Council.. Bastids..

[petermcpete]

Sorry. An In joke amongst a few shiters.

 

Ha, got one eventually!

 

[steveo3002]

sad times 

 

so park your old but legal car and go away on a long holiday or hospital spell and these twats see fit to drag it away lol 

[oldcars]

Shame the mot history has taken the garage mot names off. Bet they would know the car and if the owner was older and possibly not keeping well.

Don't see how the council can move a taxed car with mot. Seems out of order. Should they not be out gritting at 10 deg as normal?

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Don't suppose you own (or could perhaps borrow) any of those 'dolly' car movers or can get your hands on them? 4 under the (inflated now) tyres and a quick 'how's your father' spin around and a wipe down should suffice.......... as well as the aforementioned call to relevant office bods.

 

Best of luck - I fell your pain - especially as it's a Triumph I haven't owned (yet!)

 

Edited for - Top marks for taking an interest and being willing to put your money where your mouth is and clean it up....... person of the year nomination - I shall be contacting the BBC

[steveo3002]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1710239

 

shared to here but cant link because shite ..anyone able to put some pics on there?   its a busy site

[stephen01]

Also the idea of moving the car, it may not be theft or TWOCIng but you could still be arrested and detained while the police look into wether you’ve been naughty or not.

 

Then perhaps the police could tell you who the rightful owner of the car is. The council see an 'abandoned' (fully legal) car. I see a possible old owner who's suffering health problems or worse has died. 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11700949/Pensioners-body-found-after-laying-undiscovered-in-his-flat-for-3-years.html 

 

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/oap-last-seen-five-weeks-13219976

 

 

Perhaps the person who reported the car take a greater interest in why the car has been left unused than jumping on their high fucking horse and being offended by everything. 

[steveo3002]

poor old thing has survived all these years and now faces being squashed because of some council prick 

[steveo3002]

might i suggest you get the title changed to something more helpfull ?    alot of helpfull folk could skim past it not wanting to read about bastids 

[mercrocker]

Would not have thought the owner of that is too far away given the 3 miles travelled in the previous MOT year.....  

 

Also the wording of the council notice says "Investigation...."  I would hope that this includes checking the same websites available to the rest of us.        

 

No, the post title is correct.   Bastids.

[Talbot]

An app showing rent, ticket and insurance all at once

Which app is that? Most only do rent and ticket. First one I've seen that does all three.

[MorrisItalSLX]

I once had my Hyundai red flagged by the council. It was really dirty and parked outside a friends house for a week (admittedly it was parked on the grass) when he gave me a ring and told me there was a council warning sticker on the window. After a very long and heated phone call with the council they said they would remove the red flag as long as I move the car off the grass, which was impossible as I had the keys! I had to convince my friend (using a bribe) to wash it so it looked less abandoned! Thankfully, this worked and the council left my car alone.

 

I really hope we can track down the owner and save that Vitesse!

[purplebargeken]

Several years ago I spotted a very abandoned looking Moggie Minor parked on the street near to me. It had been there for at least a couple of years and had no tax or MOT. I was stunned that it hadn't been lifted.

 

I made stringent local enquiries and no-one knew who it belonged to. I went along to the local cop shop with a letter stating the issues and my concerns about a classic British car at risk of loss or damage. I informed the cops that I would be removing it to a safe place for storage at no cost to anyone else. I went back when I had removed it to my lock up and nothing more was said. Ever.

[purplebargeken]

I have some good waterless washing stuff if you need a hand as only 20 mins away from Barnet.

[DSdriver]

I’d imagine that as soon as you washed or tried to

move it the owner will make themselves known by sprinting out of their home and asking what’s going on.

 

 

Sounds like a plan

[cpjitservices]

According to AskMid this car is also insured.

 

Cant get any more legal than this car!

[cpjitservices]

Not sure about where you live but we have a website around here called next door, I'm on it for my area as is most of my street - maybe see if there is a site for your area and ask on there who's it is someone may be the neighbour of the owner etc.

 

http://nextdoor.co.uk

[Faker]

Vehicle tampering - can only happen on a road, has to be a motor vehicle, doesn't constitute theft, and can fall within the definition by simply washing the car. However there is a lawful defense, being that the rightful owner wouldn't object, or would give you permission given the circumstances.

 

Interference - can happen anywhere, but there needs be an intention of theft. No intention to steal, not interference. Again there's a legal defense as above.

 

TADA - Move the vehicle anywhere, by driving, towing or pushing, and it's taking and driving away. Not theft... However... there's a legal defense as mentioned above.

 

Same goes for criminal damage.

 

So.... if you've covered all the bases as mentioned in this post. You've carried out your own house to house, spoken with the council, and have still not located the owner, you can document exactly what you're doing, prove the steps taken to help the owner, and carry out the wash and shift to another parking spot without really any major concerns... as the owner or registered keeper is the only person who can lodge a complaint to police. If it's your honestly held belief that this vehicle may be removed, and potentially scrapped (council yard will only retain it for a short period, then it's destroyed), you can act as long as you firmly believe the owner would have given you consent. That doesn't mean you can claim ownership. Just means you could act on their behalf. Wash, wipe, clear leaves, remove sticker. You're actions clearly demonstrate it's not abandoned.

 

But if the MOT, Tax or insurance lapse... you're goosed.

[wuvvum]

The Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 actually makes for quite scary reading.  It's so vaguely worded that it essentially gives absolute power to local authority employees to decide what is and isn't an abandoned vehicle, with very little recourse for the legal owner, even in the face of a patently unreasonable decision.  There was even an initiative a few years ago to make the terms even harsher, among other things reducing the notice period to 24 hours rather than 7 days - although thankfully this doesn't seem to have made it onto the books so far.

 

I'm wondering whether there might be some kind of redress through the European courts if the council tows away a fully legal vehicle just because it's a few years old and a bit dirty.  Surely personal property rights must be enshrined in EU law somewhere?  Where's ole Breadbin when you need him?

[UltraWomble]

http://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/Library/Abandoned%20Vehicles%20Flow%20Chart.pdf

[strangeangel]

I'm wondering whether there might be some kind of redress through the European courts if the council tows away a fully legal vehicle just because it's a few years old and a bit dirty.  Surely personal property rights must be enshrined in EU law somewhere?  

 

There may well be, but any such redress would almost certainly arrive too late for the Triumph. I think it's going to come down to the sort of 'direct action' discussed above.

 

Good luck with this mission, uk_senator. I only wish I think of something useful that would help you in saving this fine old car.

[alcyonecorporation]

Have taken direct action in the form of 'this will not be good PR for you' polite email. 

Have a picture of a Channel Islands Special Harold instead. I actually shot video of the collection; we ended up going past Tintern Abbey at one point. 

[nigel bickle]

I've done close, twice. Both times hospitalised, once in Liege, once local.

 

Both fully legal, parked 25 yards from my house & everyone knew they were mine but a local chancer tried because they hadn't moved in a while.

 

2 phone calls sorted it, but I'd not have known if I hadn't been tipped off.

 

I was fairly relaxed about it the first time, but less do the second, politely suggesting that this was clearly harassment .

 

They've left me alone since.

 

With regard to this Herald, I'd help if I could.

I have the towing gear to ease it 100yards, (locked & in gear), but I'm not local enough/ well enough to do so.

 

I wish you well, hope you're successful. This kind of persecution (because if it's legal, that's what it is) boils my piss.

[alcyonecorporation]

I've done close, twice. Both times hospitalised, once in Liege, once local.

 

Both fully legal, parked 25 yards from my house & everyone knew they were mine but a local chancer tried because they hadn't moved in a while.

 

2 phone calls sorted it, but I'd not have known if I hadn't been tipped off.

 

I was fairly relaxed about it the first time, but less do the second, politely suggesting that this was clearly harassment .

 

They've left me alone since.

 

With regard to this Herald, I'd help if I could.

I have the towing gear to ease it 100yards, (locked & in gear), but I'm not local enough/ well enough to do so.

 

I wish you well, hope you're successful. This kind of persecution (because if it's legal, that's what it is) boils my piss.

 

FWIW I can get all the classic car mags foaming about it if the council were daft enough to lift it. 

Would be happy to let the competition know if it stops an old car hitting the scales. 

[steveo3002]

would it be worth a email /call to local newspaper ?      council towing away legal cars because ?   although i supose theyre all car haters now so hard to get anyone on side

 

or would parking bumper to bumper to block it in help?  note on the dash to owner if he needs to move it

[alcyonecorporation]

would it be worth a email /call to local newspaper ?      council towing away legal cars because ?   although i supose theyre all car haters now so hard to get anyone on side

 

or would parking bumper to bumper to block it in help?  note on the dash to owner if he needs to move it

Funnily enough......

[dollywobbler]

I see Practical Classics have picked this up and have shared it on Facebook.

[vaughant]

Does anyone on here work for debt collection/carpark related companies?

If so it works be pretty easy to get the owner's name and address and could be passed on via PM?

[SiC]

I see Practical Classics have picked this up and have shared it on Facebook.

Those damn journalists! Never researching and investigating their own content! Just relying on social media/reddit/etc for their content!

 

In all seriousness, hopefully a bit of publicity will find and alert it's owner quickly.

[uk_senator]

Didnt have time to go today, I`m just going to have something to eat, then I`m going there with a tyre pump, a large bottle of water & this (now) laminated A4 sign I just printed emphasising its fully legal & not abandoned to put on it:

 

[eddyramrod]

"Please do NO touch" ...?  NOT, surely?

 

Apart from that, sterling effort there, well done!