On 07/02/2024 01:49 pm, Simon Mason wrote:

A man from Hull [sic - they obviously mean 'Ull] has been ordered to pay a total of £1,395.16 by a court for abandoning a car in Hessle.
David Goddard, 54, of Myrtle Avenue, left a white Vauxhall Corsa in Fishemore Avenue, Hessle. A member of the public reported the car to East Riding Council as it had been left parked in the same place for months.
Goddard abandoned the vehicle between July 3 and September 20 last year, Beverley Magistrates’ Court heard. Goddard did not attend the hearing and did not enter a plea, so the case brought by East Riding Council was proved in his absence, on

Wednesday, January 31.

For the offence of abandoning a vehicle without lawful authority, he was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £471.16 and a £264 victim surcharge. Records showed Goddard to be the owner of the Corsa, but despite numerous requests from the council�

�s streetscene enforcement officers for him to remove the vehicle, it remained parked in the same spot.

What is the difference between parking a motor vehicle and "abandoning" it?

And why does parking require local authority permission?

Following the officers’ investigation, the car was confirmed as abandoned.

What does that even mean?

The vehicle was then removed by the council on September 21 last year. Goddard was informed but made no attempt to recover his vehicle, and therefore it was destroyed.

It doesn't sound as though the council's attempts at communication were tremendously successful, does it?

How did they think they knew that the communications had reached the
intended recipient?

The council sent Goddard a £200 fixed penalty for the offence,

What "offence"?

but no response was received, so the matter was taken to court. Carl Skelton, director of streetscene services at East Riding Council, said: “Abandoned cars can cause a real nuisance and become a safety issue for residents.
“Thanks to members of the public reporting abandoned vehicles to us, we can usually resolve the situation, but in cases like this we have to step in.” The council deals with vehicles which may be abandoned on both public and private property.
Abandoning a vehicle is a criminal offence, for which the owner can be issued with a £200 fixed penalty notice. The cars can be a nuisance in terms of how they are parked, the condition they are in, and whether there are any mechanical defects or

unsafe elements, the council said.

...And?

Officers investigate and always contact the registered owners to establish whether vehicles are abandoned. As a result of those investigations, most vehicles are then removed by owners; only a few have to be removed by the council.

TRANSLATION:

"Officers investigate and always ATTEMPT TO contact the registered owners"

Or at least, they say they do.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/hull-man-abandons-car-months-9083507?int_source=nba

The fact that the owner (if correctly identified, that is) didn't
respond does rather suggest that either no communication reached
him/her, or that the person concerned did not own the vehicle, doesn't it?

Would YOU just let your valuable property be snaffled by a local authority?

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