Car seized MID showing no insurance but was insured

whizzi

My daughter's partner was stopped by police saying his car was showing up as having no insurance. His insurance had been automatically updated that day and he did not have any certificate to prove this at the time. They had the car taken away and he had to produce his insurance documents the next day. He took them the next day and was told he would have to pay to retrieve his car and also pay £25 for every extra night it was there, unfortunately they closed at 5pm and he was unable to get the car till the following day.

As he did have insurance he asked if he would be able to be reimbursed but the police said it was nothing to do with them as they were just doing their job,(which is fair enough) the recovery people said it was up to the insurers to reimburse him, but they will not accept responsibility either.

Since then he has now received a letter saying he will be fined £300 and have 6 points applied to his licence?? How can this be right, can anyone throw any light on this and if you know who he can contact??

We do know that the insurance companies have up to 7 days to update the MID which does not seem to make sense especially if the police are able to use this information in this way surely it should be updated as soon as you are insured.

forgotmyname

Could they not contact his insurance at the time to confirm he was insured?

Mercdriver

He needs to get a letter from his insurers to state categorically that at the time of the stop that he was insured.

esmerobbo

Mercdriver wrote: »

He needs to get a letter from his insurers to state categorically that at the time of the stop that he was insured.

They would have one it is called an certificate of insurance, with a start and end time and date!

I had a car seized incorrectly and never had to pay a penny, in my case it was insured as business and anyone over 25 could drive. However I had two under 25's named on the policy, however the data base only stated any driver over 25.

A 22 year old got done for undertaking an unmarked police car. Once I produced the certificate the Police phoned the recovery company to release it without charge.

Was there a period between the expiry and the start of the policy were they were not insured?

If the letter they received is an offer of a fixed penalty simply refuse the offer go to court and produce a valid certificate of insurance for the time they were stopped. Or you could try the penalty enforcement unit of the local force and see if they will cancel it on production of the certificate.

maninthestreet

what date and time was he stopped? On the current insurance certificate, what date and time does it state it is valid?

facade

esmerobbo wrote: »

They would have one it is called an certificate of insurance, with a start and end time and date!

Which could have been cancelled for any number of reasons.

That is why a letter from the insurer stating categorically that he was covered at the time of the stop for the purpose that he was using the car for is normally required once he has been summonsed.


By all accounts, the Police try to contact the claimed insurer if within office hours, and should give the benefit of the doubt at the roadside if you produce a certificate, and not impound the car. But they will follow it up, as there are so many people who have insurance cancelled by "forgetting" to pay installments, or who are delivering when they don't have business insurance.

ChumLee

facade wrote: »

Which could have been cancelled for any number of reasons.

That is why a letter from the insurer stating categorically that he was covered at the time of the stop for the purpose that he was using the car for is normally required once he has been summonsed.


By all accounts, the Police try to contact the claimed insurer if within office hours, and should give the benefit of the doubt at the roadside if you produce a certificate, and not impound the car. But they will follow it up, as there are so many people who have insurance cancelled by "forgetting" to pay installments, or who are delivering when they don't have business insurance.

Even out of hours he could have been given the benefit of the doubt. The police have access to previous insurance information and it would clearly show his policy ending hours before the stop. I guess his story wasn't too convincing when stopped.

ChumLee

Mercdriver wrote: »

He needs to get a letter from his insurers to state categorically that at the time of the stop that he was insured.

Why? When he goes to produce his documents the database will clearly show his was insured at the time of driving.

facade

ChumLee wrote: »

Why? When he goes to produce his documents the database will clearly show his was insured at the time of driving.

If this was the case, one would assume that he would not have been summonsed for no insurance at a later date, even I can't see the CPS raising all that paperwork when one click of a mouse could have consigned the file to the NFA box.

ChumLee

facade wrote: »

If this was the case, one would assume that he would not have been summonsed for no insurance at a later date, even I can't see the CPS raising all that paperwork when one click of a mouse could have consigned the file to the NFA box.

He hasn't been summonsed yet.

Mercdriver

There is an error somewhere that still hasn't been picked up. Remember that with an insurance related endorsement most hire companies won't let you hire their cars. Personally, I'd rather get confirmation from the insurance company ASAP and get the matter dealt with than lose a day's pay you won't get back to visit a court to see off something that could have been so simple. But then, I'm just me.

Wait for court date? What really poor advice!