn’t own, insurer says he still has to pay