clamped outside my house on way to prebooked mot

[burrro]

this is a good one(not for me)

 

 

I had my car sorn and parked on my drive,

i pre booked an mot for 1030 next day ,

 

 

circa 8 am as the mrs went to take the kids to school

she asked me to save her a parking space ,

 

 

i went to try and tax the car on line but could not,

 

 

i went outside and swapped cars

came back in and tried again to tax it could not,

 

 

i thought well ill just go to mot place

 

 

as i was going to the car and wait for the mrs she walks in with a smile on her face

 

 

" you ve been clamped "

 

 

i replied

" yeah sure dont you want to park yours as i go to mot"

 

 

low and behold i had indeed been clamped .

 

 

it was now circa 840.

 

 

i had to pay £260 and then got £160 back,

 

 

the guy who clamped it was ok and said i should get all the money back as it was a mistake

since i had a pre booked mot.

 

 

However this was only the beginning of my troubles,

 

 

I tried to contact the dvla - its like asking for an audience with the Pope!

 

 

Eventually i was told that not only would i not get the other £100 back

i would be fined, low and behold a summons came through ,

 

 

it was not clear what exactly it was for

i contacted the court and explained the situation,

and sent them a copy of the garage diary with my details etc etc,

 

 

next i get a letter from dvla stating that as i had entered a guilty plea

they were offering me the opportunity to pay £285 to settle out of court.

I hadnt heard from court yet nor entered any plea.

 

 

To to it all the letter from dvla had a contact number and fax number that does not exist,

and they put down the address of the offence wrong.

 

 

i tried to contact them

no response

 

 

sent them a letter asking for a copy and all relevant material to be sent to me,

never heard back,

 

 

got a court summons to appear this monday at watford magistrate court to answer for keeping a car on the road under sorn.

 

any one can help with what i should say in court????

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Even with a pre booked mot you need to be taxed and insured. Its only a valid mot cert that's not needed if you driving to or from test centres.

 

You were parked on the public highway without tax and therefore clamped. I don't understand why the clamper said it was a mistake. It doesn't appear to be a mistake.

 

Why did you get £160 back? What was the reason for the refund?

[CrappoMan]

You do NOT need to be taxed to drive to a pre-booked MOT test. To insist otherwise would start a chicken-or-egg situation.

See Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994, Schedule 2-22 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/22/schedule/2

 

You MUST have insurance to use a vehicle on the public road.

 

The journey to the pre-booked MOT test does not have to be a single journey, it can be broken up into one or more 'legs', as long as the gap between legs is seen as reasonable, i.e: yes, you can stop at a shop on your way to/from the test.

[JoeyJoeC]

Did they happen to be driving past checking number plates in order to clamp you? Doesn't it take a while for the whole process?

[TofuMan]

They can clamp a car in seconds... which is why they often get it wrong... thousands of times a year. I have Freedom of Information documents I asked for showing they drop 7.5% of 20,000 cases they bring under Section 29 of VERA every year... and that doesn't include the ones they lose.

 

Was the parking space you had your car in a marked parking bay? that could affect your legal position.

[TofuMan]

I have uploaded the official Wheelclamper's Handbook here along with other relevant documents I obtained under a Freedom of Information Request:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?444904-WIN-against-the-DVLA-in-Southampton-Magistrates

 

I hope there's something useful in there for you

[topcat1802]

Even with a pre booked mot you need to be taxed and insured. Its only a valid mot cert that's not needed if you driving to or from test centres.

 

You were parked on the public highway without tax and therefore clamped. I don't understand why the clamper said it was a mistake. It doesn't appear to be a mistake.

 

Why did you get

 

 

You can get your car taxed if it requires an MOT, and you don't have one.

[JoeyJoeC]

You cant get tax if a car doesn't have an MOT or insurance. You can drive to get an MOT without tax.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

I stand corrected. Ty.

However, he wasn't driving to an mot. It was just parked on the highway.

Even the police advise that it can only be used to and from a test station and even stopping at a shop can be an offence as it may be deemed other purposes.

 

• if you call in at shops etc. on your way to the MOT, it may be held that you are using the vehicle for other purposes and the above exemption won't apply;

[burrro]

I actually still had a valid mot which would expire on January first. Bad day hey, so i decided to do it before such awkward date which im entitled to by law, my car was sorn at the time and fully insured, im a driving instructor and have two cars on the road, my wife has a car and my son a car all at the same address all fully legal, the car that was clamped is our family 7 seater which we use for our holidays , hence i had it sorn for 2 months, on the day in question i simply moved my car off my driveway, on to the road in front of my house 1 foot from our driveway foot path, so that i could park another of our cars in the drive way, i did this whilst also trying to purchase road tax on the internet, as far as i was concerned i had a pre booked mot so how on earth am i actually braking the law by going on to the road for a few minutes ? if im braking the law then any one would brake the law if they stopped at a red light, if they went for petrol, to the toilet, to check if their rear lights were working, to change a tyre, to get a drink, to help a person after an accdent , etc etec, the legislation clearly says that one is exempt when taking the car for an mot, there are no if or buts. Unless it is deemed to be unreasonable, like going for a day out in brighton before coming back to london for the mot, going to a massage parlour , william hill to place a bet for a few hours, delivering parcels, doing mini cabbing, etc etc

[burrro]

that is indeed the interpretation the legislation states, but also, the fact that they sent me a letter telling me that i pleaded guilty, thats like extortion, they are not the court or judge, it is intimidating, bulling and above all falsely demanding the payment of a fine. im in court tomoro !!!

[burrro]

that was their story which i dont believe, the whole thing took about 1 minute

[burrro]

no it was on the road, but that is not a problem

[burrro]

he sad it was a misstake because he know its wrong, i had a prebooked mot, so im exempt, im simply following the law. he did not , if one is meant to sorn or tax a car pronto why cant there be a safe guard/fail meassure for one to also declare the car prebooked for an mot.

[burrro]

wrong it wasnt just parked on a road it was being readied to go for a pre booked mot, what if i had to physically close and lock a massive gate with dogs inside? im i suppose to leave my gate unlocked and the dogs loose because i cant leave my car? what if i need to go for a s*** am i suppose to do it in my car?

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Try those arguments in court today. Good luck.

[DragonFly1967]

Try those arguments in court today. Good luck.

 

He wouldn't need luck, he'd win.

 

There is case law to back up the argument that you can 'stop off' on the way to a pre-booked MOT in a vehicle with no VEL or current MOT. Secretary of State for Transport V. Richards (1998) JP 682.

 

 

"It would fly in the face of common sense if some short stop cannot be made by the driver, for whatever purpose, providing he is on his way to the test station." (in the above case it was to purchase petrol and a second stop to buy cigarettes, but it would be equally true of needing the bathroom, or indeed, stopping your vehicle on the road in order to secure your gates)

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

He wouldn't need luck, he'd win.

 

There is case law to back up the argument that you can 'stop off' on the way to a pre-booked MOT in a vehicle with no VEL or current MOT. Secretary of State for Transport V. Richards (1998) JP 682.

 

 

"It would fly in the face of common sense if some short stop cannot be made by the driver, for whatever purpose, providing he is on his way to the test station." (in the above case it was to purchase petrol and a second stop to buy cigarettes, but it would be equally true of needing the bathroom, or indeed, stopping your vehicle on the road in order to secure your gates)

 

Really, thats not what the police say.

 

If your vehicle doesn't have an MOT you can drive it to or from a pre-arranged MOT or to or from a pre-arranged appointment to have defects remedied that were discovered on a previous test. You can drive your vehicle on a road without road tax in these circumstances.

The law makes no mention as to how far you can go but we would suggest that the distance is kept as short as possible because even though you are exempt from having a valid MOT certificate in the circumstances described above, if you are stopped by the police you could still be prosecuted for any defective parts on your vehicle e.g. exhaust, brakes and tyres etc. Additionally:

• if you call in at shops etc. on your way to the MOT, it may be held that you are using the vehicle for other purposes and the above exemption won't apply;

• the further you travel the more likelihood there is of your vehicle triggering an ANPR camera and you being stopped.

 

 

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q600.htm

[CrappoMan]

It doesn't matter what the police think or say. It only matters what a judge will make of the law and past cases/precedent and your argument.

 

The site you linked to is full of inconsistencies, e.g: saying you could be prosecuted under C&U regs if you drive a longer distance with an unroadworthy car. You should know that you cannot drive ANY distance with an unroadworthy vehicle. Saying you can't stop on the way, when there is previous case law saying that you can.

[KrashBandikoot]

Even with a pre booked mot you need to be taxed and insured. Its only a valid mot cert that's not needed if you driving to or from test centres.

 

Wrong!

 

For vehicles attending a pre-booked MOT, all that is needed is the pre-booked MOT appointment and insurance. You are allowed to drive to and from the MOT station without an MOT, (unless it passes of course then you drive back with an MOT ), without any road tax. You cannot tax a vehicle without either valid insurance or a valid MOT.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Yes, that's already been covered Krash.