Fined £270 Even Though I Had Car Insurance - Fighting Since June 2009!

Marv02

Why are so many people considering my post a "troll?" I mean, when I was collecting the car from the pound that day, another lady there was stuck in the same boat too. Infact, so where 2 or 3 other guys now that you mention it. They all had insurance they only paid for a few days before they where pulled over, yet couldn't show documents on the road side.

And who the hell would bother writing all that out to "troll" jesus how sad are some people? Do I sound like a troll? Why is this even considered a trollable post anyway? It's not like I'm attacking a race or something... Jeez...

ginnersinner

Wireframe, no, his claim is with the Police. It's probably in their contract that any refunds come from the Police not the pound - they'd be a bit annoyed if every time the Police wrongly impounded a car - which happens occasionally - they're out of pocket!!

However, going to the front counter or writing a general letter to the Chief Constable won't help either. You need to find the right address. There will either be an address on the paperwork somewhere, or the Force will have a 'civil claims' or 'accident claims' section. They will know exactly what to do. The person at the front counter won't, and any address they give you is likely only to be a guess.

Read through the paperwork again, and if there's nothing useful there, check the Force's website or telephone them. If you're happy to name the force, do it and I'll even look at the website for you myself. There is no doubt that you should get a refund, the problem clearly is that no one you've spoken to so far seems to know how to get you it.

Also, you might want to check on the website for the Force policy in relation to seizing vehicles in the first place - some will say that they won't seize vehicles unless there's an admission at the roadside of no insurance, and if a driver insists that they have, they should be given the chance to prove so by getting a 'producer'.

Marv02

ginnersinner wrote: »

Wireframe, no, his claim is with the Police. It's probably in their contract that any refunds come from the Police not the pound - they'd be a bit annoyed if every time the Police wrongly impounded a car - which happens occasionally - they're out of pocket!!

However, going to the front counter or writing a general letter to the Chief Constable won't help either. You need to find the right address. There will either be an address on the paperwork somewhere, or the Force will have a 'civil claims' or 'accident claims' section. They will know exactly what to do. The person at the front counter won't, and any address they give you is likely only to be a guess.

Read through the paperwork again, and if there's nothing useful there, check the Force's website or telephone them. If you're happy to name the force, do it and I'll even look at the website for you myself. There is no doubt that you should get a refund, the problem clearly is that no one you've spoken to so far seems to know how to get you it.

Also, you might want to check on the website for the Force policy in relation to seizing vehicles in the first place - some will say that they won't seize vehicles unless there's an admission at the roadside of no insurance, and if a driver insists that they have, they should be given the chance to prove so by getting a 'producer'.

Thanks, this has really cheered me up! I was coming back on here with a !!!!y mood. I don't mind naming the station that the officer was opointed too. If I'm not mistaken, it was "Deptford Police Station" but it could have also been Lewisham Police Station. (seen as where were on the tip of lewisham, but I know it was deptford becuase I saw him behind the desk one other day.)

Thanks for the reply btw. Just to ask, are you sure an Advice Bureau won't be of any help? I heard they where free?

Thanks again!

ArsenalFC

Marv you are new to the forum, there are many idiots on here with nothing better to do, ignore them.

I hope you will get your money back soon. Try different routes helpful members have advised. Personally if all else fail I would issue court proceeding on the police department.

Marv02

ArsenalFC wrote: »

Marv you are new to the forum, there are many idiots on here with nothing better to do, ignore them.

I hope you will get your money back soon. Try different routes helpful members have advised. Personally if all else fail I would issue court proceeding on the police department.

Thanks, I've noticed that. I'm suprised they haven't been banned, I mean, how the survived this long is incredible.

Regarding the court proceeding... How do I go about doing one of these, I was actually considering this, but I have no clue as to what the process is. (is a lot of $$ required?)

gaz_jones

I dont' have anything useful to say other than ignore the trolls. You sound like an honest guy with an honest opinion to me. MSE is turning very 'local pub' lately. It seems if you don't have a couple of hundred/thousand posts you're automatically branded as a troll.

I hope you manage to find an answer.

forgotmyname

On the TV shows i have seen them phone the insurance company to verify details.

Any reason why they didnt do that?

You can file for small claims online but who would you name on the forms?
Might need legal help with that.

robredz

If it doesn't show on the database they are programmed to impound, as it is another crime cleared up, another box ticked. They came unstuck in North Wales in 2007 when they impounded a car that was correctly insured being driven by a heavily pregnant woman who was left distressed at the roadside far from home with a £200 penalty with 6 points wrongfully imposed, with an extra £105 to get the car back. I think the fine was refunded and the points quoshed.
see here for details:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6236934.stm

It may be worth a letter to your new MP, and the local Police Authority, to gee them up a bit, as quoted from the above linked article:

"David Jones MP said it was an example of how people were having to prove their innocence against the sometimes erroneous word of a computer. He has written to chief constable Richard Brunstrom seeking an explanation about the treatment of Mrs Parry and the distress caused to her and her parents.
Mr Jones said he wanted to know why Mrs Parry's mother had to pay for the recovery of the family car, which was being used quite legally".



It is right that uninsured drivers should be penalised but this system is obviously broken.


I'm surprised the 'lator hasn't been on to give his cheerily negative comments is he banned perchance?

Marv02

forgotmyname wrote: »

On the TV shows i have seen them phone the insurance company to verify details.

Any reason why they didnt do that?

You can file for small claims online but who would you name on the forms?
Might need legal help with that.

I think he did try, but they where closed at the time. (it was around 8pm)

Small claims court? This could work, but again, process wise, I have no idea how it works and the ammount of $$ that could be involved. O, and on my statement, for the £270, it says "Metropolitian Police" with a reference number, and nothing else.

Marv02

robredz wrote: »

If it doesn't show on the database they are programmed to impound, as it is another crime cleared up, another box ticked. They came unstuck in North Wales in 2007 when they impounded a car that was correctly insured being driven by a heavily pregnant woman who was left distressed at the roadside far from home with a £200 penalty with 6 points wrongfully imposed, with an extra £105 to get the car back. I think the fine was refunded and the points quoshed.
see here for details:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6236934.stm

It may be worth a letter to your new MP, and the local Police Authority, to gee them up a bit, as quoted from the above linked article:

"David Jones MP said it was an example of how people were having to prove their innocence against the sometimes erroneous word of a computer. He has written to chief constable Richard Brunstrom seeking an explanation about the treatment of Mrs Parry and the distress caused to her and her parents.
Mr Jones said he wanted to know why Mrs Parry's mother had to pay for the recovery of the family car, which was being used quite legally".



It is right that uninsured drivers should be penalised but this system is obviously broken.


I'm surprised the 'lator hasn't been on to give his cheerily negative comments is he banned perchance?

Thanks for the reply. Regarding the wales incedent, I could only imagine that wales is not as big as london, and mostly small towns with local people. In a situation like that, it is common for you to be helped, but this is England... London. Sending letters to MP's would probbally be the least effective way, especially if they've just been elected having hundreads of mail everyday from people.

But I'd give it a try never the less. Thanks again!