Scottish Law is applicable here. So my ex-wife bought her new house and got the keys to it last November. The previous owner mentioned the car outside was also owned by them. Car won’t start or lock and hasn’t moved in months prior to ex-wife buying the house. Needless to say owners assured us car would be gone when house keys handed over. Here we are in March and no sign of it moving. Tried speaking with the owners, solicitor letters and a phone call from the police to owner but they have no interest in moving it. To make matters worse they have taxed it for a further six months.

So in summary;
Car is parked on public road
Car is MOT’d
Car is insured
Car is taxed
Car is won’t lock/start and is probably not roadworthy now. £££ to make road worthy
Car is registered still to house, which the car owner no longer resides in (surely illegal?!?)

Other than taking a set of bombers to the car does anyone know of a legal way I can get this car moved?

Car is parked on public road
Car is MOT’d
Car is insured
Car is taxed

it’s parked. not a lot you can do about that.

Nothing much you can do if its taxed I guess

Tow it down the road a bit if its annoying you? Maybe onto some parking restrictions?

DO you have keys?

Scottish law is funny like that, it seems people can just park their cars on the road!

But actually, the MOT will run out soon, then it will be easier to get rid of.
How do you know it won’t start?

Just get it towed down the street.

Dunno about Scottish law at all, but assuming it’s the same as Engerland then it’s legally parked on public land. The fact that it’s outside your house is an irrelevance.

Assuming its lack of roadworthiness is more than just speculation on your part: There might well be a clause on their insurance to say that a vehicle has to be roadworthy, so their insurance might be invalidated. That might give the police cause to have it removed?

They are legally obliged to notify the DVLA of a change of address. You could dob them in I suppose, but that’s not going to help get the car moved.

If registered at your house then i’d wonder if insurance is also based there which would mean the insurance is invalid.

Tow it out of the way.

If it was moved and the window happened to be subsequently smashed it could be reported to the police as a stolen and abandoned vehicle…

Strip it for spares and sell them on ebay?

if its not locked why not roll it somewhere where plod will take more of an interest.

eventually – by November I guess – it will need to move to get MOT’d, I don’t imagine it’s likely to return – presumably they’re just trying to work out how to dispose of it..

Don’t touch it. Don’t move it, don’t be bothered with it.

You’ve notified Plod, so they know it’s there and it’s you who notified them (so if it goes up in flames/scratched/shifted down the road) it’ll be you they come for.

If you shift it surely that is taking without consent, which also means you have no insurance etc. So the outcome can be nasty.

It’ll be gone before you know it, sadly the owners haven’t the time/inclination yet.

Once their MoT expires, car will be uninsured, whether they have a current policy or not.

Happened to me a couple years back: 6 points on owner’s licence, and fine of £280.

Don’t have keys I’m afraid but can get in the car. Its a narrow cul-de-sac road and is parked right outside the window, I’d struggle to see how an emergency vehicle would get past if needed.

Thing I can’t understand is that because the car won’t lock surely insurance would be null and void. Also car being registered still to the address would be illegal with the DVLA. Being British I’ve done what we do best and wrote a letter to them as call centers aren’t much help.

Turns out the previous owner wasn’t a very nice person and neighbors glad to see the back of her. I’m guessing she’s hoping something happens to it so it’s an insurance job.

obelix – Member

Once their MoT expires, car will be uninsured

Not necessarily true, depends on policy.
More often than not it would just reduce the value of the car in the event of a claim.

Apply to become the owner – see other thread and then scrap the heap!
😆

You could potentially get in bother if found out!

Push it down the road a bit out of sight!

Not necessarily true, depends on policy.

Really? A quick Google comes up with this:

Without a current MOT, your car insurance would become invalid. Not having a valid MOT certificate is illegal under Section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and you run the risk of facing a £1,000 fine and a charge of six to eight penalty points on your licence by driving without one.

If it is on private property I can understand it being covered with your insurance policy.

car being registered still to the address would be illegal with the DVLA

Civil not criminal I thought?

Have you chucked the reg number through the DVLA site to find out when MOT runs out and askMID about the insurance date?

Images of car and house so we can judge you please.

Thing I can’t understand is that because the car won’t lock surely insurance would be null and void

Would invalidate a claim for theft, but if the car was being driven it would still be valid for a 3rd party claim.

Milkie – Member

Really?

Y, RLY.
Your quote (from an insurance company) is misleading. Their policies might insist on having an MOT, but others do not.
The penalty of 6-8 points is in relation to no insurance, not no MOT.
No MOT is not an endorsable offence.
See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/annex-5-penalties

ETA: normally a small FPN, £60ish.

pictonroad – Member

Images of car and house so we can judge you please.

Value of property for the Daily Mail crowd. 🙂

Well that is good to know! I will have to check my policies! If I can keep multiple cars on the public road without an MOT, it would save me a quite a bit! 😀

If I can keep multiple cars on the public road without an MOT, it would save me a quite a bit!

They would still need to be insured?

Milkie – Member
Well that is good to know! I will have to check my policies! If I can keep multiple cars on the public road without an MOT, it would save me a quite a bit!

Remember that they still have to be taxed – which means a current MOT – or SORNed.

Tell the local car thief there’s an unlocked car with drugs in it.

Then tell the owners there’s a local car thief in it looking for drugs.

Just roll the bloody thing down the street one night under cover of darkness and play dumb, if it’s unlocked and will roll then it could have been anyone, just blame it on kids messing about or something.

So therefore with no mot, cant be taxed, which would make the insurance invalid?

then tell the police and get them (and car..) taken away..

“Really?“

Yes. A few years back, my brother’s car got written off and it was only while getting his paperwork together he realised the MOT had run out. He told his insurers and they just reduced the payout (by 10% IIRC). No other repercussions.

nairnster – Member

So therefore with no mot, cant be taxed, which would make the insurance invalid?

WTAF?

A car can be insured when it’s SORNed (i.e. has no MOT).

Abandoned vehicles should be reported to the council primarily not police apparently.

Council’s policies may vary, but some notes just from my local council…

https://www.woking.gov.uk/environment/envcrime/abandonedvehicles

Interestingly

“under section 2(1) of the 1978 Act. the maximum penalty for abandoning a vehicle is a fine of £2,500 or 3 month’s imprisonment or both.”

Though conditions for being abandoned:

“Q1. How do I know if a vehicle is abandoned?
* One or more tyres flat
* Presence of litter, weeds etc under the vehicle indicating that it has not been moved for a considerable period of time
* Rusty brake discs, indicating vehicle has been in position for a long period of time
* Broken windscreen or any of the windows broken
* Presence of mould on either the inside or outside of the vehicle
* Presence of waste eg tyres inside the vehicle
* Absence of number plates
* Whether the vehicle is currently taxed* (and is subject to one or more of the above conditions)”

Used to have a car that frequently grew mould on the windows but was fine to drive 😀

Goes on to say they only consider removal after tax had expired “by two months and one day”.

That said the police can get involved…

“Under the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986 the Police have powers to remove any vehicle which is left in breach of local traffic regulation orders, or is causing an obstruction or likely to cause a danger or which is broken down or abandoned without lawful authority.”

As I say, that’s based on my local council so it may differ for you, and Scottish law may differ again.

scotroutes – Member 
A car can be insured when it’s SORNed (i.e. has no MOT).

Though SORN, it has to be kept off road.

Not on the road it cant

Though SORN, it has to be kept off road.[/quote]Correct. I was responding to the assertion that it couldn’t be insured without a current MOT. I guess some of the context is being lost in all the cut-and-pasting 😉

I had this a few years ago. Nobody cared until i phoned the police after the local scroats had started to pull it apart. It was gone by the end of the day.

If it is unlocked chuck a couple of empty beer cans in it then tell the police that it has become a club house for the local kids.

nairnster – Member

Not on the road it cant

Yes it can. You’re muddling offences.

deadkenny »
scotroutes – Member
A car can be insured when it’s SORNed (i.e. has no MOT).
Though SORN, it has to be kept off road.
Correct. I was responding to the assertion that it couldn’t be insured without a current MOT. I guess some of the context is being lost in all the cut-and-pasting

This is what I thought! 🙄
If you pay monthly on your car tax, then if your MOT has passed, your tax will not be renewed. Must make sure you don’t forget when the MOT runs out! 😉