Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/household-bills/repairs-rip-shame-millions-motorists-10907702

Growing numbers of motorists are having their cars clamped and towed away because of confusion over tax disc changes. New figures published a year after the tax disc was scrapped suggest that drivers are still struggling to adjust to the new electronic system. The disc was an obvious reminder. It has now gone and we think people might be forgetting The number of vehicles being clamped or impounded has leapt from about 5,500 a month under the old system to more than 8,000 a month. This hit a peak of 10,554 in July. The increase has been put down to confusion over new rules regarding transfer of ownership which came in at the same time that tax discs were scrapped after 93 years. More ... So their plan on how to get more money out of the motorist seems to be working

Just a quick question, but why on other forums, when regulars are proven incorrect (and arguably costly to motorists), one is either barred from posting or accused of being a Parking Operator....Some of the advice on MSE and others is appalling.....and am I right in thinking that the moderators on some forums are indeed directors of appeals companies?

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/motorists-entitled-refunds-over-wrongly-issued-pcso-parking-203555260.html#4TDwUhA

This is simply awful and if other local authorites follows the poor example of London Borough of Islington it will be appalling. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-3124279/Is-start-diesel-tax-Islington-charges-extra-96-today.html

A careful driver who only nips to the shops: why was Stan asked to pay £12k to insure his Fiesta? Millions of elderly motorists taken for a ride

It has come to my attention that Redbridge council are unfairly profiteering from motorists driving in and around the Ilford area. I am posting here to find out if there is anything myself or others can do to 'overhaul' this system as it is unfair on drivers and is purely a money making scheme for them. Recently myself and a few other guests attended a dinner party and used the Citipark multi-story car park in Clements Road, Ilford. To enter and exit the car park there is a small intersection that splits the one way street and prevents drivers from driving back down the wrong way when exiting the car park. Upon exiting the car park you are immediately directed to the right and the intersection then directs you to the left into Clements road. You then proceed down two lanes. One leads you to the left - under a building through a small tunnel - into Clements Lane. The right hand lane continues to lead you down Clements Road towards Ilford main high street (High Road). We used three vehicles to attend. The drivers of the other two vehicles have informed me that they have both received a penalty notice from Redbridge council along with photographic evidence demanding £130 (£65 if paid early and appealing the decision could be very risky and costly) for driving down a restricted road meant for buses and access only. I myself have not received a penalty notice (yet). I don't recall driving down the wrong lane but I shall update the thread if I do. From looking at Google street view and from searching around I can see why. It is not very clear to me what the road priorities are and the signs are small and could easily be obscured if you were driving behind a bus. The road markings say nothing and there is no red coloring to the road that would indicate a bus lane either. From some research it would seem I am not the only one to notice that Redbridge council are using this as a money making scheme. Some links below give weight to this observation. Dailymail article http://tinyurl.com/nefwh9w Ilford Reporter article http://tinyurl.com/nrtz3mk Forum posts http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=68064 If you look on Google street view (link below) you can get clearly see what went wrong and why drivers are being caught out by this. I dread to know how many other drivers are being caught daily by this who are new to the area. Especially since at least two of us were caught out on this. http://tinyurl.com/p5ousm8 Based on this and the above information I wish to know if there is anything that can be done about Redbridge council's flagrant disregard for motorists and 'outrageous' use of them as a money making scheme. Is there no way for a group of us to fight back? This has been going on for years it would seem and surely it has to stop. If I lived locally I would be there every day with a big sign pointing out to drivers the restrictions, denying Redbridge council their pound of flesh! Both drivers of the other two vehicles have decided not to fight it and pay the fine without any complaint. They simply say it is too much time and hassle to fight this which I can understand. But if nobody fights back then more people will continue to fall into this trap and lose money. All the while Redbridge council will continue to line their pockets and not do a damned thing to change it. I would love to get involved in some kind of group action but at present all I can think of is to write a letter of complaint to Redbridge council, the local MP for Ilford, blog it all over the internet and write to Watchdog. Any advice is appreciated. P.S. Is it legal to put up your own sign informing motorists of the restrictions as long as it does not cause obstruction? If so, I am surprised nobody has tried this yet.

Today the Ministry of Justice announced that from March a new service is being rolled out across the UK and Wales allowing people charged with some minor motoring offences to enter a plea online from any suitable device (including mobile phones) 24 hours a day. This will be done via a secure Ministry of Justice website and is an alternative to a postal plea or attending court in person. Motorists will be able to view their case details, view evidence and make their plea remotely. Motorists who use the new service to plead guilty at the earliest possible stage will benefit by receiving the maximum credit. At present the facility is limited to the following offences: Failure to identity the driver Using the vehicle without valid insurance Driving in excess of the speed limit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/11438914/Motorists-to-be-given-chance-to-enter-plea-to-minor-driving-offences-online.html

Cllr David Allen,*Surrey Heath Borough Council*member for Frimley Green, said: “The company gives tickets to those people whose wheels are over the line and if you are over by a minute or two, they will ticket you. It has only been an issue in the last six months. "We are trying to do as much as we can, but we are also appealing to drivers for them to be responsible and not disregard the regulations.” http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/frimley-motorists-still-being-hit-8450443

Three years ago changes were made to legislation whereby unless a vehicle is subject to a SORN declaration, they must be insured (even if the car is parked in your garage and never driven). Following the change in law, if a vehicle is not insured and is not registered with a SORN then the vehicle owner faces a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice and the potential for their car to be clamped, seized or destroyed, as well as being subject to a court prosecution and a court fine of up to £1,000 This subject is very serious indeed given that every month DVLA send 60,000 letters to vehicle owners and in the past three years (since the change in law) 670,000 vehicle owners have been prosecuted. In fact, according to the following article......6,000 motorists are prosecuted each month and receive a £100 Fixed Penalty. Apart from enquiries regarding fines for using a TV without a licence, these Fixed Penalties are ones that we receive most enquiries about every day. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2851587/Clampdown-uninsured-vehicles-sees-60k-letters-sent-month.html

One of the site team has received an email from their Neighbourhood Watch scheme regarding the following:- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/motorists-warned-about-driving-licence-reminders-received-by-text-or-email So please do be aware of this.

The following article appeared today in the Daily Mail and is sadly....not a surprise to everyone reading this forum: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2405371/More-MILLION-motorists-chased-bounty-hunters-unpaid-parking-fines.html

read more: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/civil-servant-david-kelly-allegedly-5764484

Have just seen this on the BBC Local news.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-22686167 Motorists are being advised to contact a solicitor immediately if they believe they have been wrongly convicted.