Police/numberplate/insurance/---hassle

carkid · 27 May 2015

I don't know if anyone else here has had hassle on this issue.

I got stopped by the police in my GTS last night -for not having Insurance.
I explained that the car was insured however that on Saturday the DVLA sent me a new log book with a new registration plate for the car that I purchased recently. The DVLA stated with the log book that the new numberplate should be put on the car as soon as possible.
Because it was bank holiday I could not inform my Insurance company regarding the change of number plate until today.

I was asked to show my Insurance documents to the local police station within 7 days.

This morning I went to my local Insurance office and they printed out all the paperwork showing the original Insurance policy taken out last month and clearly stated the car had always been insured but amended the change of numberplate on the same policy.
I then went straight into the police station thinking it would be a 2 minute job to show the documents however I could have never foreseen I would be dealing with a police woman with no common sense and who evidently failed most (if not all) of her school exams. She constantly just said 'you've amended this policy' as if I was insuring the bloody numberplate and not the car. She said that I should not have changed the numberplate- despite the fact as I pointed out-that according to the DVLA the old number was no longer registered to me or the car.
Eventually I left the station because I'd wasted 30 mins of my life talking to a brick wall.
The police woman then phoned me up later today and said ' I've spoken to several people about your case and some think you are correct whilst some think I am correct- we are therefore both right....so I've sent your paperwork to the officer who stopped you and asked him to look into it'
Jesus Christ !!

How the hell can anyone have confidence in the police to tackle serious crime when the donuts can't even look at a sheet of A4 paper from an Insurance company and determine that a car is insured.....despite the fact it states clearly the previous number,the new number,and when the car was originally insured.

Zingari · 27 May 2015

So 'technically' you put the new registration number on the car before informing the insurers you wanted to amend your cover?

Normally you inform the insurer first and agree a time/date for it to be effective - something in the small print about informing them of changes.

Techically you will be insured, most likely third party up until the point the new change of cover is effective. In which case you're lucky you didn't hit anything as I can see the insurers ducking out of this one. How did the broker amend the certificate - with handwriting? That's bad practice, and personally I wouldn't believe it either if that's the case, as you should get a cover note which IIRC cannot be backdated.

BTW - I suspect the 'policewoman' you saw at the desk was a police staff employee given that officers gave up staffing desks years ago and therefore not versed in encycloypeadic matters of the Road Traffic Act.

JohnnyDangerous · 27 May 2015

Just spent an hour explaining the same to an X5 with armed old bill and 2 very cute traffic policewomen, they told me to change one bolt from black to white and yellow and they were fine but nothing about the font being illegal and front plate being way undersized.

kurlykris · 27 May 2015

Maybe it is just easier to put some " made up " EU plates on a car whilst in the 24 hour " transition " period.......

They are completely overt to GB Police PLC interrogation, far too much paperwork to deal with, as long as you can speak some EUropean language of course.

carkid · 27 May 2015

Zingari said:
So 'technically' you put the new registration number on the car before informing the insurers you wanted to amend your cover?

Normally you inform the insurer first and agree a time/date for it to be effective - something in the small print about informing them of changes.

Techically you will be insured, most likely third party up until the point the new change of cover is effective. In which case you're lucky you didn't hit anything as I can see the insurers ducking out of this one. How did the broker amend the certificate - with handwriting? That's bad practice, and personally I wouldn't believe it either if that's the case, as you should get a cover note which IIRC cannot be backdated.

BTW - I suspect the 'policewoman' you saw at the desk was a police staff employee given that officers gave up staffing desks years ago and therefore not versed in encycloypeadic matters of the Road Traffic Act.

Obviously one has no forewarning when the DVLA are going to eventually send the log book back with the new registration- so it's not always possible to inform the insurer immediately of the change or set a date for amendment if like in this case it arrives on a Saturday bank holiday weekend......or the alternative is to keep the old plates for now which are no longer registered to me or the car and which I assume would also cause the police patrol car to pull me over.

The Insurance company simply printed off the original Insurance policy with the change of registration plate dated as an amendment - they mentioned that the car was always insured regardless.......in fact the Insurance company is by coincidence virtually next door to the police station-I asked the police woman to walk to the Insurance office to seek clarification but she declined- no doubt because she was in the middle
of investigating an unsolved murder.
You mention that she was most likely police staff and not a 'police woman'
- either way I can only conclude that there is not much of a vetting process in place for available jobs.......

isysman · 27 May 2015

This is the problem with no longer having the regional DVLA offices any more. I used to go there with my paperwork and have it all done right away, new tax disc printed etc. just go home and switch plates. Now you have to wait for the post.

And as for the woman in the police station, yes will be a civvy as police don't man the desks now. They are in my experience all jobsworths, pedantic cretins who seem to have the goal of making life difficult.

madalaa · 27 May 2015

I have been into a Police station in last twelve months and it was manned by a Police Officer ........ who was extremely polite and efficient ....... so much so I wrote a letter commending his performance.

isysman · 27 May 2015

madalaa said:
I have been into a Police station in last twelve months and it was manned by a Police Officer ........ who was extremely polite and efficient ....... so much so I wrote a letter commending his performance.

It may be the exception to the rule, as they don't want to have trained police working the desks now. But I'd prefer it as like you said, he was polite and no doubt knowledgeable, because he's not a frustrated civvy wanting to be a policeman.

JohnnyDangerous · 27 May 2015

isysman said:
madalaa said:

I have been into a Police station in last twelve months and it was manned by a Police Officer ........ who was extremely polite and efficient ....... so much so I wrote a letter commending his performance.

Click to expand...

It may be the exception to the rule, as they don't want to have trained police working the desks now. But I'd prefer it as like you said, he was polite and no doubt knowledgeable, because he's not a frustrated civvy wanting to be a policeman.

One of our lads got pulled while on a road test and had to produce, the company Insurance covered as an employee of Austec Racing but the woman behind the desk said how do I know you are an employee of Austec Racing (as he is stood in an Austec Racing T shirt) she said he needed a letter on headed paper t prove it, so he came back and wrote his own letter and went back about 10 mins later and she said fine, originally he handed her a business card and when she said it meant nothing suggested calling the workshop to ask if employed him, but she refused saying it wasnt her job to do that and he had to prove it? So rather than call a shop which is pretty hard to fake she was far happier with a letter anyone can knock up with a PC !!!! Ive also had the argument of but the car your driving has to be insured by the owner! Err no it does not I have a fully comp trade policy that covers any car we own or in our possession, yes but the owner has to insure it! No he doesnt read the policy! Yes but I know every car has to be insured! It is, its insured while its in our possession! and there we go in circles!!! Normally ends with me saying its not for you to determine wether I am insured or not its the officer who stopped me so take the details or a photocopy of the documents because I am going, I have fulfilled my obligation to produce docs to you within 7 days etc.
As has been said wanna be coppers with no responsibility trying to invent some so they feel important.

Jonathon555 · 27 May 2015

Not suprised to read this thread . The Dvla plate changeover times are random.

I have had many of the same conversations with the police when producing documents.

I once got pulled for having an exhaust that was too loud ( it was deemed too loud because it was allegedly louder than the police volvo) on tick over.

Also on the list was undersized number plates etc etc

I had to take the car to a vosa station who basically stamped the documents to say it had passed their checks. I did not change anything.

medicus · 27 May 2015

i fully understand your frustration, and can talk from "experience" here.
the problem you have/had is unfortunately entirely your own fault.
as the letter from DVLA said you were to change over your number plates (asap) or as soon as....now that mean as soon as everything is in place, regarding "correct number plates" informing Insurance company etc, the fact that you preempted this over a weekend, is not the fault of the police, who were only doing there job, and your car did come up on the PNC as uninsured ...now we know it was insured, and it was a paper transaction to change details, but the system does /did not know this, thats not a fault of the police, its a fault of you jumping the gun.
there has not been anything anything "dodgy" on your part, i understand, but you did jump the gun.
its one of those things, but you were in the wrong, and when it came on top for you, you choose to have a go at the police, instead of saying "ok, i should have waited until monday when i could have notified the Insurance coy"
it would have been legal as far as DVLA was concerned, because they enter a "grace/transition period" for the 2 different registrations of a couple of weeks,
not a pop at you sir, because i know you have not intentionally done anything wrong, but unfair to have a moan at the police, who have also done nothing wrong.
a huge ampount of drivers pulled over for Insurance related offences, then get on the net/contact the Insurance coy, and amend stuff, then try to blag it with there 7 day producer .....its a daily occurrence .

isysman · 27 May 2015

Medicus I think you should work on the desk in the police station, I think it would be right up your alley.

Lordglenmorangie · 27 May 2015

In the past I have insured a car with the vin number as waiting for a plate, mind you that was before the country went mad :?:

Insurance is for the car and it's driver not the number plate, so any number plate issues are entirely separate :thumb:

JohnnyDangerous · 27 May 2015

Jonathon555 said:
Not suprised to read this thread . The Dvla plate changeover times are random.

I have had many of the same conversations with the police when producing documents.

I once got pulled for having an exhaust that was too loud ( it was deemed too loud because it was allegedly louder than the police volvo) on tick over.

Also on the list was undersized number plates etc etc

I had to take the car to a vosa station who basically stamped the documents to say it had passed their checks. I did not change anything.

Had the same thing in my Supra, exhaust, plates, rear reflectors !!!! etc, take this to an MOT station etc and you will have to change it all etc etc, then we got to my details, the final one being occupation............................the look on his face when i replied................MOT tester was priceless, I think he wanted to tear the ticket up :floor:

medicus · 27 May 2015

isysman said:
Medicus I think you should work on the desk in the police station, I think it would be right up your alley.

don't need to, my wife is a skipper in the Met (roads policing unit) :hand:

if you think I was being "officious" ill qualify it.
OP gets stopped in a Porsche with reg number ABC123
it shows up as no ins, so he is given a producer.
at the police station same guy, with a Porsche shows an Insurance document showing the reg number XYZ456.
the police officer or SDO does not know the "drama" or the guy in front of the desk, or the car in question, just 2 conflicting registration numbers.
it was totally the fault of the OP in putting a registration number on his car before the Insurance company had amended the documentation.

here is another mute point.
what if the Insurance company had refused to insure the car with the registration number in question? it has happened if the number is or deemed to be a risk because of undue attention it may bring to the car in regard of damage etc, the Insurance company does not have to insure any car regardless?

Police/numberplate/insurance/---hassle

carkid

Sao Paulo

Zingari

Brands Hatch

JohnnyDangerous

Estoril

kurlykris

Singapore

carkid

Sao Paulo

isysman

Daytona

madalaa

Fuji

isysman

Daytona

JohnnyDangerous

Estoril

Jonathon555

Suzuka

medicus

Albert Park

isysman

Daytona

Lordglenmorangie

Nurburgring

JohnnyDangerous

Estoril

medicus

Albert Park

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