xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"

PART IIIDISPOSAL OF ABANDONED VEHICLES

Interpretation of Part III

11.  In this Part of these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears, the following expressions have the meaning hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say—

description of the place of abandonment”, in relation to a vehicle, means a description of the place at which that vehicle appears or appeared to be abandoned which will be sufficient to enable that place to be identified after the vehicle has been removed therefrom;

"H.P. Information Ltd." means Hire Purchase Information Limited, being a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1948 (1);

owner”, in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a hiring agreement or hire purchase agreement, includes the person entitled to possession of the vehicle under the agreement;

"G.B. registration mark" means a registration mark issued in relation to a vehicle under the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971(2);

specified information”, in relation to a vehicle, means such of the following information as can be or could have been ascertained from an inspection of the vehicle, or has been ascertained from any other source, that is to say—

(a)

in the case of a vehicle which carried a G.B. registration mark, or a mark indicating registration in a country outside Great Britain, particulars of such mark; and

(b)

the make of the vehicle.

Steps to be taken to find the owners of certain vehicles

12.—(1) For the purposes of section 4(1)(c) of the 1978 Act and section 101(3)(c) of the 1984 Act, the steps to be taken by an authority to find a person appearing to them to be the owner of the vehicle in a case to which either of those paragraphs applies shall be such of the following steps as are applicable to the vehicle:—

(a)if the vehicle carried a G.B. registration mark—

(i)the authority shall ascertain from the records maintained by the Secretary of State in connection with any functions exercisable by him by virtue of the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 the name and address of the person by whom the vehicle is kept and used;

(ii)the authority shall, where they have found the name and address of a person who may be the owner of the vehicle from the records maintained by the Secretary of State as aforesaid, send a notice to that person in the manner prescribed by the next following regulation giving the specified information, stating whether the vehicle has been removed from the place at which it appeared to have been abandoned, and if so to what place, stating that if he is the owner of the vehicle they require him to remove the vehicle from their custody on or before a specified date, being the date when the relevant period prescribed by regulation 14 of these Regulations will expire, and stating that unless it is removed by him on or before that date they intend to dispose of it; and

(iii)the authority shall give the specified information and a description of the place of abandonment to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer) and the specified information to H.P. Information Ltd., and shall enquire of each person to whom the information is given whether that person can make any enquiries to find the owner of the vehicle;

(b)if the vehicle does not carry a G.B. registration mark but carries a mark indicating registration in Northern Ireland the authority shall give the specified information and a description of the place of abandonment to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer) and to the Secretary of State for Transport and the specified information to H.P. Information Ltd., and shall enquire of each person to whom the information is given whether that person can make any enquiries to find the owner of the vehicle;

(c)if the vehicle does not carry a G.B. registration mark but carries a mark indicating registration in the Republic of Ireland, the authority shall give the specified information and a description of the place of abandonment to the Secretary of State for Transport, and to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer), and shall enquire of each person to whom the information is given whether that person can make any enquiries to find the owner of the vehicle;

(d)if the vehicle does not carry a G.B. registration mark but carries a mark indicating registration in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or any country not mentioned in the foregoing sub-paragraphs of this paragraph, the authority shall give the specified information and a description of the place of abandonment to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer), and the specified information to H.P. Information Ltd., and shall enquire of each person to whom the information is given whether that person can make any enquiries to find the owner of the vehicle;

(e)if the vehicle does not carry a G.B. registration mark or any other registration mark, then—

(i)if the authority is the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned, that officer shall apply to the local authority in whose area is that place, giving the specified information and enquiring whether that authority has any information as to who is the owner of the vehicle; or

(ii)if the authority is the local authority in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned, the authority shall apply to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is that place, giving the specified information and enquiring whether that officer has any information as to who is the owner of the vehicle.

For the purposes of this sub-paragraph “local authority” means—

(aa)in relation to England, the council of a county, a metropolitan district or a London borough, or the Common Council of the City of London or an authority established under section 10 of the Local Government Act 1985 (3) ;

(bb)in relation to Scotland, a regional or islands or district Council; and

(cc)in relation to Wales, the council of a district.

(2) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this regulation shall require an authority to take any such step as is therein mentioned if they have found a person who appears to them to be the owner of that vehicle and they have sent him a notice in the manner prescribed by the next following regulation containing the specified information, stating that if he is the owner of that vehicle they require him to remove the vehicle from their custody on or before a specified date, being the date when the relevant period prescribed by regulation 14 of these Regulations will expire, and stating that unless it is removed by him on or before that date they intend to dispose of it.

Manner of serving notice on owner requiring removal of vehicle

13.  For the purposes of section 4(1)(c)(ii) of the 1978 Act and section 101(3)(c)(ii) of the 1984 Act, a notice requiring a person who appears to an authority to be the owner of a vehicle to remove the vehicle from their custody shall be served—

(a)by delivering it to the person who appears to be the owner;

(b)by leaving it at his usual or last known place of abode;

(c)by sending it in a prepaid registered letter, or by the recorded delivery service, addressed to him at his usual or last known place of abode; or

(d)if the person who appears to be the owner is an incorporated company or body, by delivering it to the secretary or clerk of the company or body at their registered or principal office, or sending it in a prepaid registered letter, or by the recorded delivery service, addressed to the secretary or clerk of the company or body at that office.

Period during which owner may remove vehicle before it can be disposed of

14.  For the purposes of section 4(1)(c)(ii) of the 1978 Act and section 101(3)(c)(ii) of the 1984 Act, the period during which a person on whom the notice referred to in paragraph (1)(a)(ii) or (2) of regulation 12 of these Regulations has been served shall be required to remove the vehicle of which he appears to the authority serving the notice to be the owner from their custody shall be, in the case of a first or only notice served by the authority in respect of any vehicle, 21 days from the day when the notice is served on him, and in the case of any subsequent notice served by the authority in respect of that vehicle, 14 days from the day when the notice is served on him.

Information to be given relating to the disposal of a vehicle

15.—(1) For the purpose of section 101(7) of the 1984 Act, after a vehicle has been disposed of the authority by whom it was disposed of shall give information relating to the disposal of the vehicle—

(a)if the vehicle carried a G.B. registration mark, to the Secretary of State for Transport, the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless that officer is that authority), and H.P. Information Ltd.;

(b)if the vehicle did not carry a G.B. registration mark but carried a mark indicating registration in Northern Ireland, to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer), to the Secretary of State for Transport, to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and to H.P. Information Ltd.;

(c)if the vehicle did not carry a G.B. registration mark but carried a mark indicating registration in the Republic of Ireland, to the Secretary of State for Transport, to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer), and to H.P. Information Ltd.;

(d)if the vehicle did not carry a G.B. registration mark but carried a mark indicating registration in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or any country not mentioned in the foregoing sub-paragraphs of this paragraph, to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, and to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer);

(e)if the vehicle did not carry a G.B. registration mark or any other registration mark, to the chief officer of the police force in whose area is the place at which the vehicle appeared to have been abandoned (unless the authority is that officer) and to the local authority in whose area is that place (unless the authority is that local authority).

For the purposes of this paragraph “local authority” means—

(i)in relation to England, the council of a county, a metropolitan district or a London borough, or the Common Council of the City of London or an authority established under Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1985;

(ii)in relation to Scotland, a regional or islands or district council; and

(iii)in relation to Wales, the council of a district; and

(f)in the case of any vehicle, to any person who appears to the authority to have been the owner of the vehicle immediately before it was disposed of.

(2) In this regulation “information relating to the disposal of a vehicle” means—

(a)any information which is sufficient to relate the information now being given to any information previously given to the same person in respect of the removal, storage or disposal of the vehicle;

(b)such of the specified information as has not been previously given to the same person in respect of the removal, storage or disposal of the vehicle; and

(c)information as to whether the vehicle was disposed of by destruction or by sale and if by sale the amount of the proceeds thereof.

Period during which owner may remove vehicle before it is disposed of

16.  For the purposes of section 4(5) of the 1978 Act and section 101(4) of the 1984 Act, the period during which a person who has satisfied an authority that he is the owner of a vehicle which is in their custody shall be permitted to remove it from their custody shall be the period commencing on the day when the authority became satisfied that he was the owner and ending on the expiration of the seventh day after that day, or at the time when the vehicle is disposed of, whichever is the later.