The service of hunting vehicles’ original owners
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Since the Decree 71 regulation, obliging drivers to make vehicle ownership transfers, took effect on November 10, many second-hand motorcycle retailers have offered services to look for the vehicles’ original owner and carry out ownership transferral procedures.
To transfer vehicle ownership, the present owner of a vehicle must have the original owner come with him or her to the authorities before registering for a new registration card, which affirms that individual as the actual owner of the vehicle.
Because it is such a complicated process and, in many cases, the previous owners of the vehicles cannot be contacted, many present owners have decided to use these second-hand retailers' services to look for their vehicle's original owner and carry out ownership transferral procedures.
These services cost from several hundred thousand dong to several million dong, depending on how hard it is to find the original owners.
“Due to the fact that, in many cases, the addresses of the original owners have changed, or the original owners have died or emigrated some time ago, I have to look for them through their registration card details or by following the information I get from their neighbors, relatives or even local officers,” explained Muoi, one of the retailers offering such services in Binh Tan district’s Binh Hung Hoa ward in Ho Chi Minh City.
After looking at a registration card, he said, “This address is quite easy to look for. It’s in the center of town. So I will charge one million dong, not including ownership procedure costs. I must receive a half of it first (VND 500,000) and I will take the rest after finishing within two days or a week, if it’s hard to find the previous owner.”
Service procedures
On November 22, Thanh, a resident of Binh Thanh district, met Thang, who offers ownership transferral services in this area, in order to transfer his new motorcycle's ownership.
Thang said, while looking at the registration card of his customer’s vehicle, “Five million dong. I’ll go to Binh Thuan province, look for this man (the previous owner) and get back the original documents for your motorcycle within ten days. Then, you only need to register with your local officers and this motorcycle will be yours legally.”
After that, Thang took the ID card, a copy of Thanh's household registration record and Thanh's registration card and went to Binh Thuan province.
“I have developed relationships with many people in other provinces and cities, so it’s quite easy for me to do this business,” Thang shared.
According to Minh, a motorcycle retailer in Phu Nhuan district, drivers can also find the original owners by themselves, as long as they follow the addresses on their vehicles’ registration card. “If they cannot, they should go to local officers, explain their problems and ask for the original owners’ updated details. However, the point is they need to persuade the owners to cooperate with them,” Minh said.
“Sometimes, it’s necessary to give the original owners money while convincing them,” Muoi revealed.
A popular service
People in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi and other areas can easily find these popular services, which are offered by either motorcycle taxi (‘xe om’) drivers or second-hand motorcycle retailers, via the websites and telephone numbers on their leaflets.
Luu Van Sang, who is responsible for finding vehicles’ original owners in a cooperative in Ha Noi, said, “Everyday, we receive 30 to 40 customers. The service’s cost is VND 1.2 to 1.5 million for each car and VND one to 1.2 million for each motorcycle.”
“It takes more time if they look for the original owners by themselves. So many come to us for help,” he added.
Through many websites, such as
www.timchuxe, drivers can send their copies of household registration records, ID cards, registration cards, and photographs of their vehicles to the site and wait for news of the vehicle's original owner. “We have received lots of customers via our website.
Their personal details are kept absolutely private, and because it’s convenient for them, this method is very effective,” Thuy Anh, representative of a company in Ha Noi which offers the services, said.