Free bailiff training - Motability vehicles - do not clamp them

how Invalid Carriages used to be - no choice, this was it.

Eligibility: 

The Motability Scheme enables disabled people to lease a new car, scooter or powered wheelchair by exchanging their Government funded mobility allowance . 

If you receive either the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (HRMC DLA), the Enhanced Rate of the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment (ERMC PIP) , the War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement (WPMS) or the Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) you may be eligible to join the Motability Scheme.

DVLA

Now when a person with a motability car gets a parking ticket PCN the V5 will come back showing the name Motability, care of the name and address of the disabled person. A Motability car is leased for 3 years (5 years if specially adapted) and never belongs to the motorist so it cannot be seized in payment of their debt. In order to send you a Notice to Owner the council asks the DVLA for the registered keeper details so they know from the off that the car in question is a Motability car. When the bailiff starts work the first thing they do is a HPI check to see if the vehicle is on hire purchase etc and to check who is the current registered keeper. This will throw up the name of Motability and this tells the bailiff that he/she must not clamp the car.

The bailiff

The bailiff's vehicle will be fitted with ANPR equipment. This means that as they are driving to see a debtor the ANPR will alert them to any vehicle they pass which has an outstanding debt on it which their firm has been instructed to collect. Today the car of a friend of Mr Mustard was parked in the Lodge Lane Car Park. 

She has picked up a right assortment of parking tickets which due to a misunderstanding of the process she has not properly appealed. Thus invalid parking tickets e.g. one for being parked more than 50cm from the kerb when the whole car was not so parked, turn into a debt that cannot be contested. Her oldest parking ticket is from December 2010 and it is an abuse of process for the council to continue to chase it but the council don't agree. The ombudsman will have to eventually get involved as Mr Mustard has lodged a complaint on behalf of another motorist in respect of a July 2011 parking ticket and the clamping and subsequent removal of a car. The decision will affect all old parking tickets which should have been written off.

A bailiff clamped her car in the Lodge Lane Car Park. He claimed he could even though he was told it was a Motability car. Mr Mustard got on the blower. The Parking Process Manager didn't answer (lunch time). The Parking Manager's number came up as unobtainable, apparently it does that if he hasn't logged in, how useless a phone system is that? Next call was to the Streetscene Director who was in a meeting (he had two more senior levels of management to go to after that). A helpful lady answered who tracked down the Parking Process Manager (PPM) who promised to call Mr Mustard - the telephone has not yet sounded but doubtless there are loads of other complaints to sort out.

By the time Mr Mustard had made 3 calls for his distressed friend, who inevitably was on battery low and needed to get to an appointment for some medical treatment, the bailiff had spoken to his office and returned and mixed in with some rudeness he removed the clamp. This action looks like a calculated act to bully a disabled pensioner on benefits into paying up. Barnet council are responsible for the bailiff's actions and will be held accountable.

This PCN was the subject of a long email on 11 August about old parking tickets and he was promised a response within a week of 28 August. Perhaps if the response had been sent this August 2011 PCN might have been cancelled and the council could have avoided this bad publicity.

Next

Mr Mustard will hopefully get his call from the PPM, they are on good terms as they often have to correspond!

A formal complaint will be made to the council.

A Form 4 will be filed at the County Court which issued the bailiff's licence and Mr Mustard expects that the judge will not be amused.

Prevention

If you have a Motability car and an outstanding PCN sent to bailiffs for some reason, Mr Mustard suggests putting a note in the windscreen of your car saying "This car belongs to Motability, clamp it at your peril".

Bailiffs take note

Every time you step out of line and Mr Mustard becomes involved Form 4 will be completed and you will be explaining yourself to a judge. Don't say you have not been warned. Do your job within the confines of the law please.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard