It amazes me reading the many stories in this forum about cars being clamped, towed and fines being dished out within days of running out of tax or re-newing SORN late. Well i've been reporting 2 cars for over 2 weeks now which are not only parked but also being used on a dialy basis without displaying current tax discs. The one is displaying a disc which expired Aug 09 and the other is not displaying a disc at all.

Guess what; when I checked online with the DVLA, one car is showing as currently SORN'd and the other un-licenced since Aug 09! I also checked on the MIB web site and... yes, you guessd it, both are showing as having no insurance!

Dispite me reporting these 2 cars (parked within yards of each other in the same street) over the last 2 weeks nothing has been done so far.

Any thoughts fellow legitimate, fully payed up members of the driving club?

__________________

Who are you reporting them to Sam?

On line here;

https://www.dvla.gov.uk/dvla/onlineservices/report_unlicensed.aspx?ext=dg

But more importantly (re the insurance issue); directly to a PCSO and by telehpne to the local old bill.

I reported a car, in the same position as you describe, to the council as abandoned, they were out the say day and put all these stickers over it.

Mmm, may try that but the problem is the said cars tend to move around during the day so they obviously aren't abandoned... and I got a fairly good idea what kind of response I would get from our LA!

Contacted the LA today and just as I expected they told me that as the cars are in use, they are not abandoned and all they can do is pass the info on to the DVLA (which I have already done myself over 2 weeks ago). I wonder what would happpen if either of therse cars are involved in a RTA and someone is injured before anything is done dispite the police being aware of this? Bit different to what happens on 'Road Wars'!

I will keep you posted!

__________________

Good news; the old bill rang to tell me one of the cars was seized on Friday! One down, one to go!

__________________

You need a sign in your window now Sam:

I'm a PC (Political Corrector)

and getting rid of untaxed cars was my idea.

You'll be able to make a nice collection of bricks.

You need a sign in your window now Sam:

 

I'm a PC (Political Corrector)

and getting rid of untaxed cars was my idea.

 

You'll be able to make a nice collection of bricks.

Don't care Conniff. I pay all my insurance, tax ect ect and keep fully legal. These parasites may run up the back of me one day and maybe injure my kids. Beleive me, they would wish they had insurance if they did... personal health insurance!

Thing si, if they aren't taxed it follows that their likely to be uninsured and in this case they arn't. You should be pleased to know that the one that was seized is the one which was SORNd!

Please form an ordely q for the congratulations!

__________________

I actually agree - I am fed up of the number of unregistered, uninsured cars (driven by people without driving licences) that pick up kids from my kids schools every day.

The local police just sit on the motorway to catch people, so as long as the people stay off that they know they are safe. When one was reported, the police knocked on the door of the owner to ask whether it was their car, and when that was denied they "could not do anything".

Mind you - one person was caught a few years ago. Untaxed, uninsured, no driving licence, no MOT. Total fine £50, and points on their licence... if they ever apply for it. They drove home from the court.

So.. Sailor Sam - I would love you to come round for a cuppa I might just give you directions that involve the scenic route, so bring your phone!

I actually agree - I am fed up of the number of unregistered, uninsured cars (driven by people without driving licences) that pick up kids from my kids schools every day.

 

The local police just sit on the motorway to catch people, so as long as the people stay off that they know they are safe. When one was reported, the police knocked on the door of the owner to ask whether it was their car, and when that was denied they "could not do anything".

 

Mind you - one person was caught a few years ago. Untaxed, uninsured, no driving licence, no MOT. Total fine £50, and points on their licence... if they ever apply for it. They drove home from the court.

 

 

So.. Sailor Sam - I would love you to come round for a cuppa I might just give you directions that involve the scenic route, so bring your phone!

Yeah, sometimes it makes you think; 'Why bother paying tax/insurance, if these are the penalties that are dished out?' Your example clearly shows that the 'offender' got a far better deal being an illegal driver than a legal one. What message does that send out?

By the way; Coffee, black with 2 sugars and shaken, not stirred!

__________________

Sailor Sam, you are not the guardian of fairness that you think you are. This whole area is one that hits the less well off. Like you, I deplore driving without insurance, but I have been hit for no tax three times recently, despite my best efforts. Without wanting to go into long ancdote, I have to park on the street because I have no garage or driveway. having a car which I knew I was not going to use for some time, I sorned it and removed it to some private land, the owner of which suddenly wanted me to remove it. I insured it and drove it to its MOT. Although I had made sure it was roadworthy, it failed on emissions, which like most motorists I am not equipped to test myself. Before I could get that fixed I was clamped, literally after one day illegally on the road. The money I had to pay to retrive it was the money I had earmarked for tax and MOT, and 24 hours after getting it back from the pound I was clapmed again.

So this is a minefield, sailor, and before reporting people or sounding off you need to consider that people like me who do everythng they can to abide by the law but still manage to get clobbered by it.

Sailor Sam, you are not the guardian of fairness that you think you are. This whole area is one that hits the less well off. Like you, I deplore driving without insurance, but I have been hit for no tax three times recently, despite my best efforts. Without wanting to go into long ancdote, I have to park on the street because I have no garage or driveway. having a car which I knew I was not going to use for some time, I sorned it and removed it to some private land, the owner of which suddenly wanted me to remove it. I insured it and drove it to its MOT. Although I had made sure it was roadworthy, it failed on emissions, which like most motorists I am not equipped to test myself. Before I could get that fixed I was clamped, literally after one day illegally on the road. The money I had to pay to retrive it was the money I had earmarked for tax and MOT, and 24 hours after getting it back from the pound I was clapmed again.

So this is a minefield, sailor, and before reporting people or sounding off you need to consider that people like me who do everythng they can to abide by the law but still manage to get clobbered by it.

Please read my original post again. You will see that the said cars have been driving around for a couple of weeks. One car was showing an expired tax of Aug 09 and the other no tax disc at all but SORNd. Both vehicles were un-insured end of.

While I understand your plight, the whole idea of this thread was to demonstrate that there are those who seem to escape the authorities attention for many months when people, like yourself, get nabbed at the drop of a hat. From what you have said, you were clearly unlucky but did you not consider contacting the DVLA before hand and explain your plight and intentions before leaving the car on the public road while SORNd? The rules are pretty clear cut as far as I can see and there are very few (if any) exceptions. While i do not doubt your story, I would suggest that your circumstances are not typical of 'normal' breaches of the SORN rules so it is highly unlikely I would end up reporting 'people like you'. But in any event, I will continue to check on line any vehicle I see which is either not displaying a current tax disc or one that is signiffitantly out of date and if they are indeed untaxed, I will report them. I will also (more importantly) check their insurance status via the MIB and if uninsured, report them to the old bill also.

I also have fallen on hard times recently, but have maintianed my insurance policy (fully comp) and re-newed my tax on time (by saving PO stamps each week to spread the cost) and have sometimes struggled to do so. Basically, if you want the convenience of owning a car these days, then you have to be prepared to pay for it like everyone else.

__________________

I will also (more importantly) check their insurance status via the MIB and if uninsured, report them to the old bill also.

Whlst I applaud your diligence on this, you do realise you are misusing the MID database if you are obtaining free checks of vehicles that you do not own.

Whlst I applaud your diligence on this, you do realise you are misusing the MID database if you are obtaining free checks of vehicles that you do not own.

Yes, but i'm not.

__________________

Further update; The second car (the one SORNd) was spotted again last night so I gave the Police a reminder. It has been SORNd since Jan 2010 and is still being driven around on a daily basis. Surely you would of thought it has passed an ANPR camera within that time?

I'll keep you posted.

__________________

Sailor Sam, you are not the guardian of fairness that you think you are. This whole area is one that hits the less well off. Like you, I deplore driving without insurance, but I have been hit for no tax three times recently, despite my best efforts. Without wanting to go into long ancdote, I have to park on the street because I have no garage or driveway. having a car which I knew I was not going to use for some time, I sorned it and removed it to some private land, the owner of which suddenly wanted me to remove it. I insured it and drove it to its MOT. Although I had made sure it was roadworthy, it failed on emissions, which like most motorists I am not equipped to test myself. Before I could get that fixed I was clamped, literally after one day illegally on the road. The money I had to pay to retrive it was the money I had earmarked for tax and MOT, and 24 hours after getting it back from the pound I was clapmed again.

So this is a minefield, sailor, and before reporting people or sounding off you need to consider that people like me who do everythng they can to abide by the law but still manage to get clobbered by it.

To be fair SailorSam reported the cars for actually driving around, which is a world away from them being parked up and not in use.

If everybody did what SailorSam has done then we would have less uninsured/illegal cars on our roads and that to my way of a thinking is a good thing.

Mossy

Mmm, 4 days after reminding the old bill, the car (a red Vauxhall Corsa) still roams the streets! Seems to be parked up overnight in the same location. I'll give it till Monday then report it again! I have to say (as in my original post), strange that there are people comming on here with tales of; 'I parked my car for a few hours on the street in readyness for it's MOT, and within an hour it got clamped!' Or 'I moved my car off the drive while SORNd breifly, went back into the house, came back after 15 minutes and found my car clamped!'... when this car has been SORNd since the beginning of the year and is still getting away with it, even after its been reported about 3 times now!

__________________

Further update; The second car (the one SORNd) was spotted again last night so I gave the Police a reminder. It has been SORNd since Jan 2010 and is still being driven around on a daily basis. Surely you would of thought it has passed an ANPR camera within that time?

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

ANPR cameras are mainly used on the motorway, as that gives them the maximum number of cars per minute, or a dual carriageway. They don't bother with built up areas/ back streets, so people who stick to those are managing just fine - even when they park illegally and collect parking tickets. No idea how that works as my parking tickets always have my tax details on, so it is obviously checked!

ANPR cameras are mainly used on the motorway, as that gives them the maximum number of cars per minute, or a dual carriageway. They don't bother with built up areas/ back streets, so people who stick to those are managing just fine - even when they park illegally and collect parking tickets. No idea how that works as my parking tickets always have my tax details on, so it is obviously checked!

Mmm, but don't traffic cars have ANPR cameras fitted? In any event, I'm trying to demonstrate that some people (the more determined law breakers) seem to be able to evade the DVLA (in respect of tax issues) and the police (in respect of insurance issues) for a signifitant amount of time despite being reported when others who say they have been caught in some cases in less than an hour of their car being placed on the road and the DVLA have swooped out of nowhere!

OK there were 2 cars which were parked in the same street (both un-insured) and one has been seized. But the other (SORNd) continues to get away with it. Why can't the police clamp it? well I did ask them and the reply was; 'we have to actually catch it being driven'. Does this mean that its OK for it to possibly be involved in an accident while the police know its being kept on the road while uninsured and SORNd? Surely the police have the power to remove the car from the road while it is parked up? How does this protect the inocent motorist (or pedestrian) from being hit by an un-insured driver?

As for issuing a parking ticket with the tax disc details on, in this case it would be tricky as it hasn't got a tax disc on display!

__________________

I have never seen a traffic car off the motorway (or access roads to the motorway), they certainly don't bother us in the village. Maybe we are not typical, in that we have a motorway wending its merry way through a largely rural county?

In this county I suspect that if you live on the roads that lead from the police stations onto the motorway (or quiet, side streets that can be used to avoid the tail back and still get to the motorway) you would be picked up within 24 hours of having left your car there without tax. If you stay in a quiet, out of the way village, just using the car to shop, go to the post office and pick the kids up from the local school, then you probably have years before anyone bothers you.

Of course if you live in the same road as a traffic officer, then your chances are probably pretty poor as well

Maybe the reason for the discrepancy is that simple?

Not all traffic cars have APNR fitted, some police forces also have pro-active units (usually large cities) and most of these have ANPR cameras.

Mossy

Yes Mossy, I know but the 'Volvo' estate type cars have i'm reliably informed. It appears that this Corsa has managed to dodge the police for over 6 months now so it's doe 'well' to avoid the ones with ANPR fitted! You would also think that not displaying a tax disc would at least attract a ticket while its parked up in the street!

My main concerrn is what happens if its involved in a serious accident AFTER the police know its driving around without insurance? I cannot believe there is nothing they can do unless they actually see it being driven.

__________________

Update; Said car passed me in the street yesterday so rang DVLA today and sure enough, its still showing as being SORNd. This morning (as usual), it was parked in the same spot in the street where the on-street parking is limited to 2 hours (between 8am and 6pm) so the car is never there between those times. I've told the police it appears to 'leave home' between 9 and 10am but yet it still evades them! There's me thinking that they would act as they do in 'Road Wars'!

__________________

Down here in Essex, with programmes on like "Police interceptors" you get the impression that it would be impossible to drive around with no tax.... yet I have also had a persistent "car tax dodger" driving his car around my area!

There are always ANPR vans parked up. Further to this, traffic cars as well as the anpr intercept teams are usually floating around... yet some still slip through the net..