Foreign registered delivery vans
Foreign registered delivery vans
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Discussion

GoodDoc

Original Poster:

622 posts

206 months

Saturday 20th October 2012
quotequote all
You see foreign registered commercial vehicles in the UK a regular basis, but this was a brand new pre-facelift right hand drive VW crafter with an empty UK tax disc holder, but on Romanian registration plates.

Is it cheaper to operate foreign registered vans in the UK, or as it was parked outside Starbucks, is this another tax avoidance scheme?



Edited by GoodDoc on Sunday 21st October 20:07

Mandat

4,642 posts

268 months

Saturday 20th October 2012
quotequote all
Most probably due to cheaper Romanian tax and insurance and no parking tickets or congestion charge to pay.

omgus

7,305 posts

205 months

Saturday 20th October 2012
quotequote all
A friend used to do multidrop deliveries and had to provide his own van, good (if morally dubious) way to cut costs if that driver has to do the same.

blank

3,765 posts

218 months

Saturday 20th October 2012
quotequote all
Would that reg get picked up by ANPR etc?

The spacing is a bit off and it's not quite the right font, but it is a UK reg number.

Wonder if the owner of the UK registered Aygo will be getting their tickets?

GoodDoc

Original Poster:

622 posts

206 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
blank said:
Would that reg get picked up by ANPR etc?

The spacing is a bit off and it's not quite the right font, but it is a UK reg number.

Wonder if the owner of the UK registered Aygo will be getting their tickets?
Oddly, this plate does conform to the UK and Romanian plate formats, but the font and spacing match that used on genuine Romanian plate (the SV is used to indicate Suceava on Romanian plates and Aberdeen on UK plates). Still, hell of a coincidence.

I suspect the owner of car with the UK plate is probably okay when it comes to parking tickets. You'd be unlucky to have to pay a ticket issued to your small blue Toyota when the ticket claims it was a large white VW van.

Edited by GoodDoc on Sunday 21st October 17:43

davepoth

29,395 posts

229 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
A lex said:
As mentioned, the plates are correct Romanian format.

My Luxembourgish plates sometimes caused consternation in the UK as they coincidentally fit the UK format (and even looked similar visually).

The answer to your question is that it will be a cost-cutting measure by the owner. Probably not strictly legal but hard/impossible to Police.
Unless of course that registration doesn't relate to a van in Romania either...;)

Citman

305 posts

214 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
Not a UK plate, since that particular number appears to belong to a Toyota Aygo.


Six Fiend

6,067 posts

245 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
Citman said:
Not a UK plate, since that particular number appears to belong to a Toyota Aygo.
PistonHeads - posting without reading any other replies matters.

IdiotH

55 posts

185 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
It is illegal for a UK resident to drive a foreign registered vehicle in the UK.

jgy6000

212 posts

200 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
IdiotH said:
It is illegal for a UK resident to drive a foreign registered vehicle in the UK.
please elaborate?

IdiotH

55 posts

185 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
jgy6000 said:
IdiotH said:
It is illegal for a UK resident to drive a foreign registered vehicle in the UK.
please elaborate?
I thought it was pretty clear?

If you live in the UK you can only drive UK registered vehicles.

dowahdiddyman

965 posts

241 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
Think you will find that you can do so but only or a limited time before it has to be registered,taxed and mot`d in this country. May be wrong but thought it was a max of 6 months.

Mister3man

280 posts

177 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
That's not a brand new crafter by the way. The front end is different on models 2011 onwards.

IdiotH

55 posts

185 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
dowahdiddyman said:
Think you will find that you can do so but only or a limited time before it has to be registered,taxed and mot`d in this country. May be wrong but thought it was a max of 6 months.
If it was registered in this country then it would not be on foreign plates.

The only exemption relates to driving a company vehicle.

Edit with more info:
"The only exception is where a UK resident is employed or self-employed in another EU member state and needs to drive a foreign vehicle on a temporary basis. "

Edited by IdiotH on Sunday 21st October 19:54

italianjob1275

603 posts

176 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
Quite a few 3.5 tonne vans come from eastern europe nowadays because they can get here faster than hgvs due to the weekend hgv bans in Germany and tachograph regs etc

Often see the little curtain sider ones with the sleeper pod over the cab.

HTH.

GoodDoc

Original Poster:

622 posts

206 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
Mister3man said:
That's not a brand new crafter by the way. The front end is different on models 2011 onwards.
Yes, I realise that now, but it was in such good condition for white panel van that I assumed it was new.

It was only after a friend pointed out that it had a valid UK registration number that I discovered it wasn't a new Crafter and could have been '10' registered.

4key

12,120 posts

178 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
IdiotH said:
dowahdiddyman said:
Think you will find that you can do so but only or a limited time before it has to be registered,taxed and mot`d in this country. May be wrong but thought it was a max of 6 months.
If it was registered in this country then it would not be on foreign plates.

The only exemption relates to driving a company vehicle.

Edit with more info:
"The only exception is where a UK resident is employed or self-employed in another EU member state and needs to drive a foreign vehicle on a temporary basis. "

Edited by IdiotH on Sunday 21st October 19:54
Or a uk resident can drive it if the owner of the vehicle is present, its unlikely that if you even do get pulled that the bib will even know half of the rules though.

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/...

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/regi...



GoodDoc

Original Poster:

622 posts

206 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
italianjob1275 said:
Quite a few 3.5 tonne vans come from eastern europe nowadays because they can get here faster than hgvs due to the weekend hgv bans in Germany and tachograph regs etc

Often see the little curtain sider ones with the sleeper pod over the cab.

HTH.
Interesting (to me at least), didn't know HGVs has limited hours of operation in Europe.

I can see situations were a Romanian dealer might supply a new RHD van, but I keep coming back to that UK tax disc holder. Might it be cheaper for Romanian drivers to buy second hand vehicles in the UK?

Mister3man

280 posts

177 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
GoodDoc said:
Mister3man said:
That's not a brand new crafter by the way. The front end is different on models 2011 onwards.
Yes, I realise that now, but it was in such good condition for white panel van that I assumed it was new.

It was only after a friend pointed out that it had a valid UK registration number that I discovered it wasn't a new Crafter and could have been '10' registered.
Indeed. I wasn't trying to sound cocky or anything, just pointing it out smile

Alfahorn

7,825 posts

238 months

Sunday 21st October 2012
quotequote all
IdiotH said:
jgy6000 said:
IdiotH said:
It is illegal for a UK resident to drive a foreign registered vehicle in the UK.
please elaborate?
I thought it was pretty clear?

If you live in the UK you can only drive UK registered vehicles.
A friend of mine owns an Alfa Giulietta registered on italian plates, registered to his italian home here in the UK where he also has a home.