A crushing experience.
Discussion
EDP24 said:
It may not have been a Porsche or Ferrari, but Nick Pagano felt like a king of the road when his parents handed over the keys of his 18th birthday present.
But the university student spoke of his shock last night after a council towed away and crushed his beloved first car into a cube without apparent warning.
The 19-year-old and his parents were left fuming after their 17-year-old Fiat Panda disappeared from its parking place near the University of East Anglia and was scrapped six days later.
The family, from Campion Road, Thetford, is now facing a £155 bill from Norfolk County Council after the cherished vehicle was deemed to be abandoned.
Mr Pagano, who has just finished a first year chemistry course at the UEA, said he would have to give up his summer barman job in Norwich because of the loss of his car.
"We assumed that the car had been stolen on June 8 and reported it to the police, but on Saturday we received a letter from the council saying that it had been destroyed. I was quite surprised because we received no communication from the council until then," he said.
Mr Pagano said the F-reg car was in an "immaculate" condition for its age and only had 40,000 miles on the clock when he legally parked it on Bridge Farm Lane, a housing estate near the university campus, on June 4.
But when the student returned four days later after completing his end of year exams and subsequent celebrations, the red Fiat was gone. During his absence, a rear side window had been smashed and Norwich City Council identified the Fiat as an abandoned vehicle with no tax disc.
Mother Liz Pagano said the incident was "difficult to comprehend" because the car contained work clothes, documents, and important university coursework.
She added that the car had five months tax and she was planning to take the matter to the small claims court. Some of the student's science coursework had been returned, but most of the papers were still missing, she claimed.
"It is such a pity because he has not had the car for long and it has always been looked after. It was not abandoned in any shape or form and it is not justified to scrap the car because we have spent a lot of money to keep it on the road. It has recently had a new clutch, steering column and had 11 months MOT," she said.
Mark Langlands, spokesman for Norfolk County Council, said legislation gave authorities the power to destroy cars which posed a potential hazard.
"The car was collected on June 8 as an abandoned vehicle at the request of Norwich City Council and was taken to our storage compound. It had no tax disc displayed and its rear side window had been smashed. A notice was attached to the car on June 7 warning the owner that it needed to be moved within 24 hours, but no action was taken."
"We have spoken to Mrs Pagano about her complaint and we will respond to her fully in due course once we have spoken to the staff involved," he said.
But the university student spoke of his shock last night after a council towed away and crushed his beloved first car into a cube without apparent warning.
The 19-year-old and his parents were left fuming after their 17-year-old Fiat Panda disappeared from its parking place near the University of East Anglia and was scrapped six days later.
The family, from Campion Road, Thetford, is now facing a £155 bill from Norfolk County Council after the cherished vehicle was deemed to be abandoned.
Mr Pagano, who has just finished a first year chemistry course at the UEA, said he would have to give up his summer barman job in Norwich because of the loss of his car.
"We assumed that the car had been stolen on June 8 and reported it to the police, but on Saturday we received a letter from the council saying that it had been destroyed. I was quite surprised because we received no communication from the council until then," he said.
Mr Pagano said the F-reg car was in an "immaculate" condition for its age and only had 40,000 miles on the clock when he legally parked it on Bridge Farm Lane, a housing estate near the university campus, on June 4.
But when the student returned four days later after completing his end of year exams and subsequent celebrations, the red Fiat was gone. During his absence, a rear side window had been smashed and Norwich City Council identified the Fiat as an abandoned vehicle with no tax disc.
Mother Liz Pagano said the incident was "difficult to comprehend" because the car contained work clothes, documents, and important university coursework.
She added that the car had five months tax and she was planning to take the matter to the small claims court. Some of the student's science coursework had been returned, but most of the papers were still missing, she claimed.
"It is such a pity because he has not had the car for long and it has always been looked after. It was not abandoned in any shape or form and it is not justified to scrap the car because we have spent a lot of money to keep it on the road. It has recently had a new clutch, steering column and had 11 months MOT," she said.
Mark Langlands, spokesman for Norfolk County Council, said legislation gave authorities the power to destroy cars which posed a potential hazard.
"The car was collected on June 8 as an abandoned vehicle at the request of Norwich City Council and was taken to our storage compound. It had no tax disc displayed and its rear side window had been smashed. A notice was attached to the car on June 7 warning the owner that it needed to be moved within 24 hours, but no action was taken."
"We have spoken to Mrs Pagano about her complaint and we will respond to her fully in due course once we have spoken to the staff involved," he said.
I'd have thought "It had no tax disc displayed and its rear side window had been smashed" would have been a bit of a clue!!
Edited by C C on Saturday 24th June 01:46
Notice that the Council's spokesman - Mark Langlands - trotted out the spurious argument that: "legislation gave authorities the power to destroy cars which posed a potential hazard". "Parked legally" does not suggest a potential hazard. They'll be arresting the student under terrorism laws next (using some 300 of Norfolk's finest, a helicopter and an air-exclusion zone, no doubt!) - Streaky
Extremely unlikely, as I don't think Norfolk has 300 finest. Given they admitted to mustering 2 for the west half of Norwich, the chances of 300 BiB is nil.
There's a lot of dossers sitting on their backsides in the ludicrously overpriced PFI building in Wymondham, but BiB ? Nope.
Be fair, I did see one on patrol the other day (mind you a less frightening PC I've yet to see, looked like a small version of Brains from Thunderbirds, might have been a PSCO though). Apart from doing the 'travellers' (yay !) and doing the hunt (boo !) can't recall seeing any.
Though we are spending £1m on PSCOs. And lots of money on suspended slappers in the PR department. Not sure which is the more useless.
There's a lot of dossers sitting on their backsides in the ludicrously overpriced PFI building in Wymondham, but BiB ? Nope.
Be fair, I did see one on patrol the other day (mind you a less frightening PC I've yet to see, looked like a small version of Brains from Thunderbirds, might have been a PSCO though). Apart from doing the 'travellers' (yay !) and doing the hunt (boo !) can't recall seeing any.
Though we are spending £1m on PSCOs. And lots of money on suspended slappers in the PR department. Not sure which is the more useless.
Norfolk County Council said:
A notice was attached to the car on June 7 warning the owner that it needed to be moved within 24 hours, but no action was taken.
WTF? So to stop the council adding insult to injury by crushing your car after some scrote breaks into it you now have to check your vehicle at least every 24 hours, just in case?
nicecupoftea said:
Hollywood Wheels said:
autismuk said:
Be fair, I did see one on patrol the other day (mind you a less frightening PC I've yet to see, looked like a small version of Brains from Thunderbirds
An F Reg Panda? Deserved to be crushed....
What was your first car?
Eeeerrr.....it was a........*ahem*............F-Reg Renault 19
jasandjules said:
The student will win this one quite easily in court.
4 days is hardly abandoned, and the council will have been required to make "reasonable enquiries" to find the owner etc..
4 days is hardly abandoned, and the council will have been required to make "reasonable enquiries" to find the owner etc..
You would have thought that they might have contacted DVLA to get licenced keeper information.
Anyway this sets a dangerous precedent - you could go on holiday for 2 weeks leaving your car parked outside your house. Someone smashes a window, and hey presto a couple of days later the council have put a note on it, and as you don't respond to the request on the note they destroy the car.
You come back from holiday 10 days later, and hey presto - no car.
"well it's your own fault for not contacting us within the specifid 3 day period, sir" they'll say.
Steve
Outrageous is the only thing I can say.
Let me get this right, you park your car and some scrote smashes a window, you arrive 25 hours later to find that your car is no longer there and report ot stolen, only to find its been crushed!!
Would they have done this if it was a £100,000 Aston?
RANT RANT RANT.
Let me get this right, you park your car and some scrote smashes a window, you arrive 25 hours later to find that your car is no longer there and report ot stolen, only to find its been crushed!!
Would they have done this if it was a £100,000 Aston?
RANT RANT RANT.
Hollywood Wheels said:
nicecupoftea said:
Hollywood Wheels said:
autismuk said:
Be fair, I did see one on patrol the other day (mind you a less frightening PC I've yet to see, looked like a small version of Brains from Thunderbirds
An F Reg Panda? Deserved to be crushed....
What was your first car?
Eeeerrr.....it was a........*ahem*............F-Reg Renault 19
Case closed M'lud :judge
Seriously, sounds like it was his P&J. People are funny about cars - many people think that all old cars are bangers, they fail to appreciate that some people prefer classics. My car is an H reg but is a modern classic IMO and I would be absolutely gutted if some blotter jotter decided to crush it as above
autismuk said:
Extremely unlikely, as I don't think Norfolk has 300 finest. Given they admitted to mustering 2 for the west half of Norwich, the chances of 300 BiB is nil.
There's a lot of dossers sitting on their backsides in the ludicrously overpriced PFI building in Wymondham, but BiB ? Nope.
Be fair, I did see one on patrol the other day (mind you a less frightening PC I've yet to see, looked like a small version of Brains from Thunderbirds, might have been a PSCO though). Apart from doing the 'travellers' (yay !) and doing the hunt (boo !) can't recall seeing any.
Though we are spending £1m on PSCOs. And lots of money on suspended slappers in the PR department. Not sure which is the more useless.
You're hanging "ladies of the night" in Norfolk? Seems the people south of you have the wrong idea about you There's a lot of dossers sitting on their backsides in the ludicrously overpriced PFI building in Wymondham, but BiB ? Nope.
Be fair, I did see one on patrol the other day (mind you a less frightening PC I've yet to see, looked like a small version of Brains from Thunderbirds, might have been a PSCO though). Apart from doing the 'travellers' (yay !) and doing the hunt (boo !) can't recall seeing any.
Though we are spending £1m on PSCOs. And lots of money on suspended slappers in the PR department. Not sure which is the more useless.
- StreakyHollywood Wheels said:
autismuk said:
Be fair, I did see one on patrol the other day (mind you a less frightening PC I've yet to see, looked like a small version of Brains from Thunderbirds
An F Reg Panda? Deserved to be crushed....
Went on holiday with the Missus (then Fiancee) to France in one once. Also taken one up Porlock Hill. Crushing's too good for them.
It amazes me with stories like this that the authorities don't have the common sense to do little things like check the car tax database to see if there is a valid tax disc for the car - after all they don't have to find you to fine you if you tax expires these days!
Then again I suppose my utopian vision of a government whose left hand knows what the right hand is doing is a little too much to ask for...
Then again I suppose my utopian vision of a government whose left hand knows what the right hand is doing is a little too much to ask for...
the best fun small car I have ever owned was a Panda Assuming that there's nothing more to the story, this is nothing less than an outrage.
Is there any conceivable reason why, if the car really was a hazard, the mental midgets on the council could not have kept it impounded for a period sufficient to enable the RK to respond, without crushing it?
One hopes that the council has to reimburse the lad for all losses and attendant costs, and that the council cretin responsible for this insanity gets sacked.
The former is possible. Given the Local Authorities' Jobs-For-Life scheme, that latter seems highly unlikely.
Is there any conceivable reason why, if the car really was a hazard, the mental midgets on the council could not have kept it impounded for a period sufficient to enable the RK to respond, without crushing it?
One hopes that the council has to reimburse the lad for all losses and attendant costs, and that the council cretin responsible for this insanity gets sacked.
The former is possible. Given the Local Authorities' Jobs-For-Life scheme, that latter seems highly unlikely.
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