Parking Ticket on French Car...

BubbleFrogette

Hello there people,

My OH has received a fixed penalty notice whilst parked in London today. Well, to be more specific, he has received the black & yellow bordered plastic sleeve stuck to the windscreen, minus the ticket. He did say it was really windy this morning so he thinks the ticket may have blown out. My first thought was 'Oh Jesus, if we don't chase up the lost ticket, they will think we are ignoring it and the fine will increase'. But then my colleague asked if the ticket was on the French car, which as I have mentioned, it is.

My question is therefore; Should we just leave it and not bother chasing up the missing ticket, since the local authority probably won't enforce payment to an address in France?

All advice welcome - thanks in advance!

strawberry9

The owner details will have to be obtained from DVLA, as you have implied car registered in France sounds like vehicle isn't registered with DVLA. If OH ignores PCN had been issued and is unlikely to get any letters chasing payment ... the DVLA will respond that they have no owner details. Is it a french vehicle registration plate? if yes the local authority probably won't even bother contacting DVLA as it would cost them £2.50 to find out precisley nothing!

BubbleFrogette

Thanks strawberry9 - yes it is on French plates so hopefully we won't hear anything more!

MissMoneypenny

Are you are working or living in the UK? If you are, then it is an offence to use your French registered car here and the police can impound the car. DVLA also get involved with this as the owner is evading car tax. You can only have a uk registered car if you live or work in the uk.

Someone near me tried to get away with this when stopped by the police, by claiming he had only just arrived in the country, despite having his work tools in the back of his car. So the police and dvla found his car on google street maps.

BubbleFrogette

MissMoneypenny - the original post refers to my partner not me. His French car normally stays in France, so he has nothing to fear from either the Police or the DVLA.

MissMoneypenny

BubbleFrogette wrote: »

MissMoneypenny - the original post refers to my partner not me. His French car normally stays in France, so he has nothing to fear from either the Police or the DVLA.

Just to clarify, as long as he doesn't live or work in the UK, then he is allowed to bring his car over. If he does live or work in the UK but sometimes brings his french car over, then that is illegal.

BubbleFrogette

Please describe the law which you refer to, for my reference.

MissMoneypenny

BubbleFrogette wrote: »

Please describe the law which you refer to, for my reference.

So are you saying he is working over here and still using his french car sometimes? That is illegal.

Apart from the person I know who had his car seized (he was allowed to pay the fine and fees and retrieve his car to take it back to his county), watch the police programmes that are on tv. One that sticks in my mind is one where someone had his car seized at Lakeside while the Kent and Essex traffic police were doing a joint operation. The car owner tried to get out of it by saying that he didn't know that was the law, but the police made it quite clear that if he was living in another country, it was his responsibilty to find out the laws of that country.

When you think about it logically, every person who lives in the uk are liable to the laws here. Every car on the road for a uk resident, is required by law to have a road tax disk, insurance and a valid MOT if the car is over a certain age. The police cars are fitted with computers to identfy from the number plate, those that don't have insurance or an MOT and can cease those cars. They can't check on a resident's car plate's if they aren't complying with the law and not using a uk registered car. Hence why UK law states that foreign nationals can only drive a uk registred car if they live or work here.

Also, foreign plates in any country are hard to chase up when the owner is required to pay a fine, or have caused an accident and have driven away.

If you still think you can use foreign registered car here while the owner lives in the UK, then why not phone up the DVLA and let them tell you that you can't do that? You don't have to give your name or address. Just tell then it is a general enquiry.

All it would take is a disgruntled neighbour to report the person on the DVLA hotline and the DVLA will be on to the car owner.

I hope all of this helps you.

MissMP

BubbleFrogette

You keep saying it's illegal yet fail to cite the law which clarifies this. We believe that the law allows an EU vehicle to be driven in the UK for 6 months on the foreign plates, after which time the plates need to be changed to UK ones. I have read nothing of what you say.

MissMoneypenny

That is your choice to make.

MissMoneypenny

BubbleFrogette wrote: »

You keep saying it's illegal yet fail to cite the law which clarifies this. We believe that the law allows an EU vehicle to be driven in the UK for 6 months on the foreign plates, after which time the plates need to be changed to UK ones. I have read nothing of what you say.

It takes just a few seconds to google it, to find what the law says. It is up to your OH to check the laws of the country he lives in.

It seems your OH is getting confused with the exemption that allows a person who resides in the country where the car is registered, to use it for up to 6 months in 12 months, in the UK without having to register it in the UK.

But for those who reside here...

From the uk governments website:-

"The police who can at any time ask a person to demonstrate that they are eligible to use the vehicle without registering and licensing it in the UK."

"where the keeper of the vehicle becomes resident in this country, the vehicle must immediately be registered and licensed here. Once a vehicle has been registered in this country its use must be covered by a motor insurance policy issued by a motor insurer authorised in the UK."

As I said, it is illegal for your partner to use his french registered car in the uk if he lives here, as you seem to suggest he does. Even signing on at a doctors would prove he is a resident here.