Let's see if collectively we can stamp out illegal roadside traders

[Phil H 124]

Morning all,

I'm not sure if you heard my podcast with Derek yesterday but one of my ideas was to make changes to the MID so that potential buyers can check to see if it is insured on a traders policy.

Today I've spoken to the MID database who have listened and are willing to see what they can do and the man who can make this happen is the the Rt Honorable Patrick Mcloughlin MP

so I've sent him the following email and would ask each and everyone of you to send him an email asking for this change and let's all together start doing something about these rogue traders. Unfortunately I don't live in his constituency of the Derbyshire Dales so if any of you do your email will get priority over mine, his constituency email address is  patrick.mcloughlin.mp@parliament.uk and his DFT email address is patrick.mcloughlin@dft.gsi.gov.uk 

the subject was

idea for changes to the MID database to help prevent people getting conned by illegal roadside traders

 

Dear Sir, 

I’m not sure if you’re aware of a big problem within the country of illegal motor traders selling cars from the side of the road posing as private sellers. Often the vehicles which these people are selling are death traps and the buyer has no come back whatsoever when something goes wrong, when they should. I have a very simple idea which could make a big difference to these people getting away with it. The idea is as follows and I’ve been informed by the MID that you’re the person who can make these changes happen. 

Every vehicle which is on the roads in the UK has to be insured and it’s details appear on the MID. If you made a slight change to it so that any potential buyer of a motor vehicle could search the VRM (vehicle registration mark) on the MID database and it would then tell the buyer whether or not it the insurance was held on a Motor Traders Insurance policy or not. This would not completely stop this illegal activity happen but it would certainly make it harder for these illegal Traders to operate and get away with it. These details can already be accessed by the Police and other Government organisations. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this email and I would appreciate any advice on how I can make this change happen.

 I look forward to your reply

Kind Regards

 

Phil Hayes

 

 If you think this is a good idea then tell all you're friends to send it to him, he represents us so if enough of us do it He's got a legal obligation to listen. It may not come to anything but it'll take you very little effort and less than 5 minutes to see if together we can make a difference.

Thanks

Phil

Edited October 2, 2015 by Phil H

[umesh 336]

We want them banned and gone ...

The 'public' just see that they are buying a 'cheap' car .. need to change buyers/public perception , sadly as long as they think they are buying cheap it will continue ..I asked a customer a few months back who had met someone 'halfway ' who parted with over £10k - WHY would you pay so much for a car from an unknown person - no premises - mobile no only - .. because I thought it was cheap ! [ you can guess there were issues and the phone no was a dead mobile no - he had no idea who he had handed his cash over to ] luckily it wasn't stolen car this time !! so how do change buyers thinking ? 

[Wheelerdealer1 91]

Your correct Umesh it's the buyers that are fueling the demand as they want cheap cheap cheap, and they don't want to pay for quality, that's why I really don't have much sympathy for the sorts of stories you hear about dealers from sites like pistonheads etc, I think we really need to look at a proper licenseing system for traders like they have in America for example 

Edited October 8, 2015 by Wheelerdealer1

[It's me 615]

 we really need to look at a proper licenseing system for traders like they have in America for example 

When i first started in the motor trade there were only 2 companies i could find that did trade insurance,one of them was norwich union and before they would quote me they wanted proof i had done motortrading, so it was a catch 22,i eventually persuaded them to take me on at terms of about£2000 a year i remember this as it was a direct debit and it was a lot of money then as now,then i had the grief of trying to get the local trade plate monster giver to tick his boxes to give me a set,boy was all this hard,what im trying to say is we all had to start somewhere so even though im not a kerbside trader too many rules could stifle new blood and anyway if people would prefer to buy from a laybye then let them get on with it because we all know it will end in tears

[Jack Regan 116]

Could a Mod  delete this thread,  I buy all my stock from the side of the road :)

 

 

Edited October 9, 2015 by Jack Regan

[Phil H 124]

Could a Mod  delete this thread,  I buy all my stock from the side of the road

 

 

bet your mechanic loves you with your re con costs. how his holiday home in Barbados by the way?

[Phil H 124]

Here's the response from the government with reference to the email that I sent them

 

Roadside Car Sales

Thank you for your email of 2 October to the Department for Transport about roadside car sales. It has been passed to Defra as the department responsible for this policy area and I have been asked to reply.

To help you address your queries, I am enclosing a short briefing note setting out the Government’s position on this matter. Should you have more detailed questions, these can be addressed directly to the department via the contact details provided at the end of this note

Yours sincerely,

Fact sheet: Roadside car sales   

Last updated: July 2015

From time to time individual private vehicle sales may take place from the roadside, such as outside the owner’s house, but using public highways, grass verges and lay-bys as car showrooms is unsightly and potentially dangerous. 

Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, it is an offence to offer for sale two or more vehicles as part of a business within 500 metres of each other on a road or roads. Local authorities have the power to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £100 to anyone carrying out a car sales business on the highway.  Alternatively they can take the case to court, where the fines may be significantly higher. 

Local councils also have other powers to tackle nuisance parking. In many cases, the easiest way to prevent businesses from repairing or selling cars on the road is to establish parking restrictions in an area. Through the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, councils can also: designate streets in their area for street trading purposes; ban all trading in those streets; or license or otherwise permit trading in those streets. Depending on the circumstances, councils may use other powers, such as those in the Road Traffic Acts in relation to supplying unroadworthy vehicles or, if they suspect a trader is evading tax, coordinate action with local revenue offices. There might also be scope for action under local planning laws if land or property is being used for business purposes where this is not permitted.

The Department for Transport is responsible for policy on parking restrictions, but it is local authorities that decide on a proportionate response to local issues and which powers they wish to use in doing so. 

If the problem persists, the first step should be to complain to your local authority. If the matter is subsequently not resolved, you may wish to raise your concerns with the council’s Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer and local councillor directly. If, after doing so, you remain dissatisfied with the council's actions, you may then wish to contact the Local Government Ombudsman (www.lgo.org.uk, 0300 061 0614).  The Ombudsman is charged by Parliament with investigating complaints by individual citizens that they have suffered injustice arising from maladministration by local authorities, and is independent of both central and local Government to ensure impartiality in decisions.  The service is free of charge.

 

Contact Details

The Defra helpline can be contacted on 03459 33 55 77.

Alternatively, you can contact us by email at helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk, or write to us at:

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Nobel House

17 Smith Square

London

SW1P 3JR

Our target is to reply within 15 working days.

 

[RJ Magpie 3]

I don't know if that's the right place to put this but there is also a case with 'established' dealers who are dodgy and ripping off people... There is a guy in Kingswood, Bristol who is known to police and still does the 'business'. 

To the point... My friend found a car on AT and called the guy to arrange a viewing. He paid £200 'holding' deposit over the phone as there was someone coming to buy the car. Next day they went to see the car... (...)...

It was 2004 Honda Accord diesel, advertised as excellent condition for £2k. It wasn't good at all and it had some body damage. The guy said that it's 11 years old and he shouldn't think it will be ideal (advertised as excellent...). When they rejected the car and demanded deposit back the guy replied angrily that they still owe him the remaining £1800... So they decided to leave before situation got violent and when threatened that dealer with police the dealer laughed and said they had police before and they can do nothing as they come and go... So my friend lost £200. 

I went on facebook to see if that dealer got website... Few horrible feedbacks along with few 5* from guys who work there (one of them works at Copart - maybe that's their source of cars?). One of thos bad feedbacks said:

"Dodgy garage paid for a 2004 Honda Accord £1900 and he never delivered car or refund money he's wreck my kids Xmas"

I think that's the same Accord my friend went to see...

Can I name and shame?

 

There is more people like this as my sister paid £500 deposit to get a car from guy in Reading and never got the car and money back (she managed to get half back). But I heard from the guy who paid £1k and  lost his money...

I just want to add that I do learn a lot from here and I may be a small home trader but I do want to make things right for the customers and my cars go with warranty and full tank of fuel (it annoys me the most when you buy a car and cannot be sure if you will get to nearest petrol station...)

Regards Jacob. 

Edited December 27, 2015 by RJ Magpie
spelling error

[Phil H 124]

Yes name and shame, part of the problem is that these people can advertise wherever they pay their money as most of the advertising portals aren't interested in who advertise's with them all they want is their money. I'm bringing something to market that bucks the trend with this and will only allow the decent people in the trade have access. You can read all about it via the link below. If you don't want to name and shame then please PM me with his details so that he doesn't get involved with my system

http://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/now-independents-can-access-cash-for-cars-market-with-new-website/103224

[RJ Magpie 3]

Kingswood Autos Bristol 

 

https://www.facebook.com/KingswoodAutos/

 

[RJ Magpie 3]

There is or was Waheed from Reading WHB Motors or something like that. My sister paid him £500 deposit for a car that supposed to be ok and was written off 3 times and had 6 previous owners. She manage to get £250 back... But there is a case with trading standards against him already as he conned loads of people...

[umesh 336]

It is so , so sad - there are NOT DEALERS but simply scum bags pretending to be 'dealers' giving us bonafide 'dealers' a bad reputation ! Guess its the old story

'  "Caveat emptor "

 

 Latin term that means "let the buyer beware." Similar to the phrase "sold as is," this term means that the buyer assumes the risk that a product may fail to meet expectations or have defects."

WE all have to beware of these as sadly some of these guys are on ATM trying to con us! 

[Wheelerdealer1 91]

Link to a trader who likes to advertise private , but please look at the pics in the ad they are copied straight off the site he is buying trade cars off, can anyone help to identify where it's from ? It's not sytner I have checked with them already

 

 

Look at this on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/252239826665

2006 FIAT STILO DYNAMIC JTD SILVER diesel 1.9 

 

 

He likes gumtree too 

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/fiat/fiat-stilo-car/1149497221