CortinaDave Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I'm slightly pissed off this evening.... I have my Probe off road and on a sorn at the moment since it needs a couple of bits for a test and i dont need to use it at the moment.Anyway i had to move it out of the drive last month to get access to the cortina that was sat in front of it so i put it out on the street while i moved the cortina.this was at 11pm at night and the plan was to put the probe straight back in, but i forgot until i got up next morning at 8am to see id left it out and had a ticket from the plod marked 6.45am. I live in a village so no wardens, no doubt it was courtest of a very early morning phone call from the old bag across the street to land me in it.£60 fine for "not displaying a valid excise licence". Annoying, but i paid up since it was my own mistake and there wasnt much else i could do.This morning i get a letter from the DVLA "we have been informed that your vehicle was on the street whilst on a sorn"Now THEY want £92 for the same bloody thing. Can they do that?£152 in total for accidentally leaving it on the street in the middle of the night. bastards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirafioriman Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I don't know if they can do that, but it would not suprise me! Typical of this country people who do really bad things get away with it and others get treated like dirt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1_4dr Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 ....and all the while, our eastern european friends are crusing the streets in untaxed, untested, uninsured mk3 golfs, with bald tyres and continental plates.Is there something that we, as a driving populus, are missing?D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Hey look who managed to get approved on the board at last, it's only been a year or something! Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWPowered Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 fuck thats nasty that mind we had 700 nicked out of our bank account so know that sinking feeling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torsten2001 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 ....and all the while, our eastern european friends are crusing the streets in untaxed, untested, uninsured mk3 golfs, with bald tyres and continental plates.Is there something that we, as a driving populus, are missing?DHow about the 1,000's of Brits cruising around Europe in their untaxed, uninsured motors?Those fines are as unlucky and unjust as having miserable and spiteful neighbours, rotten! Let's not get all BNP eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greenvanman Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 ....and all the while, our eastern european friends are crusing the streets in untaxed, untested, uninsured mk3 golfs, with bald tyres and continental plates.Is there something that we, as a driving populus, are missing?DNot your unprovable racist generalisations, that's for sure. Great first post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWPowered Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 i agree with with torsten i know of lots of english rhd cars being used here without CT's etc some for as long as 5 years, the XR3i i got was a barnfind ( a damp one too) had been there since 2002 and the owner told me his wife was using it up till 2 years ago when i checked the car over both rear wheel bearings were compleley shot, the brakes completely non existant, the front valance has no connection with the front wings as the its rotted through, shocking, both our french cars are legit they have to be, they help us fit in with the community although i do dabble in some RHD motors here i wont drive one day to day as the cops love giving them a tug, and fair dues too but saying the french do it it too here ive seen afew cars in the local 'inbred' towns that look like they shouldnt be on the road but still they are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2_craig Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 It's a valid point, controlling foreign vehicles is incredibly difficult and some can be circulating for absolutely yonks before either an observant policeman does something about it or the neighbours shop the perp. What happens in a hit-and-run, where do the authorities start looking for the registered keeper?Solution might be a sticker with an expiry date of one month applied to the number plates of all non-UK vehicles coming into the country, and only renewed if a genuine need is proven (and only available a certain number of times). Anyone circulating with an out-of-date or missing sticker would have some explaining to do... Major admin required tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_K Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Coppers writing tickets at 6.45AM? What's the world coming to?And yeah, the DVLA are a law unto themselves. I sent a SORN notice to the twats by registered post back in 2005. Online tracking showed they got it, and a couple of months later I started getting the fine letters. They were helpful enough to put their local office phone number on the letter, but when you call you get an automated message - the only option you get is to make a card payment. You can't speak to a human, probably because the humans are sick of being the subject of angry phone calls... Phone the mongs in Swansea and they tell you to phone the number on the letter. Aaaagh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWPowered Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 as the uk has to have a blue mot sicker in the windscreen its now made it easier for me to spot cars laid up here (as ive seem alot without inc a mother in a 02 megane with her kids ffs), so it does have its advantages from a car hunters piont of view, as the french have a blue CT sticker which clearly states the date it expires even better from a car hunters pint of view sorry for off topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1_4dr Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 ... stuff...Not your unprovable racist generalisations, that's for sure. Great first post Perhaps my specific genre of sarcasm leaves a bitter taste in the mouth??Im not always like that, honest. And yeah, nice to finally get here Mr Hirst.D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 as the uk has to have a blue mot sicker in the windscreen its now made it easier for me to spot cars laid up here (as ive seem alot without inc a mother in a 02 megane with her kids ffs), so it does have its advantages from a car hunters piont of view, as the french have a blue CT sticker which clearly states the date it expires You don't have to display the sticker, it's optional. I never stick mine on because I use my windscreen for looking through. Bad luck Dave. It's no consolation but multiple fines for the same tax disc offence are nothing new, I can remember it happening in the 80s. I've also known somebody to find a ticket on his car on the morning that his tax ran out. The worst case I saw was a couple of years ago though. It was a respectable new-ish Mondeo with two wheel clamps and "UNTAXED VEHICLE" stickers all over the windscreen. As far as I know the car was taxed but the disc had fallen somewhere it couldn't be retrieved and they were waiting for a replacement to arrive. As for the meddlesome ratbag across the road, the time will come when she wishes she'd been nicer to people, don't worry about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Ted Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 If the fine is for the same offence then the simple answer is no, they cant - write to them enclosing details of the fine you have already paid and tell them (politely) to get bent.If however (as I suspect) the fine is for a different offence (breaking SORN declaration rather than failing to display a valid tax disc) then the answer is they probably can. You need to make sure that they are for the same offence, not two different ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtd2000 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Well to make you chaps feel proud, my car is fully taxed, MOT'd and insured and will be returning to Blighty in December to get the next MOT passed And the great thing here in Holland about driving a Proton Persona (Si model no less....) is that it's just soooo exclusive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel bickle Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I suspect the 2nd fine is ''backtax'' -the period the vehicle was untaxed together with a Sorn 'fine' for being naughty.They tried something similar with me. I moved a car out onto the road on the 1st of the month. I taxed it lunchtime by which time it was covered in 'untaxed vehicle' yellow stickers- swiftly followed by the usual fines etc.When supplied details of the tax -they amended to failure to display.I took it to Court -Mag threw it out and I got costs. Jobsworths. Moved to the country... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-j Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I'm fairly sure these are 2 different fines - the non displaying of tax is the one I was burned for (again, I have my suspicions that a friendly neighbour helped out there) I didn't get the second fine - I think you can only get this one if there's proof of it on the road without tax such as a dated photo or camera things that read number plates in BP forefourts.Still, if you kick up enough of a polite stink you might be able to avoid that second one - good luck with it.My garage is along the street from the flat - last summer the CX was SORN and living in an off street parking at the flat. I needed to do some work for its MOT so drove round (literally 700m) -I had valid insurance since it over laps the tax and I didn't cancel it. I drove round and spent the day working on it in the garage off the road. Later that day all was done, I had to move a volvo back into that garage so the CX sat on the road ticking over until I put the other back in, about 2 minutes tops.A large white van began cruising past with the letters DVLA on the side (first I've seen one) and some request for reporting untaxed vehicles. It passed by the CX, the passenger looked straight at it, then myself and gave an 'evil' look I felt busted but they continued at drive by speed out and along to the main road seemingly looking at all the parked cars around there - the van had about a dozen cameras on the roof. To get back to the car park I'd have to go the same way - a 20 second drive, Edging out onto the main road there was no sign of them - I had my suspicion they were waiting for me to be seen driving past from a side street - they were! I passed them and immediately they followed (they'd been waiting facing out) no sooner had they joined the road then I turned into the carpark! and in the rear view I saw them join the traffic Q right behind me, sitting there in the van, both looking at me stopped in the off street car park.... I think they were trying to get a photo of the car on the road with the number plates visible but they'd only got a chance from the side. They looked miffed but at the time I thought I'd been sprung anyway since the van itself had a roof covered in cameras! all aimed to read parked vehicles.I never heard a thing from them.I just thought it was amazing that the one time in months the CX had moved a few hundred meters into the red zone suddenly there was a DVLA van - how could they know? - there's only one answer that satisfies: the miserable old crone round the corner who'd harassed me some months before when the CX was breifly (40 mins) parked in the 'private' and 90% empty and unused car park across from the flats the old shit is in. 40mins !FFS, I told her there was 'no sign' - I say that a lot to this type, they find it difficult to come back to that. The old shitter is known to stand at the window all day waiting for unfamiliar vehicles. I would not be surprised if that was the convenient source of the tip off for the van (I've never seen it since either) When confronting the first time, the old plugger said "anyway your tax is out" - it actually had until midnight that day. That must have made it 6 months before - it just generates a sense of pity that the old stinker waited half a year watching desperately for the opportunity to flex some power (even in the most minor by proxy way possible) Oops, sorry I did rant there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 It's funny you mention DVLA vans - I saw one yesterday, not with cameras on it though. It had a full length beacon on the roof, like a police car.I'm just wondering whether if there was one of those with its lights on, whether I'd have to pull over for them or what? Anyone know? If they're stood there waving me in or something and I can just ignore them and drive off with no penalty I'd rather do that to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_K Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 It's funny you mention DVLA vans - I saw one yesterday, not with cameras on it though. It had a full length beacon on the roof, like a police car.DVLA, as opposed to the VOSA dudes?I wouldn't think they've got any power to pull anybody over.VOSA on the other hand do have the power. Except in Scotland, where a cop has to do the pulling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 90% sure it said DVLA on the bonnet. Presumably the beacon is more for safety reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_K Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Probably a DVLA clamper van... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 The worst case I saw was a couple of years ago though. It was a respectable new-ish Mondeo with two wheel clamps and "UNTAXED VEHICLE" stickers all over the windscreen. As far as I know the car was taxed but the disc had fallen somewhere it couldn't be retrieved and they were waiting for a replacement to arrive.Surely these people check the DVLA computer before clamping a car and putting stickers on it? My Renner Five's tax disc has fallen down behind the dashboard somewhere and I haven't got round to either attempting to retrieve it or sorting a replacement - I hope I don't come back to it one day to find it's been clamped or impounded because some mong of a traffic warden can't use a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CortinaDave Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 Yep on checking the plod fine is failure to display, the other is using a motor vehicle while a sorn is in force.Can anyone think of an angle i can take for a chance-my-arm letter to try and worm out of it? The tax ran out at the end of august.. and this was the start of october.I was hardly "using" the car.. it was parked outside my door! The £60 fine i grudgingly accepted, but £92 extra for the dvla for what is basically the same offence worded a different way is harsh to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pogweasel Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Lash up a dodgy reciept from a recently bankrupted construction company, for around the date of offence detailing work at your gaff to the driveway or something? Then add your note saying your car was only there v. briefly while the thin crust of wet pikey tarmac was drying or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CortinaDave Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 could be a plan! keep the excuses coming...I'm wondering what fine will appear next with a slightly different angle on my lack of a tax disc? Now I've had failure to display and use of a car with a sorn in force im wondering if i can now expect a straightforward "not having a disc" fineWonder what else they will invent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtd2000 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Yep on checking the plod fine is failure to display, the other is using a motor vehicle while a sorn is in force.Can anyone think of an angle i can take for a chance-my-arm letter to try and worm out of it? The tax ran out at the end of august.. and this was the start of october.I was hardly "using" the car.. it was parked outside my door! The £60 fine i grudgingly accepted, but £92 extra for the dvla for what is basically the same offence worded a different way is harsh to say the least.There's your basic problem - you've declared that the car is off the road - but they've found it to be on the road.It's bad luck but from their point of view how to you prove that it wasn't on the road (which is was for a brief moment) when you already declared it off the road since August..... not "using" the car isn't a viable excuse as it's been found on a public highway - end of!Chalk it up to experience and perhaps draft a letter explaining the situation and keep your fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtd2000 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 On the subject of the wonderful DVLA - I just bought my mother a new(ish) car on the Bay: It's taxed till March next year but the internet ordered tax disc has not turned up. Previous owner is now back in the USA. Called DVLA - who cannot discuss any of the details with me for fear of giving away personal information - on a car I've just bought of course where I know the name and address of the owner not to mention phone numbers and email addresses etc. Now the only thing that can be done is for him to call the frigging 0845/0870 number from Texas and get it sorted out. So that takes place and then a replacement disc can be picked up at the local DVLA office...wait for it....by the person who applied for the tax disc...that's right folks he'd need to come all the way back from Texas to do that... The alternative is for my mother to wait for 6 weeks for her name to show up on the database and apply for a new tax disc - remember this is all for a car that is already taxed in the DVLA database... I finally spoke to somebody else about this madness and it turns out she needs to fill out a V20 or suchlike and pay the DVLA (for their fuck up) the sum of 7 quid and they will send her a shiney new tax disc - that'll probably take well over a week to process - during all of this time the car can't be used on the road for risk of getting a fucking ticket for "failing to display..." The lunatics are well and truly running this asylum known as the United Kingdom... It's no surprise I've lived more than half my life overseas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrogeezer Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 in the words of Richard Littlejohn, you couldn't make it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theredbaron Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 GTD200, do you have a local DVLA office you can go to?. I had a similar problem with a Rover 216 Gti I purchased where the previous owner let the tax disc blow out of the window. I just took the documentation along to the Ipswich office, well the new keeper slip anyway and they sorted me out a new disc within an hour. Hello all by the way, so happy ive managed to get in after a couple of years of lurking!Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtd2000 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 GTD200, do you have a local DVLA office you can go to?. I had a similar problem with a Rover 216 Gti I purchased where the previous owner let the tax disc blow out of the window. I just took the documentation along to the Ipswich office, well the new keeper slip anyway and they sorted me out a new disc within an hour. Hello all by the way, so happy ive managed to get in after a couple of years of lurking!MattYeah there is the possibility of going to the local office in Edinburgh and paying 7 quid to get the disc - it would cost more in petrol than just mailing it in and waiting for it in the mail - she's still running around in her Mazda 121 until the tax thing is sorted out.Anybody want a '93 Jap Import Mazda 121 Funtop with under 70k (miles) on it cheap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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