Sorry about the length of this post but this was just beyond a joke.

Three years ago my car was seized by Newlyn PLC.

Here are the cirmumstances that I am not sure about the legality of it:

1) The vehicle was clamped at 8:49 on a friday evening and removed from a public road 21 miles from my home.

I thought when on a public road they had to wait 2 hours before removing the vehicle if the keeper is not present.

If those two hours occur after 9 at night and 7 in the morning they are supposed to wait for the next working day.

2) Due to moving house when the PCN was issued (I admit I did forget about it) I did not recieve any notifications.

Even though I reregistered the vehicle to my new address Newlyn & Harrow council sent the notices of enforcement to the wrong address.

The warrant was to the incorrect address yet after the seizure they managed to find the correct address to send furthur fine notices to.

I thought having the incorrect address on the warrant of seizure made it invalid.

3) This was my work vehicle and was only worth around £600.

I was and still am self employed.

This was explained to the individual that seized the vehicle and I was told it was tough luck and they had every right to take it.

I understood that tools (Which were in the vehicles boot) & vehicles related to work that are valued at under £1000 could not be removed.

I raised a complaint with the office who claim at no point did I tell them that this is a work vehicle since they record all calls.

I explained that I had as per their instructions contacted their enforcement agent.

4) I could not afford to pay all the fees so had to let them auction the vehicle off.

I told them to come and collect the keys and the logbook.

They refused (By Phone) and hit me with locksmith and DVLA Fees.

The DVLA Fees are a joke as the next point will tell you.

5) Around 2 weeks after the vehicle was auctioned off I started receiving Bus lane & Parking tickets from bradford MDC.

I naturally contested these and send the proof of seizure & auction to bradford MDC.

Bradford told me that this proof was insufficient and that I was still the registered keeper of the vehicle so was liable for all fines in relation to the vehicle.

This I believe is incorrect

the problem is I had to pay them due to the fact that Bradford MDC has taken out orders of liability against me while the appeals were still being processed.

Do all councils tear up the rule book when it comes to money?

DVLA would not take any action or help me with this situation since I did not have the new keepers details.

Newlyn would not disclose them.

When I questioned how I was supposed to send DVLA notification all I recieved was a

"We Comply fully within the law"

crap they give as a catchall.

I think this one £65 parking ticket ended up costing me directly & indirectly over £5000.

I know there is no way to get anything back since the industry is legalised theft

but is there any way to make life uncomfortable legally for companies like Newlyn PLC.

This is not about getting even and is more about trying to enforce change in both councils & the collection industry.

what has a council tax liability order got to do with PCN's issued by a council?

did you have PCN's issued both before and after you sold the vehicle??

your story is rather confusing...three years after? the 'events'??

This was all to do with a PCN. Just one PCN.

Around 2 weeks after the vehicle was auctioned off I started receiving Bus lane & Parking tickets from bradford MDC.

I naturally contested these and send the proof of seizure & auction to bradford MDC.

so whats the above bit about?

just trying to tidy the story and the experts will pop in.

The OP is saying when the vehicle was sold the purchaser or someone they sold it to has not re-registered it and is clocking up new penalties in the Bradford area.

Answering some points raised by the OP:-

1. There are four methods of taking control of a vehicle [Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 Schedule 12 13(1) (a) to (d)]

In this case there are two possibilities.

It could be just immobilised using a clamp and if so it must be left for 2 hours before being removed.

I know of nothing to say it must be treated differently at night and it sounds like an urban or internet myth.

Control can also be taken by removing it to secure it elsewhere [13(1)©]

so even if they had clamped it they could remove it within the two hours and rely on the removal to take control rather than the immobilisation.

2. The address does not have to be your current one on the warrant.

The original address would have been obtained from the DVLA by the council so maybe the DVLA records were not updated immediately.

If another address is found later the council "may" apply to the traffic Enforcment Centre for the warrant to be reissued with the new address but it does not invalidate the warrrant if they do not.

3 & 4.

The wording of the exemption for a "work vehicle" is found in regulation 4(1)(a) of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013.

There are several elements to the wording and it must fit all of them.

The cases of Toseland Building Supplies v Bishop (1993) and Thompson v Bertie (2007) show that judges can be very strict in interpreting the exemption.

Just because a car is useful or used to get to places of work (even where they are not in one fixed spot making the use of public transport difficult) does not mean the judge will agree that the exemption will apply.

There is not a lot an EA can do if tools are in a locked boot other than allow you to come and collect them.

If you did not ask to do that what else could they do?

If they refused to let you get them, complain.

You could have sent them the keys and documents by post and that would have allowed them to get the tools out and store them until you could collect them and that would have increased the net proceeds of sale by reducing the disburesments mentioned and/or increasing the value of the vehicle.

5. If the penalties being incurred in Bradford are genuinely incurred by someone unconnected with you then keep pushing the point.

If Bradford council is getting the warrants on the penalties then complain to them.

Parking departments in councils are quite harsh and if you feel unfairly treated you may need to use their complaint procedure that will hopefully be explained on their website.

Also although you don't live in the area so you are not a potential vote for them you may get one of their elected councillors to intervene on your behalf.

Try contacting the leader of the council to plead your case about the new penalties.

 

5) Around 2 weeks after the vehicle was auctioned off I started receiving Bus lane & Parking tickets from Bradford MDC.

I naturally contested these and send the proof of seizure & auction to bradford MDC.

 

Bradford told me that this proof was insufficient and that I was still the registered keeper of the vehicle so was liable for all fines in relation to the vehicle.

 

This I believe is incorrect. The problem is I had to pay them due to the fact that Bradford MDC has taken out orders of liability against me while the appeals were still being processed.

 

DVLA would not take any action or help me with this situation since I did not have the new keepers details. Newlyn would not disclose them.

 

I think this one £65 parking ticket ended up costing me directly & indirectly over £5000.

 

I know there is no way to get anything back since the industry is legalised theft.

 

This is not about getting even and is more about trying to enforce change in both councils and the collection industry.

If you had not received the statutory notices, then you should have submitted an Out of Time witness statement. As the seizure and sale was 3 years ago, there would be little to gain by complaining now.

When you started to receive the parking notices in relation to contraventions that occurred after the vehicle had been auctioned, you should have approached DVLA with the evidence of seizure and they would have removed your details from their records in relation to this vehicle.

Your comment about wanting to enforce change in councils and the collection industry is an interesting one. Unfortunately, making an internet posts 3 years after the event will not influence change.