Car insurer to give £25 refund...

[Melisandre]

Yes I know Dutchman but you dont know my sisters reaction when I ve tried giving her advice before on other things she goes ballistic on me and says that I just want to worry her more . If they keep the over 70s in for a year like they ve suggested I would be the big big ogre if she filled it up wasting more money.

[dutchman]

Whitefriars/Citizen have just slapped towing notices on half the cars around here!

The notices state that SORN no longer counts as 'roadworthy' but half of the cars with towing notices attached are still being driven.

I'm guessing it's something to with DVLA?

[dutchman]

I just checked one the cars with a towing notice attached with the DVLA and they say it's fully taxed and MOT'd so I can't think what Whitefriars are playing at?

[Melisandre]

If a car has a sorn it needs to be parked on a drive or private land or garaged. You cant park it on an estate parking area.
Have they got insurance though.


When I first moved in here we were given little cards from housing to place on the dash board window screen to prevent others not living on the estate and parking their cars for a length of time housing would tow them away so if your car was parked up for a while living on the estate by placing the card on the dash board displayed on the window screen would prevent your car being towed.

[dutchman]

Have they got insurance though.

I can't think of any reason they wouldn't be?

Not seen these Whitefriars staff before either, they wore black uniforms.

[rebbonk]

Are you sure they're Whitefriars staff?

The DVLA often use uniformed contractors. The usual MO is to clamp and sticker a vehicle, then if whatever is owed isn't paid within a few days they turn up with a tow truck and remove the vehicle. - Happens round here quite a lot. The contractors actually cruise around using number plate recognition systems that flag up vehicles that are not taxed or MOT'd.

As Melisandre says, SORN vehicles must be off the public highway, roadworthy or not.

[dutchman]

Are you sure they're Whitefriars staff?

No but it's a private car park so they could not operate here without Whitefriars' consent. Also the particular car in question had its MOT renewed in June and Road Tax renewed for a full year on August 1st, long before they arrived.

[rebbonk]

Could the driver/owner have outstanding motoring fines/offences? Could they be acting on court orders? Outstanding finance?

I've only ever seen DVLA act on untaxed vehicles left on the road. I've never seen them act on private property, even on vehicles that haven't been SORNed.

[dutchman]

Could the driver/owner have outstanding motoring fines/offences? Could they be acting on court orders? Outstanding finance?

It's possible but as they slapped identical notices on three cars in close proximity to each other I doubt it. The other two were quickly removed by the owners but the third has not bothered for whatever reason. Could be in isolation or something.

[dutchman]

Your car in the Covid lockdown: how to save on insurance and more



Insurance is one of the big costs in keeping a car on the road, with the average price of a fully comprehensive policy at a four-year low of £465, according to the Association of British Insurers’ motor insurance premium tracker.

One factor that affects the cost is how far you drive. Over the past year, 49% of drivers have reported a big drop in mileage, according to the RAC, with 75% citing Covid-19 as the reason.

If you are doing fewer miles you may be able to get a refund. More than 220,000 policyholders have signed up to Direct Line’s Mileage MoneyBack scheme. If your annual mileage is less than predicted when you took out the policy, you can get 2% back for every 1,000 miles you didn’t drive, up to a maximum of 20% of the total cost. Aviva and Sheilas’ Wheels are among other insurers with refund schemes.

The Association of British Insurers advises that you speak to your insurer because “in terms of any premium refunds, this is up to individual insurers and some may be able to readjust premiums based on reduced mileage”.

When it comes to renewal, if a lower mileage is your “new normal” you could save money by buying a “pay-per-mile” policy.

This isn’t the same as a “pay-as-you-go” policy, which typically provides short-term cover, usually up to 28 days.

By Miles offers this type of cover. As its chief executive, James Blackham, says, it “offers a way to save money while your car’s parked up during lockdown”. Its policies, he says, are designed to work best for those who drive under 7,000 miles a year (or about 150 miles a week).

A test run by Guardian Money, based on the scenario of a 45-year-old woman from Hertfordshire doing 5,000 miles a year driving a Peugeot, found By Miles cheapest on comparison sites at £302 a year, with the next best £318 from LV=.

The policy price includes an annual charge to cover damage or theft while parked, plus a per-mile rate of 5-6p, calculated on a monthly basis using a plug-in tracker.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/ ... -cut-costs

Had to post this for the picture of the Herald 12/50 alone!