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angel81uk

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  1. As this one is still ongoing I wonder if anyone has any advice? I've ended up having to pay the fine as it had been passed from a debt collection agency to a solicitor and legal action was about to start. I hope to claim this back somehow but if I have to take the hit for now then so be it. The problem is the vehicle still isn't declared SORN. I've spoken to the DVLA again (I'm awaiting a response to a letter I wrote to them last month) who agree that I would be making a false declaration if I filled out a SORN application whilst not knowing where the vehicle is. They recommended I speak to the police again. On phoning the police I spoke to a very helpful officer who had been through a similar situation himself (has received complaints re his SORN car parked in a private bay which people think is a road). He spoke to his sergeant and they agreed to report my car as stolen. Situation solved I thought! Then this morning I get a call from another officer who was looking into the case. She takes the same line that was originally taken in April 2009. As it was the DVLA who took the vehicle it hasn't been stolen. Unless I can get the DVLA to write to the police stating when they returned the vehicle and the location it was returned to then it can't be reported as stolen. So I'm still stuck in the situation where the car isn't declared SORN or taxed and isn't listed as stolen so I'm still open to any fines the DVLA care to throw at me. Any suggestions?
  2. Ok, are you sitting down with your chosen beverage to hand as this could be a long and interesting one! In April 2009 a DVLA "Clamping Partner" towed and impounded my car. The reason? They claimed it was being kept on a public road whilst declared SORN. The reality? It was parked in my privately owned parking space outside my privately owned residence. Cue a long, drawn out argument with the clamping partner, me saying it was parked on private land and here's my proof, them saying we don't care we say its a public road. The DVLA removed themselves from the argument saying they don't get involved in disputes regarding public/private land and if the clamping partner took the car then they did so correctly as they know the rules. At this stage I was planning on scrapping the car anyway so there was no way I was going to pay them to release it. If they wanted to hold on to it and eventually crush it they're welcome to, it saves me the effort. Fast forward 7 months to November 2009 and I get a phone call from the Clamping Partner saying they were releasing my car without charge and after a bit of an argument they agreed to return it to the location it was towed from (my privately owned parking space). No apology, no nothing, I guess they realised the error of their ways and wanted to use the space in the pound for a vehicle that someone was willing to pay to release. Well the vehicle was never returned to me. As far as I was aware the clamping partner couldn't be bothered to bring it back to me. That's not what the DVLA records say though. More on that in a moment. Fast forward another 13 months to the present day and I've received a Debt Recovery Notice from a debt collection agency on behalf of the DVLA. They are wanting an £80 out of court settlement as I am the registered keeper of an unlicensed vehicle (unlicensed since April 2010). Well yes, I suppose that is factually correct, I am still the registered keeper and it isn't licensed. This is where we go back to the DVLA records of the seizure and subsequent release of my car. After a few phone calls I have found out that the records state that the vehicle was indeed returned to me in Nov 09 and apparently include photographic evidence of the return along with a note to say they left me a voicemail informing me of it's return. The car was never returned to me, the road I live on or a reasonable distance from it. The voicemail doesn't exist either. The DVLA records then apparently go on to say that the car was seized and returned a second time under the same circumstances, however this time there is no record mentioning them trying to inform me of the situation. I haven't seen my car since the day it was taken back in April 2009. The records say it was returned to me but it wasn't and no one can tell me where the vehicle is. It has to all intents and purposes disappeared. So I'm left with a debt recovery notice for being the registered keeper of an unlicensed vehicle. Great. How on earth was I supposed to license a vehicle that has gone missing?! I can't make a factually correct SORN declaration as I cannot declare that the vehicle will be kept off public roads. I can't tax it as I don't know where it is to get it MOT'd etc. I can't de-register as the registered keeper and I haven't sold, transferred to the motor trade or exported the vehicle. I couldn't even report it as stolen because as far as the Police are concerned the DVLA seized it rather than stole it. It's a complete catch 22. The debt recovery notice is correct, I am the registered keeper of an unlicensed vehicle. But only because I had no way of not being the registered keeper or licensing the vehicle. Even if I pay the £80 the situation still won't be resolved as the car will still be unlicensed. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I should approach this one? There is one part of the debt recovery notice that particularly amused me though. They state that if I do not pay the out of court settlement immediately legal action may commence and they might clamp or impound the vehicle. They'll have to find it first!!!
  3. Don't want to thread jack, but they took my car as they claim it was SORN in a public place (not a private parking space). They're telling me that under the "new powers" they are entitled to do so. I've not been able to read up on these new powers myself yet so I was hoping patdavies might be able to point me in the right direction. I'm not saying that the part of the act he is referring to applies in my case.
  4. As I understand it VERA was extended last year (October 2008 ) so now a vehicle declared SORN can not be kept on a public highway OR a public place. I haven't found an up to date version of the act as yet to be able to confirm that though, at the moment I'm just going by what NCP and DVLA have told me and what I have read online. DVLA have confirmed that a parking space associated with a dwelling is not a public place. But they're not willing to get involved in proving if it is indeed a parking space associated dwelling as in their words "we do not know the local area". So if DVLA won't tell them it's a private parking space and they wont accept a copy of my lease showing the space belongs to me then I don't quite know what to try next.
  5. I'm not going to say you're wrong, but can I ask where I can find info on these new powers? As far as I was aware the new powers covered Public Highways and added Public Places but not private property.
  6. Having reviewed the photos they've now decided it's not a public highway. Now they're calling it a "Public Place" and say that under new powers they are allowed to remove vehicles from public places also. As far as they are concerned because there are no barriers or clear signs stating "Residents Only" or something similar then the public are free to park in the spaces hence it's a public place. I now have a copy of the building plans from the developers clearly showing each parking space and the flat it belongs to. I'll try sending that over tomorrow and see if it helps but I'm not getting my hopes up on that one!
  7. Yes, it's definitely on the trace database as being towed by the DVLA. I initially thought the car had been stolen by the local dodgy scrap merchant who tried to tow it away a few months ago so called the police then. They told me that before they would look into it I personally needed to call trace and see if it was on the database. It was trace who told me the DVLA had towed it away. This really is like banging your head against a brick wall isn't it?! I found out today that it's NCP who actually have my car and they wont release it without charges unless the DVLA tell them to. Speaking the the DVLA (who were actually quite helpful!) they say if it was parked on private property attached to a dwelling owned by myself NCP should not have taken the car. However they will not get involved with proving that the parking space is private land, that argument is between myself and NCP. The idiot at the NCP pound is still insisting that for it to be a privately owned parking space it should be clearly marked on the road. Utter tosh I said, "would you tow a car from someones driveway just because it doesn't have private parking space painted on the ground?" "no, of course not but you were parked at the road side, not on a drive way. Your space should be marked by the local authority". Why on earth would the local authorities go round painting parking bays on a road they neither own nor maintain?! Does anyone know how I can get in touch with NCP Services head office so I can speak to someone there? All I can find is an 0844 number which gives me options to speak to payroll, new business department etc. No option to go through to an operator and no options for the "consumer".
  8. Police won't give me the time of day unfortunately. I called them, they said if it's on the "trace" database as being towed for an offence then as far as they're concerned it hasn't been stolen!
  9. Hi there, I was hoping someone might be able to offer me some advice. The DVLA towed my car (declared SORN) from my privately owned parking space outside my flat today. They claim it was a "direct removal" (ie, no clamp first, no warning, no nothing) as it was parked on the public highway! How they got the idea it was a public highway I'll never know. First of all it's a new estate, the road outside the flat has not been adopted by the council, it is still 100% private road. But it wasn't parked on the private road, it was parked in a marked, private parking space which is in the middle of a row of other privately owned spaces at the side of the private road. (wow, that's a lot of privates!) I can prove that the parking space is owned and maintained by myself (it is outlined on the title deeds to the property). Having spoken to the pound today they say they have photos of the car taken before they removed it but the photo doesn't show any markings to say it's a private parking space so it's not a private parking space. Well, the space is marked, the area is brickweave paving with slightly darker bricks marking out the parking space and there is a plaque on the kerbside which shows the flat to which the car belongs. Of course the kerbside plaque isn't visible when the car is parked infront of the kerb and unfortunately the darker bricks don't show in the photos. Any ideas where I might be able to go with this one? I could send them a photo of the empty parking space which clearly shows the markings to prove it's private land, but they say that's no good as I/they can't prove that the car was parked in that exact spot before it was removed. I didn't think the DVLA were able to remove cars from the owners property under any circumstances, even if it wasn't declared SORN, but maybe I'm wrong. Any help appreciated!
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