Council
acts to rid streets of untaxed cars
Motorists
who fail to tax their vehicles are to be targeted by Wandsworth
Council in a tough new crackdown on car tax dodgers.
The
council is about to start clamping cars that have been left
on the public highway whose owners have ignored warnings to
buy a tax disc.
In
the next few weeks, council staff will be conducting a systematic
check of every street in the borough and placing warning stickers
on all untaxed cars they find. The details of these cars will
then be passed to the Driver Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)
which will pursue the owners for the unpaid road duty.
The
warning stickers will be the first phase in the crackdown.
If motorists still refuse to buy their tax disc then council
staff will clamp their vehicles. The
clamps will only be removed after the owner produces a valid
tax disc and pays a removal fee. If owners do not respond
within 24 hours, the council will remove the vehicle from
the public highway.
The
initiative is being launched in the borough after Wandsworth
extensively lobbied the DVLA for permission to tackle the
growing number of untaxed vehicles on local roads. The DVLA
is the only agency with the legal powers to deal with untaxed
vehicles, but it has just one office serving the whole of
London and the South East.
The
crackdown is expected to recover significant sums of money
in lost revenue for the Government. The Treasury estimates
that one in 25 vehicles is untaxed and that unlicenced motorists
cost taxpayers around £150m every year.
Wandsworth's cabinet member for regeneration and transport
Cllr Kathy Tracey said: "Unfortunately there are large
numbers of people who think they have the right to drive around
in untaxed vehicles. Until now, they have stood a reasonable
chance of getting away with it, because the enforcement process
is under-resourced, overly-bureaucratic and time consuming.
"That
is all about to change. We have devised a no-nonsense action
plan in partnership with the DVLA which will cut through the
red tape and get to the heart of a problem that costs taxpayers
tens of millions of pounds a year. We have the resources,
the staff and the will to ensure that untaxed vehicles don't
become a burden on Wandsworth's roads."
The
council will also remove unwanted vehicles for just £12,
as long as the owner can offer proof of ownership and surrenders
the licence documents.
Motorists
who wish to take advantage of this removal service should
telephone 020 8871 6709. Abandoned vehicles can also be reported
on that number.
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