Broke up with girlfriend, she has my car somewhere. Police say it's civil.

[UP-Michigan]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

Break up with girlfriend, she splits in my father's new car. Me and her were co-guardians of my father. Because of all the drama that happens over the course of a few days, I am able to have letter of guardianship modified, and her taken off. I get a PPO against her. So now that I have her out of the house, I cannot get the car back. The police and prosecutor say it's a civil matter. Onstar will not give the location of the vehicle without the police making a report that it's stolen. Could someone please give me advice on how to get the vehicle back.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

https://www.onstar.com/web/portal/family-link?g=1

Its all about the money.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

Break up with girlfriend, she splits in my father's new car. Me and her were co-guardians of my father. Because of all the drama that happens over the course of a few days, I am able to have letter of guardianship modified, and her taken off. I get a PPO against her. So now that I have her out of the house, I cannot get the car back. The police and prosecutor say it's a civil matter. Onstar will not give the location of the vehicle without the police making a report that it's stolen. Could someone please give me advice on how to get the vehicle back.

Under whose name is the car registered/titled?

If the g/f's name doesn't appear anywhere on the registration or title of the vehicle, then her having it without the permission of the registered owner(s) would be considered theft, and you should be able to report the vehicle as stolen.

I suspect, however, that her name must appear somewhere on the registration/title, which is why the police won't take a theft report.

 

[justalayman]

Under whose name is the car registered/titled?

If the g/f's name doesn't appear anywhere on the registration or title of the vehicle, then her having it without the permission of the registered owner(s) would be considered theft, and you should be able to report the vehicle as stolen.

I suspect, however, that her name must appear somewhere on the registration/title, which is why the police won't take a theft report.

Not true. If she was typically allowed to drive the car, the onus is upon the OP to prove it was taken without permission this time. The cops and prosecutor are going to look at this just as they have; a civil matter.

 

[UP-Michigan]

Under whose name is the car registered/titled?

If the g/f's name doesn't appear anywhere on the registration or title of the vehicle, then her having it without the permission of the registered owner(s) would be considered theft, and you should be able to report the vehicle as stolen.

I suspect, however, that her name must appear somewhere on the registration/title, which is why the police won't take a theft report.

Father's name.

 

[UP-Michigan]

Not true. If she was typically allowed to drive the car, the onus is upon the OP to prove it was taken without permission this time. The cops and prosecutor are going to look at this just as they have; a civil matter.

Yes. That's exactly what they said.

 

[UP-Michigan]

https://www.onstar.com/web/portal/family-link?g=1

Its all about the money.

The Onstar account is in her name.
Onstar WON"T cancel the service. They won't do anything.
I ended up throwing a complete temper tantrum on phone w/them.

 

[justalayman]

Father's name.

if she was typically allowed to use the vehicle, it is irrelevant.

a little side story.

years ago I used to work at a motorcycle shop. We had a guy come in to test drive a bike. He did not return with the bike. The dealer owner eventually called the police. They said; you allowed him to take the motorcycle. That is not theft. We will make courtesy visit to the address you have for him and tell him you want the bike back. After that, if we are successful in speaking with him, should he fail to return it it will then be theft. If we do not speak with him personally, it's still; you handed him the keys and unless you can show he was obligated to return it within a specified period of time, he is still on the test drive as far as we are concerned.

They also said if they see him on the road they would attempt to pull him over and deliver the notice but they had no lawful right to arrest or detain him (so even pulling him over was only as courtesy)


last I heard; 6 months and they still had not gotten the bike back.

the moral of the story is;

you have to be careful of the terms anybody is allowed to use any of your property

 

[justalayman]

The Onstar account is in her name.
Onstar WON"T cancel the service. They won't do anything.
I ended up throwing a complete temper tantrum on phone w/them.

Oh, even better. Why would she pay for an Onstar account if she was not allowed to use the car?


as the cops said; this is a civil issue, for the moment.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I suggest you file for a court order to disclose the cars location and replevin.

 

[UP-Michigan]

I suggest you file for a court order to disclose the cars location and replevin.

Thank you very much OHRoadwarrior for the advice. I will try doing that Monday morning.

 

[UP-Michigan]

Apparently jal can pound sand. Nice job, OP.

p.s. It is apparently NOT OP's car, but his Dad's.

I liked jal's post and said he was correct. He made 2 more posts saying the same thing.

That isn't quite the advice I was looking for. I gave the person a formal thank you for actually
letting me know what to do about getting the car back.

I spared everyone the petty details of my situation. She also cleaned out my safe. That wasn't daddy's.
Just trying to get some legal advice and handle my business.
You are the one that can go pound sand, you tool.
Can't believe even these forum's have trolls.

 

[justalayman]

I liked jal's post and said he was correct. He made 2 more posts saying the same thing.

In the example he used, the company just let some douchebag keep the motorcycle? wtf?

it was a dealership and it was a test drive...with no limitations expressed at the onset. Therefor, all it was as far as the cops were concerned was a really long test drive. It was quite frustrating and the cause of the institution of new policies on test drives.



thank you UP-Michigan. I appreciate the comments.

 

[TheGeekess]

what the Hell is your problem? I never said it was gf's car. I said there was presumed permissive use so the cops will refuse to do anything and the Onstar accout assigned to that car supported exactly that.



by the way, it is termed a "claim and delivery" in mi although many states call if a replevin

I never said anything about that since, I figured if OP knew where the car was they could simply go and get it. To sue you have to be able to serve them. Additionally, if the OP knows where the girl is, OP can likely institute such actions as they could give notification that permission to use the car has been withdrawn and therefor, retaining the car can be considered a criminal matter.



what did I do to get attacked?

You weren't attacked.

 

[TheGeekess]

I guess it;s a matter of opinion. To me, this was an attack:

Sounds more like she was DEFENDING you because OP said thanks to OR and not also to you. But whatever.