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Can my girlfriend retain possession of a courtesy car until an insurance cheque clears?

My girlfriend has a been provided with a courtesy car whilst awaiting her money back on a new vehicle - the dealer in question is one of the national Volkswagen franchises who have given her numerous reasons why her cheque wasn't ready for delivery. Ultimately it has taken them nearly three weeks to give her a cheque for the money owed. Upon delivery of the cheque, they asked for the return of the courtesy vehicle to which she said "no", and that she was keeping it until her cheque clears as she no longer has faith in them doing something devious i.e. cancelling the cheque. They have said they will report the vehicle as stolen if she doesn't return the vehicle immediately. The question therefore is, is she within her rights to retain the vehicle until such time as the cheque clears?

Asked on 11 August 2010 by projectrps

Answered by Honest John
No, she has no right to retain possession of the courtesy car.
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