Should my car have been impounded?
Discussion
While everyone else was basking in the sunshine, I had quite an eventful weekend...
I was driving with my family and got pulled over by the police whose first words were "you don't have any insurance on this vehicle, we're going to have to seize it unless you can prove otherwise". I showed them my insurance documents but they wanted to call my insurers to verify as I could have cancelled it after taking out the policy
But their office was closed so they took my car away, leaving me, my wife, 2 year old kid and luggage on the side of a dodgy South London street.
It later transpired that my insurance company had made an error, they had input an "L" as an "I". Indeed the plate with the "I" was showing up as insured on askmid. I had actually asked the plod if they checked for any possible typos and they said they had checked everything.
I've now got my car back at the cost of £190 which my insurer may or may not reimburse. The question is, were the plod too heavy handed in their approach given the situation? I clearly don't look like a criminal mastermind and they said they're not going to prosecute me for 6 points and a fine as they believed that I did pay for insurance and that it was an administrative error somewhere. But in that case, why not just let me go and ask me to visit a police station later with the corrected documents? On reflection, it seemed like a pure cash grab as their mindset from the start was to seize my car.
I was driving with my family and got pulled over by the police whose first words were "you don't have any insurance on this vehicle, we're going to have to seize it unless you can prove otherwise". I showed them my insurance documents but they wanted to call my insurers to verify as I could have cancelled it after taking out the policy
But their office was closed so they took my car away, leaving me, my wife, 2 year old kid and luggage on the side of a dodgy South London street.It later transpired that my insurance company had made an error, they had input an "L" as an "I". Indeed the plate with the "I" was showing up as insured on askmid. I had actually asked the plod if they checked for any possible typos and they said they had checked everything.
I've now got my car back at the cost of £190 which my insurer may or may not reimburse. The question is, were the plod too heavy handed in their approach given the situation? I clearly don't look like a criminal mastermind and they said they're not going to prosecute me for 6 points and a fine as they believed that I did pay for insurance and that it was an administrative error somewhere. But in that case, why not just let me go and ask me to visit a police station later with the corrected documents? On reflection, it seemed like a pure cash grab as their mindset from the start was to seize my car.
k up, not yours and not the police.The officer needs "reasonable belief" that the vehicle is not insured. From what police officers have said on here previously, a vehicle *not* being on the MID/PNC is generally not enough proof on its own, because the officer would know that the database is subject to error. In the past you might have been given the benefit of the doubt and given a producer to get the MID record fixed, but perhaps those days are gone, especially if the error rate is much lower now.
That said, as mentioned above was the registration error on the certificate that you produced? Also was it bought online or over the phone?
That said, as mentioned above was the registration error on the certificate that you produced? Also was it bought online or over the phone?
Can you login to your insurer online to do policy stuff? I can for example and would be able to prove my car was insured, just a thought for future reference incase this happens again, or to someone else reading the thread..
I would however be chasing the insurance company for the release fee etc.
I would however be chasing the insurance company for the release fee etc.
I think you've been hard done by, the Police don't have to impound the car, they can still give a producer. I would have expected a bit more professionalism, and only taking cars where they know its not insured, not just when its not showing on MID. That's an indication it may not be insured, not proof.
Speculation that you may have cancelled it is not proof. Without speaking to the insurer, they should have taken the car, as they don't know its not insured, they just think it might not be.
I would also be making a complaint to the police, they didn't act correctly - in my opinion, others may disagree.
Speculation that you may have cancelled it is not proof. Without speaking to the insurer, they should have taken the car, as they don't know its not insured, they just think it might not be.
I would also be making a complaint to the police, they didn't act correctly - in my opinion, others may disagree.
Trax said:
I think you've been hard done by, the Police don't have to impound the car, they can still give a producer. I would have expected a bit more professionalism, and only taking cars where they know its not insured, not just when its not showing on MID. That's an indication it may not be insured, not proof.
Speculation that you may have cancelled it is not proof. Without speaking to the insurer, they should have taken the car, as they don't know its not insured, they just think it might not be.
I would also be making a complaint to the police, they didn't act correctly - in my opinion, others may disagree.
The problem with just giving a producer is the driver leaves the police, is frustrated at being stopped and promptly pulls out into another car. It then transpires he isn't insured. I can just see all the headlines. "Police allow uninsured driver to carry on driving car"Speculation that you may have cancelled it is not proof. Without speaking to the insurer, they should have taken the car, as they don't know its not insured, they just think it might not be.
I would also be making a complaint to the police, they didn't act correctly - in my opinion, others may disagree.
This is just another reason that every couple of months I go on MID a check the vehicles I drive are insured.
Trax said:
I think you've been hard done by, the Police don't have to impound the car, they can still give a producer. I would have expected a bit more professionalism, and only taking cars where they know its not insured, not just when its not showing on MID. That's an indication it may not be insured, not proof.
Speculation that you may have cancelled it is not proof. Without speaking to the insurer, they should have taken the car, as they don't know its not insured, they just think it might not be.
I would also be making a complaint to the police, they didn't act correctly - in my opinion, others may disagree.
Your complaint would quite rightly be binned. Speculation that you may have cancelled it is not proof. Without speaking to the insurer, they should have taken the car, as they don't know its not insured, they just think it might not be.
I would also be making a complaint to the police, they didn't act correctly - in my opinion, others may disagree.
Complain to the insurance company who actually made the mistake.
I had a pull one Sunday evening having just bought a car on the Saturday morning.
Officers pulled me over and explained my car was showing no insurance. I said I had just bought it but it was insured. I was expecting "that old chestnut". I showed the officer the receipt for the car, the MOT certificate, the tax disc was in the windscreen and I still had the insurance certificate for my previous car.
I was given a producer. The reason I hadn't received my new insurance certificate by PDF was that the insurer had my email address mis-spelled.
I think you were unlucky, OP.
Officers pulled me over and explained my car was showing no insurance. I said I had just bought it but it was insured. I was expecting "that old chestnut". I showed the officer the receipt for the car, the MOT certificate, the tax disc was in the windscreen and I still had the insurance certificate for my previous car.
I was given a producer. The reason I hadn't received my new insurance certificate by PDF was that the insurer had my email address mis-spelled.
I think you were unlucky, OP.
The police did their job unfortunately (for you) - your issue is between you and your insurer, but as has already been pointed out you have to shoulder some responsibility if you did not check the insurance documents for something as basic as your registration number being correct when you took out (or renewed) the policy.
chrisch77 said:
The police did their job unfortunately (for you) - your issue is between you and your insurer, but as has already been pointed out you have to shoulder some responsibility if you did not check the insurance documents for something as basic as your registration number being correct when you took out (or renewed) the policy.
That is something that I will take away from this, as well as checking on askmid. I probably did have a quick scan through the documents but a lower case L and upper case I look the same.CypSIdders said:
I find it very hard to believe that the plod who pulled you were unaware that the letter "I" is one of the letters not used in VRM's!
This is very true, however the letter "I" does look exactly the same as the number "1" (not typed on here, but it does on a number plate). So the number plate would look like "eleven" xxx and not L1 xxx.However with only two options I wouldn't have thought it would be too hard for average copper to work it out!
I would say the fault lies:-
50% Insurance co for the typo
49% Plod for being way too heavy handed
1% OP for not checking the paperwork.
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