The grumpy thread

[Sh'Eds]

Received this in the post yesterday, a taxed, MOT'd and insured vehicle parked legally on the street on which I live but the council have decided it is abandoned and they are threatening to remove it. 

Interestingly no option presented in the letter to dispute this, just to 'discuss removal' or confirm 'no longer require the vehicle'

 

 

 

[High Jetter]

8 minutes ago, Sh'Eds said:

Interestingly no option presented in the letter to dispute this, just to 'discuss removal' or confirm 'no longer require the vehicle'

I would urgently phone the AVA and inform them of those facts, ideally confirming in writing in case they do proceed.

[horriblemercedes]

20 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

Ffs

Can't even blame BMW for this one. A Michelin tyre that I last checked yesterday 

[Sh'Eds]

9 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

I would urgently phone the AVA and inform them of those facts, ideally confirming in writing in case they do proceed.

I will be doing so / enquiring exactly what their criteria for this assessment was etc.

In the meantime, to mitigate any chance of removal, I have moved the vehicle to off street parking but that in itself is inconvenient as other vehicle usually uses that space so it will just be a different car parked on the road.

[Dan29]

16 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

I would urgently phone the AVA and inform them of those facts, ideally confirming in writing in case they do proceed.

@Sh'Eds Yes and I would urgently hide the car, preferably off the road, even better in a garage or somewhere else where it can't be seen. Obviously just moving it to a different street would be an option, but I'd be a bit concerned now it's on their radar.

EDIT: Just saw your reply above. Maybe just make sure the other vehicle swaps streets regularly so people can't say it's not being used? A pain in the arse, admittedly.

[High Jetter]

I just noticed the letter is unsgned,l which might alter it's validity. However, I'm more concerned with their criteria, if it's a taxed, ticketed and insured legally-parked vehicle. God knows there are plenty out there that don't possess those qualities.

[Sh'Eds]

27 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

However, I'm more concerned with their criteria, if it's a taxed, ticketed and insured legally-parked vehicle.

Exactly. It is, to be fair, an infrequently used car but always kept legal, of course the concern now is following the temporary hiatus of it being parked off road I will, as the weather improves, be using it more and it will be getting parked on the road, so to avoid falling foul of any further such threats I will want to ascertain exactly what criteria are used!

[castros_bro]

1 hour ago, Sh'Eds said:

Received this in the post yesterday, a taxed, MOT'd and insured vehicle parked legally on the street on which I live but the council have decided it is abandoned and they are threatening to remove it. 

Interestingly no option presented in the letter to dispute this, just to 'discuss removal' or confirm 'no longer require the vehicle'

 

 

 

Sound like a visit to the Coventry City Council office's car park is required as I am reliably informed there are a number of vehicles parked abandoned there which need reporting.

PS.     Registration document is not proof of ownership.

[horriblemercedes]

2 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

Ffs

Made it home. AA guy was a good dude. Looks like I've got away with minor damage. He has left it on an axle stand so I can take the wheel straight to a tyre place. The tyre itself is properly shredded

[cort1977]

@Sh'Eds It may well be a form letter sent out based on a nosy neighbour complaint.  Hopefully responding promptly and politely telling them it's not used everyday but fully legal will see the end of the matter. Would still move it around a bit though just in case.

[Sh'Eds]

21 minutes ago, cort1977 said:

@Sh'Eds It may well be a form letter sent out based on a nosy neighbour complaint.  Hopefully responding promptly and politely telling them it's not used everyday but fully legal will see the end of the matter. Would still move it around a bit though just in case.

To be honest I expect as much as it has been parked in the same spot for a while. Oh well spurred me on to getting it moved round to the garage to do some maintenance as drop links need replacing anyway, just haven't had opportunity/ headspace to deal with car stuff for a while due to miserable weather, lack of time, work and family stuff.

Now we have a bit of light in the evenings I am hoping to regain some enthusiasm.

[Mally]

On 16/03/2024 at 17:19, Minimad5 said:

Possibly, but this most certainly won't cover mortgage etc.

 

Yes and yes . Do feel free to P.M me further details, as I'm rather clueless on this matter

@chaseracer will fill you in better than I, but when reporting and asking for it to be put in the accident book keep copies of everything.

Time, date, name reported too.

They forgot* to put my late wife's accident in the book. Tribunal sorted it, but you need all the details to back you up.

[Saabnut]

Glorious warm spring day so where better to spend it than the local hospital oncology waiting room 😞

[Sh'Eds]

On 17/03/2024 at 15:36, Sh'Eds said:

Received this in the post yesterday, a taxed, MOT'd and insured vehicle parked legally on the street on which I live but the council have decided it is abandoned and they are threatening to remove it. 

Interestingly no option presented in the letter to dispute this, just to 'discuss removal' or confirm 'no longer require the vehicle'

 

 

 

As an update to my grumpy of yesterday. I received the below response from the Council today after I emailed them to confirm the vehicle was mine and not abandoned but parked:

"Thank you for making contact with us following our correspondence. I can confirm that the case has been closed as you have claimed the vehicle. No further action is pending. Just for clarity ,please see below information about vehicles reported to us and the process for such.

Any vehicle reported to the city council as being abandoned will be inspected by officers, the vehicle before reporting to us should have been parked in the same location without moving for a minimum of 21 days. Officers will attend and inspect it; the vehicle will need to meet a minimum of three criteria points before we can consider a DVLA registered keeper search.
The main criteria points we look for are.
Rusty brakes
Rubbish in or around the vehicle.
Broken or open windows.
Mould in or on the vehicle.
Fire damage.
Fluid leaking.
Stolen.
Dangerous position.
Unsecure.

Should the vehicle hit 3 of the above we formally request the keeper’s details from the DVLA. We write giving the keeper 7 days to let us know their intentions with the vehicle (that period is extended to 15 days if parked on private land). If the vehicle keeper makes contact within these time periods, then the vehicle has an owner and cannot be considered as abandoned. At that point we would stop our action. Should we get no response the vehicle would be taken in to 28-day storage and if no owner comes forward within 28 days the vehicle will be crushed. Having valid tax , MOT or insurance doesn’t not form part of the inspection process for possible abandonment."

 

[Jazoli]

51 minutes ago, Sh'Eds said:

As an update to my grumpy of yesterday. I received the below response from the Council today after I emailed them to confirm the vehicle was mine and not abandoned but parked:

"Thank you for making contact with us following our correspondence. I can confirm that the case has been closed as you have claimed the vehicle. No further action is pending. Just for clarity ,please see below information about vehicles reported to us and the process for such.

Any vehicle reported to the city council as being abandoned will be inspected by officers, the vehicle before reporting to us should have been parked in the same location without moving for a minimum of 21 days. Officers will attend and inspect it; the vehicle will need to meet a minimum of three criteria points before we can consider a DVLA registered keeper search.
The main criteria points we look for are.
Rusty brakes
Rubbish in or around the vehicle.
Broken or open windows.
Mould in or on the vehicle.
Fire damage.
Fluid leaking.
Stolen.
Dangerous position.
Unsecure.

Should the vehicle hit 3 of the above we formally request the keeper’s details from the DVLA. We write giving the keeper 7 days to let us know their intentions with the vehicle (that period is extended to 15 days if parked on private land). If the vehicle keeper makes contact within these time periods, then the vehicle has an owner and cannot be considered as abandoned. At that point we would stop our action. Should we get no response the vehicle would be taken in to 28-day storage and if no owner comes forward within 28 days the vehicle will be crushed. Having valid tax , MOT or insurance doesn’t not form part of the inspection process for possible abandonment."

 

Surely the 'discuss removal' gives you the option to discuss whether you plan to remove it, it all seems quite fair to me tbh.

[Pieman]

Making me grumpy early yesterday morning was driving from Birmingham to Oxford on the M40 in very heavy rain, and about one quarter of the vehicles I encountered had no lights on at all.  

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, Sh'Eds said:

Having valid tax , MOT or insurance doesn’t not form part of the inspection process for possible abandonment.

Actually, that's a fair point, to ensure something can be done about an otherwise legal car that has actually been abandoned in front of your house.

Some years ago, a dappy (now ex) mate was in a right state about having to see a doctor in a neighbouring town to ensure he was fit to drive. Said town is hard to park in, and he wasn't sure if he'd drive all the way or stop at a station on the way and catch a train. He got back home with absolutely no memory of where he'd left the car (possibly* due to paralytic celebrations after the visit) - not only which road he'd left it, but near which station.  I spent hours over several days driving him round likely locations, to no avail.

Some 5 or 6 months later he got a letter from the police as somebody had complained about it parked opposite his driveway, making it hard to access. As, by then, his licence was well and truly revoked I finally got to drive his E320 Cdi.

[sheffcortinacentre]

So if it's totally road leg

4 hours ago, Sh'Eds said:

As an update to my grumpy of yesterday. I received the below response from the Council today after I emailed them to confirm the vehicle was mine and not abandoned but parked:

"Thank you for making contact with us following our correspondence. I can confirm that the case has been closed as you have claimed the vehicle. No further action is pending. Just for clarity ,please see below information about vehicles reported to us and the process for such.

Any vehicle reported to the city council as being abandoned will be inspected by officers, the vehicle before reporting to us should have been parked in the same location without moving for a minimum of 21 days. Officers will attend and inspect it; the vehicle will need to meet a minimum of three criteria points before we can consider a DVLA registered keeper search.
The main criteria points we look for are.
Rusty brakes
Rubbish in or around the vehicle.
Broken or open windows.
Mould in or on the vehicle.
Fire damage.
Fluid leaking.
Stolen.
Dangerous position.
Unsecure.

Should the vehicle hit 3 of the above we formally request the keeper’s details from the DVLA. We write giving the keeper 7 days to let us know their intentions with the vehicle (that period is extended to 15 days if parked on private land). If the vehicle keeper makes contact within these time periods, then the vehicle has an owner and cannot be considered as abandoned. At that point we would stop our action. Should we get no response the vehicle would be taken in to 28-day storage and if no owner comes forward within 28 days the vehicle will be crushed. Having valid tax , MOT or insurance doesn’t not form part of the inspection process for possible abandonment."

 

So if a vehicle meets the legal  requirements to be on a public thoroughfare, on what legal grounds do the council have to steal someone's property?

[High Jetter]

Not steal, remove for 28 days safekeeping while contacting the reg keeper.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Yeah right all for free too.

[rattlecan]

14 hours ago, Pieman said:

Making me grumpy early yesterday morning was driving from Birmingham to Oxford on the M40 in very heavy rain, and about one quarter of the vehicles I encountered had no lights on at all.  

Yes it’s an issue & I rekon it’s down to modern cars with ‘so called’ auto lights. 
The lights don’t come on because it ain’t dark enough & the people driving them are now so used to having to do literally fuck all in a vehicle apart from point it, they never think to turn them on. 
My missus was pissing & moaning the other day because her Kuga had been for a mot & then when it was getting dark her lights didn’t come on. I said turn the fuckers on then, ‘it should be automatic, blah blah blah’ 

I said but they’ve checked the car for mot & just left them in the off position, take some responsibility ffs

[MikeR]

caravan insurance , last year it was 400 notes , F&*^ me not paying that much again , so this year had a look around and google did the rest and filled my feed with

information , and as a result found a place that would do me for 180 notes ...........  less than 50% of last years price .

got the expected renewal last week which I expected to have gone up to some 400 plus ...

350 ?????

given this day of inflation , car insurance going up etc , how did that happen ?  , do they just have a dart board with prices on it ...

not being reamed out by that insurance company again ..

[Metal Guru]

28 minutes ago, MikeR said:

caravan insurance , last year it was 400 notes , F&*^ me not paying that much again , so this year had a look around and google did the rest and filled my feed with

information , and as a result found a place that would do me for 180 notes ...........  less than 50% of last years price .

got the expected renewal last week which I expected to have gone up to some 400 plus ...

350 ?????

given this day of inflation , car insurance going up etc , how did that happen ?  , do they just have a dart board with prices on it ...

not being reamed out by that insurance company again ..

There seems to be no rhyme nor reason with insurance prices.

I had four different insurance policies with Direct Line.

The renewals we’re as follows. ( all except pet had no claims )

Pet +66%  Car +93% House  +43%,  needless to say I went elsewhere and got prices within 10% if last years premiums.

Fourth one just in, Landlord Insurance expecting a similar hike but it’s up just 8%.

Not complaining about that one but WTF?

 

[Markeh]

I have a sore throat from the weekend, which is making talking fairly difficult and hard to understand. So this interview I have on Teams at 4pm can only go well - I'm not sure they've ever heard someone explain their .NET experience sounding like Orville before.

[DavieW]

A perfectly good pavement on the other side but she's got to walk on the road with traffic approaching her from behind. 😳

 

[Bren]

Only a slight grump. This - 

Kit has 1992 on the box. Molds are probably ten years older. And it shows - the fit of the wings is appalling despite sanding and trimming - any looser and they would flap. It's going to take lots of filling - and sanding.

I had a peak on youtube at the latest airfix vulcan - new molds and the wings are one piece - the detail is superb.

I'll just have to crack on.

[beko1987]

4 hours ago, Markeh said:

I have a sore throat from the weekend, which is making talking fairly difficult and hard to understand. So this interview I have on Teams at 4pm can only go well - I'm not sure they've ever heard someone explain their .NET experience sounding like Orville before.

Good luck! Have a few glasses of water queued up

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, Bren said:

Only a slight grump. This - 

Kit has 1992 on the box. Molds are probably ten years older. And it shows - the fit of the wings is appalling despite sanding and trimming - any looser and they would flap. It's going to take lots of filling - and sanding.

I had a peak on youtube at the latest airfix vulcan - new molds and the wings are one piece - the detail is superb.

I'll just have to crack on.

Mine is of a similar age and has been wrapped up in the loft awaiting repair for longer than we have lived here which is over ten years. You just spurred me on to dig it out.

But I think the panel gaps were better than yours before it broke. This is me pinching it together.

Still visible but not as much yours. It's par for the course with Airfix of the time though isn't it. I have memories of having to clamp fuselages together whilst the glue dried as they were so bowed. 

I repainted this one as XH558 many years ago but I'd used all the transfers previously so everything on this is hand painted except the fleet number which is Letraset. Even the roundels and Union Jack are hand painted. I had more patience in those days.

 

If you want no panel gaps you could try an inflatable one.

This has 1984 stamped on the bottom.

[myglaren]

Best thing with Airfix kits is firing the glue from an air rifle.

[barefoot]

I remember painting the helmet of a 1/72  YF16 pilot red white and blue, like the paintwork of the exterior.