Since 2018, on my walk to the train station I walk past an increasingly decrepit 2011 Fiat 500. Its one of those in the cute baby blue colour, with a traditional style cloth sun roof. Its an uttler heap
At first, it was that folding sunfoof, now a grubby beige. It was obviously not closing properly, and the leading edge was reinforced with gaffer tape. That was in 2018. Then in 2019, the drivers door window was permanently half open, all weathers. The owner had taken to leaving a cushion on the seat, presumably because the seat was sodden.
Lately the front bumper fascia is hanging off, its been bashed into a walk, and the bonnet isn’t fully closed. The drivers door handle is missing.
I finally got around to looking up the MOT record, and its shocking. In all the years this car has been MOT’d, including its first one in 2014, there is not a single clean MOT, and most MOTs are fails (though mostly for minor things like bulbs). The MOT expired in September 2024. I have seen this car driven sometime last year, and I was a little surprised the driver was a heavy set shaven headed bloke. The MOT history indicates the usage of the car has picked up in recent years to about 7000 miles a year.
It hasn’t been taxed since 2021, and is not SORN’d. I’m not sure how a car that has covered at least 25,000 miles since it was last taxed has not thrown any red flags on some system.
Not taxed technically means it is also not insured.
However - based on the total lack of response that reporting untaxed cars seems to get - it seems like a waste of time.
Guy across the road from me had a car abandoned in front of his house.
It was untaxed, uninsured and had no MOT
He reported the car every day for SIX months and nothing happened.
One day it suddenly disappeared - no one saw it go.
Why should we pay our way, while others seemingly take the mick. Happens in so many aspects of life. Nuts how it hasn’t been picked up by some DVLA camera or roadside wagon.
Crimestoppers is online as well. Bedfordshire Police is as well, but I rather report this anonymously.
The car has been moved. 2 days ago, it was parked front against the kerb; thats when I noticed the door handle gone. The car has tapped into something recently.
Apparently my NC Sport that I traded two years ago, has neither been taxed nor MoT’d since it left me. I find this sad as it was a lovely, well-maintained car, which should have provided someone with a worthwhile buy.
It appeared on an advert at a Peterborough car sale business, so I would guess it is probably still being used somewhere…? But if it is I suppose it is not insured either.
I would report it but there is a good chance nothing may come out of it.
I have been told by a police officer close to me that in some cases cars like that one (no MOT when you search through the regular channels, seemingly no tax etc) are used by undercover officers. These vehicles have a special permissions to be on the road and are in fact tested and checked regularly, but their records are kept suspicious on purpose. This was a while back and may not be the case anymore mind you.
I’m not saying this one is an undercover cop, but it could be, and that would be cool haha.
Some police forces have an online video reporting service in case of dangerous or inconsiderate driving. If the condition or location could fall into those categories you could try that.
Exactly has been said report it, we pay our tax and insurance etc so why should they get away with it.
On a similar subject I was watching a video in the local area I live, owner had put up secret cameras to combat fly tipping, of which happen weekly.
The camera picked up with sound a suspicious looking trio in a Merc or Audi, can’t remember which. After checking their ID’s and asking them why they were there they left them to it. They were actually having a roadside barbecue in one of those throw away containers, which I thought was dodgy anyway if I was a PC. The police as I say left them to it, it later became apparent that the car they were in hadn’t been taxed or MOTed since the year before but the police didn’t check that. I believe this has since been reported to the police and video evidence of the mess they left behind, all the food cooked and barbecue remains.
I pay £500 p.a. to rent a garage for Bullit away from the property in a block
There is a tiny car park adjacent to my bedsit bungalow which is classed as ‘part of the public highway’. It’s a cul-de-sac so the road ends in the car park.
There is only room for about six vehicles plus because it’s so small you really need to leave once space free for folk to turn around easily e.g. all visitors/delivery drivers/handipersons/F&F etc
It’s the only space for us eight OAP’s to use !
Yet neighbours in adjacent streets with garages and space and roads on their properties just use it for any extra vehicles they own and intermittently use
The worst was when a neighbour decided to try out a road vehicle recovery truck for a few months
So yes…I check unknown vehicles to see if they are Taxed and MOT’ed and if they are not I report them
A Vauxhall Astra had SORNED their vehicle on the car park a few weeks back so I reported it and it’s gone
So yes …for purely selfish reasons for me and my elderly neighbours I dob !
It’s not selfish reasons. You pay your way, and if others want to legally park and share public roads, they have to too. A US phrase I’d use to them is ‘Welcome to the NFL’
Always baffles me to how people must have IQ’s of 70 or something, as surely if one was doing something in life which they shouldn’t be doing, which could have financial consequences, the last thing you’d do is do it where you’d cheese someone off. By me, well the next estate, a year or so ago, some idiot parked their car for ages right on the corner of the road, and half on the curb totally blocking walking access and access to a ‘green’ telephone box. Checking up, no tax, no MOT, but lived over the road (I think). Why would you park your car like that if you knew you were dong something dogey (no tax/MOT). Idiots’ brains should be a PhD topic.
It’s like the victim playing, ‘oh the poor plight’ of whining when someone gets a ticket for double yellow line parking. What’s the issue; you can’t legally park on double yellow lines and they got caught so have to pay. If they didn’t park on the double yellow lines they wouldn’t get any fine. ‘Entitlement’, don’t ya just love it
Bloke with the low loader was taxed and MOT’ed…but the vehicle was on DVLA as ‘green’ when it was now white and didn’t look like it had had a respray so I reported it as a dodgy vehicle
He then moved it off our car park on to his road and parked it half on the curb on a bend !!!
I have no issue with folk having loads of vehicles providing they have space for them
Another neighbour has a caravan, a saloon and 2 x land rovers…but they are all on his land
It’s this particular neighbour that for some reason wants to amass more vehicles than he has space for that makes me think he has an ‘idiot brain’
Get me…what do you want to be when you grow up…an unpaid Car Park attendant
[Victor Meldrew…eat your heart out]
PS…me internet went down yesterday around 4pm…
After doing my usual ‘IT Crowd’ checks that didn’t work
Called Sky who contacted BT Open Reach
Go figure…the cable had come loose from the telegraph pole and was lying in next doors garden
Fink the IT Crowd dudes should have added that to their check list
The magpies had pulled my phone line out of the junction box under the fascia, so the two crimp connectors between incoming line to pole and house wiring were exposed. But still working at full speed.
Yesterday I was up the ladder putting untidy wire bits back in the BT junction box, adding a second fixing screw, clicking it shut, securing it shut with two cable ties, and tidying away surplus line.
No longer is it as tempting to play with as this mess.
I’ve had sticky tape holding my box closed as it was exactly like yours, sprung open. The tape gave way and it’s open again and it was like that when BT Open reach came to install a new cable for full fibre. It was still like it when they left having completed the job.
They returned to check everything a week later as we had a fault, both times they needed to put up the ladders right next to the box, they left again all working, wires still exposed with the lid open.
Ok they didn’t have to actually connect anything into the box they go to a separate box at ground level, but they harness the cross street cable to the fixing point 6 inches away from it.
It’s like, not on my job list mate, no can do.
