Just a thought maybe we could award an arsehole of the week award to people or organisations that have excelled themselves in acting like a complete arsehole or bunch of arseholes. This idea came to me after I had the misfortune to have to attend a so called independent traffic tribunal in Luton. You see in November I gave away old an Nissan micra that had been sitting on my drive for months to a young lad who was going to put it back on the road, I was glad to see the back of it. The log book was filled out correctly for the change of ownership and sent off to Swansea and I thought that was the end of it. How wrong I was, two weeks later I got a demand for £60 as the micra had driven through a bus lane the day after I gave it away. I wrote back to Luton council and informed them that the car had changed hands and if they got back in contact with the DVLA they should get the details of the new owner. They wrote back saying I owed them £60 and didn’t even acknowledge my claim that I no longer owned the vehicle.
Fast forward a couple more letters and I opt to go before the so called independent traffic tribunal which was last Tuesday. I walked in to an enormous room in the Chiltern hotel in Luton to be met by two representatives from Luton parking department a solicitor for the council and Mr Rowley the so called independent adjudicator, it didn’t go well. I was told that the council had no legal obligation to contact the DVLA to see if the vehicle had changed hands and I had to pay up. I told them several times that the DVLA could confirm my story but they refused to listen. I can’t get any details myself from the DVLA because it is no longer my car and therefore it would break the laws on data protection. I was repeatedly lectured on the responsibilities of owning a vehicle by Mr Rowley and informing the DVLA of any changes, but he was so stuck up his own arse he wouldn’t listen to the fact that I had informed the DVLA of the change of ownership and all they had to do was contact them. To put it bluntly Luton councils parking department and Mr Rowley the independent adjudicator are nothing more than a bunch irritating cling-ons on the arsehole of life and if the oxford English dictionary ever does pictures there will be a picture of Mr Rowley next to the phrase pompous arsehole.
So I nominate them as arseholes of the week and will continue to shine the torch of ridicule upon them until they apologise and back down.
I feel much better now.
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Arseholes of the week
(50 posts) (23 voices)
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godly1966
offlineMemberPosted 1 year ago # -
waylandsmithy
offlineMemberThat's mental. Did you pay? I would be LIVID!
Is there an official complaints procedure you can use against this chap? I think I would use it. And I'd write to the local press, too.
Posted 1 year ago # -
John Ffitch-Rucker
offlineMemberOh, dear, you have my sympathy mate; local government Nazis are all too common.
Can I suggest you tell them to prosecute; if they go to trial, then they have to prove that it was you driving the car, not the errant youth. The onus (of proof) is on the anus, in this case.Posted 1 year ago # -
godly1966
offlineMemberNo I haven’t paid I will wait until they send me there rejection in writing then I have one last appeal against the council if I lose that I will pay just before the bailiffs arrive, I will then send them several freedom of information requests which will take up hundreds of hours of their time costing thousands of pounds, to be honest I find the whole thing quite comical and will be sending all Luton councillors and press a link to this page. Luton council must have more money than sense.
Posted 1 year ago # -
waylandsmithy
offlineMemberSurely it's a police matter, and not a council one? It sounds completely bent to me. Surely the council can't levy fines against you, without a proper court hearing?
Posted 1 year ago # -
godly1966
offlineMemberIt seems they can, it is similar to getting a parking ticket. They can fine you but you can’t get points on your licence like you do for speeding. Also it is the owner of the car that is responsible if he can’t give the details of the driver to the council, or if they can’t get of their fat arses to check.
Posted 1 year ago # -
godly1966, sounds like you asked the prosecutor to act in your defence. Suggest you write to DVLA, tell them you've received a fine after you ceased ownership of the vehicle and need to provide proof, so can they send you a copy of the change of ownership slip you sent them. It can't be breaking the Data Protection Act to ask for a copy of information that you supplied.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The All New Jeni B
offlineMemberNot much help to you now, I know, but whenever I sell on a car, I always take a photocopy of the change of ownership slip and send it recorded delivery to the DVLA.
A friend was stung in pretty much the same way as you years ago, and that was the advice he was subsequently given by DVLA/Police/Solicitor. He took it all the way and eventually had all fines dropped.
Good luck.Posted 1 year ago # -
Username
offlineMemberhttp://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/contactus/How%20to%20make%20a%20complaint.aspx
A (succinct and unemotive) letter to Carole should help.
Posted 1 year ago # -
beau-jolly
offlineMemberI had instant and complete success in a dispute with the child benefit people by copying in my MP (The late Gwyneth Dunwoody at the time). I tried the same tactic when disputing a parking ticket in Stoke but it didn't work. This was possibly because it was a different MP and also because I was clearly in the wrong.
May be worth C.C.ing your local MP though as it tends to move any correspondence to the top of the pile.Posted 1 year ago # -
tedweasel
offlineMemberThey operate everywhere godly.
Some years ago I got a parking ticket in Harrogate (£30)in a retail park, the only notification of parking charges was a single four inch plaque hidden behind a tree at the opposite end stating free parking validated in store. As I'd spent over £300 I was livid, I bought a disposable camera and photographed everything.
I disputed the charge and was summoned to the Magistrates Court, taking a day's holiday off work I turned up at 9am but wasn't called until 4pm, adding a further £12 to my daily parking costs.
I argued my case and the Magistrates found Harrogate Council at fault so I didn't have to pay the fine. I did however have to pay £45 costs, lovely. Still embittered.Posted 1 year ago # -
Sinnick
offlineMemberIt's all very stressful, this sort of stuff.
godly, you didn't break any laws or regulations, and there can be no evidence against you, so you don't have to do anything. Their problem. "end of".
In balance, they probably see many cases where people try to wriggle out of payment, so they make assumptions, sometimes unfairly. Mr Rowley will have a boss, and there will be a complaints procedure. If you're still bothered by it all, use it.
A few years ago, I was forced by a thug to pay £80 cash to have my car unclamped, so I could get home to do the school run. The parking signs were inaccurate and I genuinely thought I could park there. I threatened with the Small Claims Court, with plenty of evidence, and they reimbursed the parking charge & expenses (as entitled) just before the hearing. The parking company changed the signs 2 days after the incident, but I'd taken photos 1 day after the incident :-) But it was all very stressful.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Why wouldn't they want a Nissan Micra? They can go faster than light you know...
Posted 1 year ago # -
godly1966
offlineMemberUPDATE. Luton council reported me to Northampton court some time ago so bailiffs can attempt to enter my property. I have told then that I would rather eat my own excrement and stick my cock in a blender than give them a penny of my money, and they are all scum. One five minute phone call would still prove my innocence. I reported them to Beds Police but they claim there are no home office guide lines to deal with this? WANKERS I never fail to be amazed at the ignorance and stupidity of the Police. This would be funny if it wasn’t for the fact I might soon have to give evidence in a murder trial involving travellers and I will have to hope the police can protect me. They can’t even protect from Luton Parking services, god help me. If any participants of the archery at Lords have any arrows left feel free to go to Luton Parking Services at Gordon Street Luton and fire at will. There is I am sure a defence of justifiable wankercide. Apart from that I have written to the information commission, a neighbouring council Hemel Hempstead was recently finned 1.3 million for mischarging in a bus lane. And I have written to my MP and a Luton MP. What could possible go wrong. Oh yes and it’s been raining a lot.
Posted 9 months ago # -
dvo4fun
offlineMemberAlthough there is a general principle that prosecution has to prove its case, there may be something in your matter akin to speeding. As I understand speeding, the lucky registered keepers pick up speeding tickets unless they advise of somebody else being the driver. If indeed similar, the responsibility for proving ownership of the car had been transferred may lie with you and not 'the prosecution'.
See background for Chris Huhne's prosecution for perverting the course of justice charge.
Presumably, as with matter which start in the criminal court, simply paying the charge after bailiffs have been instructed doesn't remove liability for the bailiff costs.
Happy days eh? Can you not obtain something from DVLA confirming date ownership transferred? Might save even more grief.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Al OPecia
offlineMemberI suppose that you have already seen this, Godly?
http://www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=77
In particular under "Ownership" - The council WILL check with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in Swansea to see who was registered as keeper of the vehicle at the date the penalty was issued. My emphasis in caps.
And, dare I say, that although understandable, losing your rag with them isn't going to help you, wankers or not.
Posted 9 months ago # -
dvo4fun
offlineMemberBut anoyingly it also says "The owner is presumed to be the registered keeper unless they prove otherwise." So if the council checks and for some reason the DVLA database still showed Godly as owner on the day in question burden of proof is with 'the defendant' ...
Posted 9 months ago # -
godly1966
offlineMemberStrangely if this was a speeding offence it would have been over by now as I would have been able to go to court and the police would have had to check out my alibi. Luton council refuse to check my alibi and the DVLA told me as the vehicle was no longer mine it is up to luton council to check it out, they won’t I can’t catch 22
Posted 9 months ago #
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