Author Topic: Warning to motorists with zero-tax cars after oversight leads to clamping  (Read 1951 times)

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Offline Web Admin

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Warning to motorists with zero-tax cars after oversight leads to clamping


Unclamped: An officer removes the clamp

   A GRIMSBY car owner who has been stung for a £100 fine after being clamped for having no vehicle tax despite owning a tax-free car, has issued a warning to motorists after getting caught out by vehicle tax laws.

Carol Hornsea, the mum of car owner Amy-Jane Hornsea, is warning drivers to check if their low-emissions tax-free car is covered legally.

The pair were shocked to discover that 30-year-old Amy's white Suzuki Swift had been clamped by the DVLA in Grant Street, off Park Street, Grimsby, on Tuesday, May 3, for not having valid vehicle tax on the car which is exempt from the charge.

But what had caught the pair out is this: Amy bought the car from a Grimsby-based car dealership fresh out of the showroom in April 2014, and as a part of the package had been registered for zero car tax for a year.

Amy then thought that because the car is exempt from a tax fee due to its low emissions, she didn't have to re-apply for vehicle tax through the DVLA when the tax disc expired.

She left the out-of-date tax disc on display in her windscreen, which drew the attention of the authorities to her car – and also revealing that Amy had not re-registered her car with the DVLA online.

What Amy – and no doubt others – didn't realise is that she was supposed to re-apply for vehicle tax on the DVLA's website to re-register her vehicle – despite qualifying for the perk of having a zero vehicle tax bill as a reward for her Suzuki's low-emissions.

The car was eventually unclamped later that day after the family had paid the £100. Disgruntled mum Carol says she wants to warn other motorists of the dangers and confusion linked to vehicle tax renewals.

She said: "It just makes me wonder just how many people are driving around unaware that this could have happened to them.

"It would have been nice if we had been warned. It wasn't a deliberate mistake but a warning would have been nice.

"Amy uses the car to regularly take her ill dad to and from hospital so we really need the car at all times.

"People just need to be aware that this is happening."

A DVLA spokesperson said: "By law all vehicles must be taxed or declared off road by making a Statutory Off Road Notification. This applies to all vehicles – including those that don't attract any fee for the vehicle tax.

"This regular contact means we have an up-to-date record of the keeper of the vehicle which helps ensure we have accurate records, which of course helps police should they need to trace or contact the keeper of a vehicle.

"If seen on the road, our national wheel clamping partner and our devolved power partners can clamp or impound untaxed vehicles. The fees associated with clamping/impounding vehicles are prescribed in law and the charges are based on covering the cost of enforcement action."

http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/Motorist-fined-despite-car-exempt-tax-charges/story-29274994-detail/story.html#1

Offline scalyback

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"The fees associated with clamping/impounding vehicles are prescribed in law and the charges are based on covering the cost of enforcement action."

They can send a clamper twice to install and remove, and do all the associated computer stuff for only £100? Seems a positive bargain compared to a 6 minute overstay in a weasel car park with ANPR!

 


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