HIN on documentation is wrong!

[Rodeo]

I really looking for a bit of advice!

I've just had the Survey done and the HIN has come back with a different number that is on the Bill of Sale. I found this as i was about to setup te insurance.

Looking through the documents that I have, the original VAT, Builders Cert Engine all match Survey HIN.

However the Bill of Sales (I have 3) are different, the names match that on the original VAT invoice to the first Bill of Sale (this is where the HIN is different).

It looks like an obvious error. (its one letter on the HIN) and this has been carried forward on the remaining Bill of Sales.

What should my course of action be, I have paid in full, but have not had the boat delivered / handed over.

Thanks

 

[enterprise]

Hi Rodeo,
sounds like you have a little document paranoia, the oversight has not hindered either the boat or sale of in the past so why it should do so now is only down to your excellent attention to detail.

First course of action is to find out if there is a reason, I say this because we had a simmilar issue with a car, the engine ID no wasn't the same as shown on the log book, this we found out from the new purchaser who threatened us with court action after taking ownership of the car (and using it for a week) if we didn't take the car back or give a reduction on the price (1K on a £1.2K car!!!!!!).
Turns out the DVLA use a 0 to denote a space in the number, which should be known by any proffesional trader, hence the number was displayed correctly, (which we found out after taking the car back and contacting the DVLA for advice).

I certainly wouldn't be overley worried, just need to make a few calls and all should be fine, if you have the original build certificate which is correct thats all you really need, Bill's of sale are nice of course but not wholey essential.

 

[beejay190]

I am the third owner of my boat. The original invoice does not state the HIN number-dont know whether this is critical for VAT identification purposes. If Nautibusiness is viewing this i would appreciate your comments.

The subsequent two Bills Of Sale does show the HIN number.

 

[EugeneR]

Have the seller correct the bill of sale to reflect the actual boat he is giving to you. That leaves you with a valid VAT invoice and bill of sale transferring the boat to you. Also, you can hold him accountable in what sounds to be an unlikely event that there is a bigger issue.

If someone tries to part-1 register the boat, they need to show ownership records for the last 5 years. Usually, this is only done to get a mortgage on the boat but given that you've paid for it already, I assume you do not need this. However, if you plan to sell the boat within 5 years of the last incorrect bill of sale, it may cause isses for your buyer if he needs to register it for a mortgage.

(To clarify, if you don't need a mortgage on the boat, you'd normally be looking at SSR registration, not part-1. And you don't need papers for SSR registration.)

 

[henryf]

If the fault is 1 letter then it probably wouldn't make any real difference in that the manufacturer (to whom the letters refer) will be the same as your boat.

As has been said be sensible.

Henry

Edited to say take into account the age of the boat as well. What is important on a year old boat might not be so critical on a 20 year old one.