urgent advice on car insurance....this is getting silly

holdinfoldin

other than trying to reclaim the money which we are trying to do i find it very annoying that we live less than 20 minutes from where the car was stopped, a phone call home and i could have driven down relevant documents and all would have been sorted but the police weren't interested. you then turn up at the pound with all correct paperwork and still have to pay £150 or an extra £20 per day storage charge. thanks all for the advice.

rs65

holdinfoldin wrote: »

insurance company insist details were added ( but then i guess they would) .

You said it was on askmid so looks like the insurance company did their bit.

holdinfoldin

i didn't check askmid the first time as i didn't know it existed, however i checked it on the 3rd occasion he was stopped and yes it was there.

Buzby

Askmid additionally tracks changes - although you cannot access this from the web interface. Contact them directly and explain you require the details showing from the date you originally took the vehicle - changes to the insurer, make model etc will be viewable.

holdinfoldin

thanks for that, i will definately do that, could come in handy if i have to go to small claims court.

thenudeone

DELETED USER wrote:

Someone screwed up. Either your insurer didn't add your details to the database or the police bungled the search. Either way someone owes you £150.

Why? Everyone can do exactly what they are supposed to do within the timescales they are supposed to, and your car could still get seized. No one has to refund the fees unless they've done something wrong.

If the police arrest you on suspicion of something, and it later turns out it was someone else, you can't automatically claim for unlawful arrest. In the same way, you can't automatically claim for seizure fees just because it turns out that you were insured at the time.

If you fail to produce a certificate to police at the roadside you have committed an offence. Everyone thinks the law says you get 7 days. It doesn't. The law says that you won't be convicted for the offence of failing to produce a certificate, if you produce it within 7 days, i.e. it's a statutory defence. Parliament has given the police powers to seize vehicles where the offence of failing to produce a certificate has been committed AND where the officer believes it is uninsured.

Before even thinking about court action you should read section 165 and 165A. here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/165
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/165A
If the seizure was legal, the police will not pay the storage fees.

And if the insurer has notified the database within the timescale allowed (they don't have to do so immediately) they are very unlikely to pay you it either. Why should they?