VEAS clamped my vehicle

[b4076]

hello!

I am a motor trader and recently had one of my vehicles clamped.

the car was unlicensed and parked on private property.

i paid the £100 and taxed the vehicle to get the clamp released asap.

so i now have 2 issues to deal with, 1. the £100 for releasing the clamp. And 2. the dvla are saying i have committed an offence.

i wrote to the dvla, saying i am a motor trader therefore i am not required to declare a sorn, and also sent them the title plan of the premises showing where the vehicle was parked.

this was there response:


where shall i go now!? it clearly states on the sorn form:


and who do i claim the clamp release fee back from?

also can i claim for the day i had to take off work due to this?

[CleverClogs]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

can i claim for the day i had to take off work due to this?

Almost certainly not, as you would not be able to prove you had lost any sale(s) as a result.

[b4076]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

Almost certainly not, as you would not be able to prove you had lost any sale(s) as a result.

ok, well i wasnt overly worried over this, was only a query, surely i can expect them to pay for the fuel costs to drive to dvla office to show them the tax disc before they would remove the clamp though?

[CleverClogs]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

As that was done because you needed the clamp to be removed quickly (and apparently lacked the ability to dismantle the vehicle enough to do it yourself) rather than sometime later when it suited the goon from the DVLA, it is not likely you'd be able to claim any expenses.

[bluebottle]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

VEAS are a menace. Being part of Capita, that doesn't surprise me. It is pretty clear that DVLA don't know the law they are claiming you have breached. I have no doubt that if they tried to take this to court, they would take a hiding. Putting it simply, what grounds do they have for alleging you have committed an offence? None. What grounds do they have for demanding you pay a fine? None whatsoever. This is not the first time the vermin from VEAS have bungled - they have form for it - and I doubt it will be the last.

[b4076]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

well i think all i can do is send them a copy of there own SORN application form and highlight that bit on it? lol

i was all up for removing it! (they put it round the shock absorber but that is only 1 bolt...) but my trading partner disagreed.

[wales01man]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

Should have removed it and sent it away

[bluebottle]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

I would be inclined to request a refund of -

£100 road tax you were forced to purchased unnecessarily;
£100 clamping fee which VEAS/DVLA were not entitled to charge or demand;
Fuel costs for the round-trip to DVLA at Swansea

due to the incompetence of their contractor, VEAS, and DVLA staff.

Was the private land where VEAS clamped the vehicle your place of business? If it is, both VEAS and DVLA are, IMHO, on unsafe ground, in the legal sense.

[b4076]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

Do I need to write seperatly to veas about the clamping charge?

The land is seperate to my premises, it is owned (currently not in use and for sale) by my landlord, his given me land registry document showing it is privately owned now so i can send them a copy

[labman]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

I'm sure they must be committing some offence here demanding money to which they are not entitled. For a motorist, ignorance of the law is no excuse; I see no reason why this should not apply equally to the DVLA.

[bluebottle]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

I'm sure they must be committing some offence here demanding money to which they are not entitled. Technically, you are correct, Labman. Trying to get them to admit it is another matter. Sending them a copy of relevant legislation and pointing out an offence is often more effective as if they try and quote other legislation to extricate themselves, all they are likely to succeed in doing is diggng an even bigger hole for themselves.

For a motorist, ignorance of the law is no excuse; I see no reason why this should not apply equally to the DVLA. It does apply to them. They have no Crown immunity.

@@@@

[labman]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

I'm sure they must be committing some offence here demanding money to which they are not entitled. Technically, you are correct, Labman. Trying to get them to admit it is another matter. Sending them a copy of relevant legislation and pointing out an offence is often more effective as if they try and quote other legislation to extricate themselves, all they are likely to succeed in doing is diggng an even bigger hole for themselves.

For a motorist, ignorance of the law is no excuse; I see no reason why this should not apply equally to the DVLA. It does apply to them. They have no Crown immunity.

It makes a change for you to be saying that to me for once!

[bluebottle]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

It makes a change for you to be saying that to me for once!

I speak from experience of investigating crime involving civil servants, Labman. Government departments will often make statements which are, in essence, complete and total BS. However, when you confront them with the law and, metaphorically, pull the chair out from under them, they fall flat on their arses.

If you read the Fraud Act 2006, you will find that it contains the reference "...whether as to fact or as to law". In practice, this means that if a person makes a false statement as to a matter of law, whether they do so deliberately or recklessly, and subject to other factors involved, they potentially commit an offence.

[labman]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

I speak from experience of investigating crime involving civil servants, Labman. Government departments will often make statements which are, in essence, complete and total BS. However, when you confront them with the law and, metaphorically, pull the chair out from under them, they fall flat on their arses.

If you read the Fraud Act 2006, you will find that it contains the reference "...whether as to fact or as to law". In practice, this means that if a person makes a false statement as to a matter of law, whether they do so deliberately or recklessly, and subject to other factors involved, they potentially commit an offence.

I'm not sure your interpretation of that is accurate. I believe it has to be deliberate. The actual wording in the Act is as follows:

(2) A representation is false if—
(a) it is untrue or misleading, and
(b) the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.

(3) “Representation” means any representation as to fact or law, including a
representation as to the state of mind of—
(a) the person making the representation, or
(b) any other person.

(4) A representation may be express or implied.

To my mind, the key word there is 'and' as highlighted in red, so the person making the statement knows it might be untrue or misleading. There's nothing reckless about it.

[charitynjw]

Re: VEAS clamped my vehicle

I'm not sure your interpretation of that is accurate. I believe it has to be deliberate. The actual wording in the Act is as follows:

(2) A representation is false if—
(a) it is untrue or misleading, and
(b) the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.

(3) “Representation” means any representation as to fact or law, including a
representation as to the state of mind of—
(a) the person making the representation, or
(b) any other person.

(4) A representation may be express or implied.

To my mind, the key word there is 'and' as highlighted in red, so the person making the statement knows it might be untrue or misleading. There's nothing reckless about it.

.......or might be....!

This could well raise the subject of recklessness.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedicti...m/recklessness