4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Lesley]

Bear with me.........

 

On Tuesday, when Carl came home at 6 pm, there was a car broken down across the gateway to our farm and 2 girls in their twenties standing by it. Carl spoke to them and they were hoping to get a friend to come out and help them. He helped them to push it through our gate and onto our land.

 

At 7.30 he went back down to see if they'd gone - they were still there and couldn't get anyone to help them out and had no money. Carl ended up taking them to Leamington so that they could catch a train back to Coventry. The driver removed the Tax Disc. saying that it would be stolen if she'd have left the car in Coventry. She said she would get the car collected the next day. On the way, she chatted and said she'd only paid £150 for the car and was intending to run it until it died.........

 

She doesn't have our name, phone number or address so we decided to give her a few days..............it is still there

 

We'll give her until Monday as it may well be that she doesn't have the money/working in the week etc. but then what?

 

Are we liable as it has been dumped on our land - we are if someone fly tips rubbish....

 

Do we tell the Police? - push it back onto the highway verge?

[Cinnamon]

I would shove it back & tell the Police myself.

It doesn't sound as if she is that bothered about it,& has taken the Tax disc to cash in

 

I think that if it is abandoned, the council have to take it away,but they probably won't if it is on private land.

[SarahJo]

I would contact police - let them track down the owners etc, it may be stolen or driven without insurance etc. Was the tax disc valid -

 

I would have thought it would then be "seized" pending investigation - though a quick number plate check should give all the relevant info, if its kosher

[The Dogmother]

I would call the police on the non-urgent number (ours for this area is 0845 8 500500) and ask them to run a check on it as it hasn't got a car tax. Personally I'd be tempted to run it out onto the verge outside so that either the police will deal with it as an obstruction, or the council as an untaxed vehicle on the road.

 

Shout if you need a hand shifting it - Phil's not the brother of a mechanic for nothing!

[The Dogmother]

Me again, just phoned The Boy about it and he reckons to give them the weekend to get it sorted, then if it's still there to call the police and explain the situation - not to bother towing it back out.

 

I doubt you'll see those girls again.

[Lesley]

Me again, just phoned The Boy about it and he reckons to give them the weekend to get it sorted, then if it's still there to call the police and explain the situation - not to bother towing it back out.

 

I doubt you'll see those girls again.

 

That's Carl's view as well. The leaves have fallen now so the car will have been seen on our land - and there are always police cars up and down the Fosse.

[Olly]

I'm afraid that taking the tax disc indicates to me that they won't be back! Sounds as if they were genuine to begin with, that's why they waited around - but they must have realised that if it only cost £150 then it wasn't going to be worth spending any more on. Maybe the friend they rang advised them to take the tax disc and scarper.

 

If you can get it off your land, I would, but note what you say about it being spotted. However if it does, er, 'reappear' on a public road, who is to say that it was once on your land? It doesn't belong to you, and it's not likely that any passing police will have noted down the number-plate ... they may think it looks like one they saw on your land recently, but any checks will come up with the names of these girls.

 

Hope you can get rid of it.

[Redwing]

Perhaps its best to phone the police on one of the non urgent numbers (as Claret says) and just be very honest about what happened, whinge that you were being good samaritans, its not your car, what can you do etc etc... hopefully the police will be understanding and help you

 

If you fib and are proved to have done so (police have already seen it on your land) they will think there is more to it than there is

 

If the police disbelieve you ask them to retrieve the CCTV of Carl dropping the girls at the station - they wont bother but it will add credibility

 

However I am also tempted to say push it out of the gate

 

Angel v devil

 

[Lozmk1]

i would phone a local s"Ooops, word censored!" merchant, they havd long enough to come for it, most s"Ooops, word censored!"pers take cars fro free- you never know, you might get some money for it- out of ionterest what car was it?!? thers money to be made in breaking some cars for parts so if you or your hubby has the time you could make a killing on ebay!

[Cinnamon]

.....................its not theirs to s"Ooops, word censored!",Lozmk1

[Lozmk1]

but its on their land and the owners have made no attempts to contact them, at the end of the day the girl said it cost £150, with the best will in the world a recovery company would charge more than that to tow it anywhere, shes taken the tax disc off it so RAC/AA/Greenflag will not touch it with anyone elses i suspect that the girl has absolutely no intentions of collecting the vehicle. give her til after the weekend and then id look to disposing of it.

[The Dogmother]

It's for the law to deal with, not for private individuals to make money out of; it's best reported and being dealt wirth properly.

[Couperwife]

I would phone the police and say that someone has dumped a car in your driveway

 

its obviously not yours (registered, etc) so you are being correct.

 

if its not stolen then ask the police to contact the owners saying that you are changing them £50 per day to keep it there, they probably wont pay, but at least they might shift it.

 

what a rubbish deal!!

 

hope you get it sorted soon

 

cathy

x

[BeckyBoo]

From an old bill point of view - first, shove it back onto the highway (I didn't tell you to do this! ) - if it's on private land no one will be interested unless it's subject of crime. Then, ring the non-emergency number and tell them the circumstances. They will PNC check it to make sure it's stolen or subject of crime. If it has a current keeper the Police should make enquries with them on your behalf and ask them to remove it. If it's still there about a week after that you can either ring your local authority yourself or recontact the Police and tell them again and they should pass it to the local authority. However, if it's taxed (even if it's not displaying tax) and has a current keeper it's highly unlikely that it will get towed unless it's causing an obstruction to the highway. If it has no registered keeper and is previous keeper only the local authority should tow it within a week or so.

If you do tow it back onto the highway make sure you don't cause any damage or you'll be liable. And if you leave it on your land you'll end up getting it removed at your expense and if it has a current keeper there will be all sorts of issues of rights of ownership if you do anything to it without the owners permission. And yes, I know, the law is an ass.

 

Hope that helps

 

BeckyBoo

[Old Speckled Hen]

However, if it's taxed (even if it's not displaying tax) and has a current keeper it's highly unlikely that it will get towed unless it's causing an obstruction to the highway.

 

BeckyBoo

 

I can confirm that

Despite my entreaties to the police and the local council I had an old wrecked mini parked outside my house for ten months

It was finally towed away one month after the tax expired. The tyres went flat and door mirrors and windscreen wipers were wrenched off in installments in that time.

[Chucky Mama]

no advise, just my sympathy, what a pain for you.

[Christian]

By calling and trying to the right thing, I fear you may end up getting rid of it yourself.

 

Dump it back on the verge and let someone else deal with it.

[Lesley]

I was afraid that it was going to become our problem and end up costing us

 

Comes to something when you're worse off telling the truth and for helping people out

 

Great........the short route back to the main road is uphill - but we do know plenty of farmers

 

(it's an old Vauxhall Corsa btw)

[Mrs Frugal]

(it's an old Vauxhall Corsa btw)

 

It's not white is it ? I hope it's not "Meg The Egg" .

 

Good luck Lesley. I hope that you're able to find a solution which doesn't cost you anything.

[Lesley]

No, it's red!

[The Dogmother]

I hope you get it sorted Lesley.

 

Reminds me of the regular accidents on the road outside jude's - the cars usually end up in the field over the road - the farmer is none too careful about how he tows them back out onto the road... in fact, he once used his forklift truck!

[Lesley]

Hmmmmmmmm

 

[Seagazer]

However, if it's taxed (even if it's not displaying tax) and has a current keeper it's highly unlikely that it will get towed unless it's causing an obstruction to the highway.

 

BeckyBoo

 

I can confirm that

Despite my entreaties to the police and the local council I had an old wrecked mini parked outside my house for ten months

It was finally towed away one month after the tax expired. The tyres went flat and door mirrors and windscreen wipers were wrenched off in installments in that time.

 

We had a lovely (not) neighbour a couple of doors up who seemed to like collecting cars and then just not using them. We all have driveways but with about 5 they didn't all fit on his. He had a car dumped outside our house for months and months. Eventually the tax ran out and me and my attached neighbour reported it. He then swapped it for another car and has put a short tax disc on it. Its up at the end of November.

 

He has since done a moonlight flit from the house he was renting and he's left the milkman with an unpaid bill of £70

 

Good luck with the car and I hope you manage to get it moved.

[majorbloodnock]

OK, so it's been pushed through your gate. Is it causing an obstruction? If so, I believe (but you'd have to get this confirmed) that you have the right to remove an obstruction to your access.

 

A good few years ago, I saw a similar situation resolved in an interesting way. The village where I used to live had a garage that sold and maintained classic cars, and a belligerent neighbour decided to park his car in front of the garage's only access to the workshops. The head mechanic had a quick chat with the local bobby, and the latter watched whilst the former used his Land Rover to push the car into the middle of the road, leaving enough room for access to the workshop.

 

The car was dented from the pushing, and the neighbour wasn't impressed at all. However, the local bobby pointed out that:

 

1. the garage had acted within its rights to remove the obstruction
   
2. he was witness to the fact that they used minimum reasonable force to do so, so he had no recourse to damages
   
3. the offending car was now causing a different obstruction - to traffic on the highway - which was why he was writing this 'ere ticket

 

I'd strongly suggest you get some legal advice before doing so, but I reckon you may be able to do the same; push the car back onto the highway (only so far as to allow you access again, otherwise you'd be exceeding the "minimum reasonable force") whilst there's a witness to verify the damage you're likely to cause is not being inflicted wilfully or excessively.

[Lesley]

It was causing an obstruction when Carl came home - it was on a downwards slope, part way through our gateway, straight off a main road. The only way for Carl to push it was to carry on down and onto a flat area just inside our gate and now it isn't causing an obstruction. A shame the slope didn't go the other way and it would have been pushed out on to the verge.

 

Rules/laws have changed recently and farmers are responsible for anything dumped on their land - mostly fly-tipping but also includes cars apparently.

 

I've spoken to one of the farmers - who checked with a couple of others- and if we mention it to Police/DVLA/Council we're looking at a £250 - £300 bill for removal.

 

I'm sure it will be gone by the end of the week..........