Neighbours "Spying" On Us

[specials]

I notice today that my neighbour has set up a web cam at their front window overlooking my property onto their car (which has been dumped right outside my house despite the fact they have a driveway for 4 cars).

This means that my family will be filmed each time we leave or enter our property (assuming it's on).

I am sure their must be some privacy rules that prevent them for doing this, any thoughts before I go smash f**k out of them (only kidding!! )

[Sapphire]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

Not so sure about the legalities of web cams, we have CCTV and security lights all around our house and carpet grippers on the tops of our fences, although I do know that glass, carpet grippers, nails etc on fences/walls are seen to be illegal, but hey what the eye don't see eh !
But if you think the car has been dumped in the sense that its not roadworthy, then take a looky to see if is got tax, if not then penny to a pound of poo its not got an MOT or is insured, then report the car, it will be taken away and crushed and they will be given the bill for doing it.
Far more satisfying than kicking the sh ite out of them.

[bluebottle]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

Not so sure about the legalities of web cams, we have CCTV and security lights all around our house and carpet grippers on the tops of our fences, although I do know that glass, carpet grippers, nails etc on fences/walls are seen to be illegal, but hey what the eye don't see eh !
But if you think the car has been dumped in the sense that its not roadworthy, then take a looky to see if is got tax, if not then penny to a pound of poo its not got an MOT or is insured, then report the car, it will be taken away and crushed and they will be given the bill for doing it.
Far more satisfying than kicking the sh ite out of them.

When you say "dumped", do you mean that in the sense that your neighbour has simply parked their car outside your house without due consideration for you and your family? If where your neighbour has parked their car is your property, you have a right to insist they remove it. As for the webcam, your neighbour has a right to protect their property and can take reasonable steps in pursuit of this. If the camera is pointing directly into one of your ground floor rooms, meaning that your privacy is being invaded, then you are within your rights to point this out to your neighbour and ask them not to direct the camera's lens into your ground floor rooms.

Sapphy, I am putting the finishing touches to an article on Home Security which I'm going to post on one of the forums. It will be in PDF format so that it can be downloaded and printed off if desired.

[Sapphire]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

Re: Dumped

What I'm saying BB is if the car has no tax, then its probably got no MOT & Insurance and is probably unroadworthy, if thats the case then the OP should report the car to the police and it will be removed, won't it ?

[bluebottle]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

Re: Dumped

What I'm saying BB is if the car has no tax, then its probably got no MOT & Insurance and is probably unroadworthy, if thats the case then the OP should report the car to the police and it will be removed, won't it ?

The unfortunate thing is, Sapphy, if there's a valid SORN in force, the vehicle does not require to be insured or have a valid MOT. Also, a car can have no tax, but be insured and have a valid MOT. It all depends on when the insurance and MOT fall due.

There's also doubts beginning to emerge as to whether the car-crushing antics of DVLA and the police are actually legal. It certainly seems to fly in the face of Protocol 1 of Article 1 of the Human Rights Act (Property), which states that a government cannot deprive a citizen of their property other than in exceptional circumstances. There have also been many cases where motorists have had their cars seized and crushed due to bungling and mistakes by DVLA and the insurance industry. Now that's an idea for a sticky.

[Sapphire]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

That's assuming the car is on a drive or private property, perhaps the OP can confirm if it's on the road or driveway/private land etc.

[Main man]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

You can gain a little info on the vehicle here DVLA's Vehicle online service. | Please update your browser cookie settings to use this site

[charitynjw]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

If the cctv camera is specifically trained onto a neighbour's property, surely this could trigger Art 8 Human Rights Act (Privacy)*, & possibly Public Order Act &/or Protection from Harassment Act?

*Although this is usually used in reference to Public Authorities, it does create a positive obligation for the 'State' to protect your legal rights, even where those rights are being infringed by a private individual.

[Bill-K]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

Thanks for the DVLA link, Main Man.

FWIW, our car was SORN'ed on 01/02/12, and garaged, and the search result says "SORN not due" - which seems to confirm the SORN on it, and that it is not due to expire soon.

My taxi is taxed and on the road, and the search result says "Tax not due" (or similar wording) - so it seems that you can check if it's SORN'ed or taxed by this.

An old car of mine which went to the breakers shows up as "Unlicensed."

[bluebottle]

Re: Neighbours "Spying" On Us

Thanks for the DVLA link, Main Man.

FWIW, our car was SORN'ed on 01/02/12, and garaged, and the search result says "SORN not due" - which seems to confirm the SORN on it, and that it is not due to expire soon.

My taxi is taxed and on the road, and the search result says "Tax not due" (or similar wording) - so it seems that you can check if it's SORN'ed or taxed by this.

An old car of mine which went to the breakers shows up as "Unlicensed."

Depends on how long ago it was scrapped, Bill. These days, you get a Certificate of Destruction issued by those dismantlers who are electronically-connected to DVLA, although when I checked two previous cars, they were showing as "unlicensed". However, look at the item entitled "Date of Liability". Apparently, that is when the tax is due or when it was scrapped.