Fined for Car alarm?!

GreenBean100

Hi Guys,
New to this forum but in need of your advice. Was on holiday over the summer and apparently my car alarm had been going off in the early hours of the morning. The council then sent their enviromental team to silence it by disconnecting the battery. Only found about all this on my return a month later.

Took the car to a mechanic friend to try figure out why it may have been going off and he suggested there may have been an attempted break in through O/S window thus damaging alarm loop.

Have since received a letter from council saying i should reimburse them for their costs. I replied initially saying that there were signs of attempted theft/vandalism and therefore could not take responsibility. Alarm was working as it should. They've now replied saying its my responsibility regardless. Really? Not sure I buy that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks all!

wgl2014

Do the council say under what legislation they are requiring payment?

If they are just asking nicely then feel free to ignore.

arcon5

How did they disconnect the battery? As they are not exactly accessible without access to the vehicle, either bonnet or boot depending on car

Nobbie1967

Have you reported the attempted theft to your insurance company? They may payout for the costs incurred in silencing the alarm if it was the result of attempted theft.

Johno100

Did you report the attemped break into your vehicle to the police and get an incident/crime number at the time? If you did that might strengthen your case.

How much money are they after?

Quentin

Councils are entitled to pass on the costs to you to be reimbursed.

It's not a fine.

But you can't expect your fellow tax payers to foot the bill you caused by leaving your car alarmed and not leaving your key with someone to silence it

Same thing happens if you go on holiday and your house alarm has to be silenced

arcon5

It's a ridiculous bill I hope you win your case with them.

Councils like other public services are billing people more and more often nowadays - despite the fact as a tax payer it is also you that pays in to the pot that funds their services.

AdrianC

GreenBean100 wrote: »

Took the car to a mechanic friend to try figure out why it may have been going off and he suggested there may have been an attempted break in through O/S window thus damaging alarm loop.

This makes no sense. Alarms sense disturbance by voltage drop, by vehicle body movement, and by changes in the ultrasonic echoes around the car. On the whole, they don't have "loops" in windows, with the exception of some body side glass on estate cars - which is broken when the window is broken. That apart, the alarm should silence and reset itself after sounding for a period, as explained above.

Is this a factory-fit alarm, or aftermarket? Was the glass broken?

societys_child

The council were contacted, attended, and silenced it, so it appears it was sounding for quite some?

Alarms fitted to your home/business or vehicle should not become a source of nuisance to your neighbours, you have a legal responsibility to ensure that any alarm activated should ring for:

• a maximum 20 minutes – home/business; and
• your vehicle alarm should have a 5 minute cut-out device fitted.

Don't go away on holiday without notifying your neighbour or a contact - nominate a key holder who lives locally.

https://cms.manchester.gov.uk/info/100006/environmental_problems/2956/tackle_a_noise_problem/3

Oops, originally quoted Aussie legislation reposted with UK law (it's been a long day)

Marvel1

GreenBean100 wrote: »

I replied initially saying that there were signs of attempted theft/vandalism and therefore could not take responsibility. Alarm was working as it should. They've now replied saying its my responsibility regardless. Really? Not sure I buy that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks all!

Did you leave the car key with anyone for situations like this when away?

EdGasketTheSecond

How can the council disconnect the battery without breaking in themselves? Also alarms often have their own battery backup so that wouldn't have necessarily silenced the alarm immediately.