NCP DVLA Clampers - are they ligit?

[Guest Happy Contrails]

 

I received a complaint via a Neighborhood Watch patrol (I am a supervisor) who saw this van in DVLA livery with two men acting suspiciously and interfering with parked cars in a neighborhood. The two men told our patrol they are carrying out car tax enforcement. When they were challenged with requests for their civil enforcement certificates and proof of authority to impersonate the DVLA they became defensive and evasive. They admitted charging motorists a fee to fix or remove a wheel clamp to their vehicles parked on a public road. The two men objected to their mugshots being taken for crime prevention reasons and even threatened to call police.

 

 

 

I checked with the DVLA and they do not own the vehicle do not appear to acknowledge its use on their behalf. The vehicle's registered keeper on the DVLA database is a company called NCP Ltd.

 

In preparation to filing a report to the neighbourhood watch division, I have looked in Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 for the legislation prescribing fees for fixing and removing wheel-clamps to untaxed vehicles and only found the statutory penalties for failure to renew and failure to display. It doesn't provide for private companies or individuals to trade in car tax enforcement for gain.

 

Interestingly further delving in the statute book revealed that:

 

a) Fixing a wheel-clamp to a vehicle that is in a public place is interpreted as impounding it as collateral for payment of money and thus it is in breach of the Statute of Marlborough 1267 – a very old law that has never been repealed by an act of parliament.

 

b) Anybody charging a fee that is not prescribed in legislation, making a gain for themselves or another an by fixing or removing a wheel-clamp to a vehicle intending to obtain a money transfer from its keeper commits an offence under Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and is contrary to Cullighan –v- Marston Group Ltd 2006.

 

Do any of you motoring gurus have any comments - What am I dealing with here? a legitimate business or is this organised crime?

 

 

Note, ironically this photograph shows the van passing a silver Peugeot without road tax (just a blank taxdisc holder) and completely missed it. This leads me to believe this outfit is not genuine.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Happy Contrails
removing identifiable information

[patdavies]

NCP do act as agents for the DVLA in regards to clamping and vehicle removal.

 

Whether this van was a genuine part of that is anybody's guess.

[thebigdaddy]

Hi, I can confirm it looks like a genuine NCP vehicle, working on behalf of DVLA clamping scheme

 

They work under the scheme to do the following,

1. Clamp untaxed vehicles

2. Clamp fake tax disc vehicles

3. Clamp untaxed vehicles, declared Sorned, parked on public roads/ground

4. Clamp untaxed vehicles, not declared Sorned, parked on private roads/ground

 

The van operatives are not allowed to accept monies to remove the clamp, payment can only be made at the regional office, who authorizes the removal of the clamp or allow the register keeper or there agent to remove the vehicle from the pound, if the vehicle was recovered to the regional pound, (which happens 24/48 after the vehicle was clamped)

 

The costs are

1. £80 fine + a valid tax disc or £120 surety fee (which is returned when a valid tax disc is show, which you have 14 days to buy and show the new valid tax disc)

2. £25 per day storage fee

 

You can pay for the fine etc, by phoning the NCP office and using your card, but if the vehicle is impounded, then you need to go to your local office/pound and pay for it and recover your vehicle.

 

 

Hope this clears this up for you

[Conniff]

Don't agree with that. As agents, the DVLA contact them and ask them to clamp so and so car. They cannot drive around in a van puporting to BE the DVLA.

 

In the same way a courior cannot drive around in a Royal Mail van just because he collects mail and payment due to RM on their behalf.

[postggj]

ncp do act for dvla

 

only on property they have a vested interest in

 

ie

 

private parking contracts etc

 

they cant drive around preporting to be dvla on the public highway and have no powers

 

on the van should be a sign saying wheel clamping unit

 

i know as a pal of mine works at a dvla local office

 

this has [problem] written all over it

 

i totally agree with coniff on this one

[patdavies]

Don't agree with that. As agents, the DVLA contact them and ask them to clamp so and so car. They cannot drive around in a van puporting to BE the DVLA.

 

 

I think (and I stress think, as I don't definitely know) that they act as agents of DVLA via ANPR.

 

IOW, they are not targeted on a particular car at address X, but can drive around and wait for an ANPR 'ping' and then clamp.

[patdavies]

ncp do act for dvla

 

only on property they have a vested interest in

 

ie

 

private parking contracts etc

 

they cant drive around preporting to be dvla on the public highway and have no powers

 

on the van should be a sign saying wheel clamping unit

 

i know as a pal of mine works at a dvla local office

 

this has [problem] written all over it

 

i totally agree with coniff on this one

 

Sorry, but NCP do act for DVLA or the public highway; they are the main clamping agents/partners for DVLA and are not restricted to land in which they have a vested interest.

 

See here.

 

NSL Ltd is the new name for the NCP services arm.

[postggj]

but they have to act on instructions from dvla

 

they cant tout for biz and act on there own by clamping with out authority

 

or do i have it wrong

[postggj]

do these unoficial vans have access to dvla data ref name address etc

[wheelergeezer]

Do they have permission to drive over or park on public footpaths too? (see pic 1)

[thebigdaddy]

Hi guys, Sorry maybe I should have made my post a little clearer, Yes the van operatives are not allowed to clamp a vehicle without permission from DVLA, all the NCP vans have computers in there vans which are linked to DVLA, and if a member of the public reports an untaxed vehicle or the anpr system finds an untaxed vehicle, the operatives contact DVLA for permission to clamp the vehicle, they need an authorization number before they can clamp.

 

To answer some of your queireis,,,,,

Yes they do drive around with the anpr system looking for untaxed vehicles

Yes they do go direct to an address, that a member of the puplic/DVLA has reported

Yes they do take part in the police roadside schemes

 

 

But again I will stress, they do need permission from DVLA before they clamp a vehicle

 

And wheelergeezer, No they probably dont have permission to park on the pavement:D

[wheelergeezer]

Send the pic to DVLA and demand they prosecute the driver for obstructing and damaging the footpath.

 

AND for looking like a yellow smilie.

[buzby]

That'll give the same response to thioe complaining about a fine for NOT SORNing a vehicle. (So what, we don;t care!)

[flyingjock1]

Just been looking through your forums regarding DVLA and came across this thread. I used to work as a civil enforcement officer working for NCP as a wheel clamper and would like to add my comments as a now ex-employee.

 

As mentioned earlier NSL Ltd (formerly NCP) are the main contractors for enforcement of road tax evasion in scotland, england wales etc. The vans such as the one pictured are linked to the dvla database and equipped with anpr. When i was out in one of their vans,the anpr 'pinged' the car details were checked against the dvla database and an authority to clamp authorised or not authorised. If authority give, vehicle was clamped, photographs taken in all cases and information left on the windscreen area of where to contact to have the clamp removed.

 

At no time during my time with NCP did i ever clamp a vehicle that i did not have authority to clamp.

 

When i started work with NCP my details were sent to the DVLA and i was issued after been checked out with a clamping operatives id card.

 

The thread earlier about the operatives being reluctant to have their photos is one that i fully understand. Those guys have the same rights not to be photographed as you do. Regardless of what you said your motives were.

 

Looking through the threads about clamping and road tax, i have no sympathy for people being clamped. If your car is going to be kept off road, then it only takes a 2 minute phone call to sorn it over the phone with the dvla.

 

There are a lot of cowboy clampers about and i do empathise with people who have been clamped by cowboy clampers for being illegally parked as the cases are more gray ie signage, rules of car parking etc. Clamping for road tax is more black and white, the vehicle is either taxed or it isnt. if sorned must be kept in a location covered under the paragraphs in the finance act 2008 that allowed ncp to enter private property. The costs for clamping for ncp are moderated by the dvla. The costs by cowboy campers are unmonitored.

 

Either tax it or sorn it, if you dont do it properly you deserve all you get. Why should i pay my road tax and people try to avoid it.

 

As wheelgeezer wanting to send a photo to get the van done for parking on a pavement, i take it that in all your life you have never done the same. i dont think so!!!

[flyingjock1]

Happy contrails

 

Ref the silver peugeot not being clamped. It could well have been that the vehicle owner did have a valid tax disc but just wasnt displaying it. Ie anpr never pinged as valid disc held on database.

 

I think you do a good job doing the Neighbourhood Watch but NSL are genuine.

[patdavies]

The thread earlier about the operatives being reluctant to have their photos is one that i fully understand. Those guys have the same rights not to be photographed as you do. Regardless of what you said your motives were.

 

IOW, no real right at all as anybody can take pictures of anyone in a public place.

 

 

if sorned must be kept in a location covered under the paragraphs in the finance act 2008 that allowed ncp to enter private property.

Not quite.

 

If on SORN, the vehicle must be kept off the public highway (as defined in VERA)

 

The amendments to VERA under the Finance Act 2008 only allow clamping on private property when a vehicle has neither VED nor SORN showing against it.

[buzby]

And my 2p - regarding parking on the footpath, you seem to think just because the complainant MAY have done so somwhow excuses the practice? In my book, it remains a calculated risk (whether my vehicle is at risk or if I cause problems to pedestrians). cI like to think I park intelligently, but if 'caught' I'd accept the tickets as the risk for doing it.

[flyingjock1]

Pat

 

You are quite correct, ill put my hands up and say i worded it wrongly. VERA and the finance act do advise where an unsorned/untaxed can be kept without the risk of being clamped.

 

Buzby

 

Not condoning parking on the pavement at all. Just pointing out that people shouldnt be making comments unless they can hand or heart say theyve never done the same thing.

 

On a separate note

 

Looking on the ITV news night in england they are having massive problems with clamping firms and their practices. In my time of travelling around the scotland i never saw many clamping firms up here. Clamping by private firms on private ground up here is illegal (and im talking about for parking offences not for road tax evasion). So compared to england were quite lucky.

[nehpets]

Not condoning parking on the pavement at all. Just pointing out that people shouldnt be making comments unless they can hand or heart say theyve never done the same thing.

 

So would this rule extend to police officers / enforcement officers / government officials?

[flyingjock1]

If you read my previous comments, i didnt condone parking on pavements. No-one regardless of their position or standing should be doing it, but it happens. If you want to go about taking photos of vehicles illegally parked then youd better get a camera with a good memory card.

[bedlington83]

Just pointing out that people shouldnt be making comments unless they can hand or heart say theyve never done the same thing.

I have parked illegally (and was given a ticket for it). Why does that prevent me from being able to say something like "How come the driver of that DVLA van can get away with parking illegally when I get done for it?"?

[flyingjock1]

Bedlington

 

"I have parked illegally (and was given a ticket for it). Why does that prevent me from being able to say something like "How come the driver of that DVLA van can get away with parking illegally when I get done for it?"? ""

 

There is nothing to stop you saying the above or taking it further if thats what you want to do. That was my personal opinion i was giving.

[panyau]

i've recently been clamped for no tax had to get the tax then pay for removal of clamp, total £168 and was told that was the end of it.........

why then two weeks later do i get a letter from the dvla for another £114 fine?

can i appeal as i'm paying the dvla twice

[flyingjock1]

I take it as youve paid to have the vehicle declamped youve went out and bought and up to date tax disc. If youve got the receipt,give the dvla a call and explain what happened. The dvla do have the power to penalise you for not having a valid tax disc in the first place (even tho you are now street legal so to speak). Depends what the £114 is actually for.

[panyau]

the fine is apparently for out of court settlement section 99 3a keeping vechile on public road