car impounded.. very harsh

[mboy]

I recently had a car impounded that was legally parked road taxed and insured. The officer claimed it was abandoned but It simply broke down and I had to put it somewhere and try and get it moved later on. I work all hours so bit of a nightmare I was going back at nights to try and get the engine going but couldn't so I was planning to get it towed but had been really busy so it sat for about a week.. as it turns out some thug smashed the passenger window and stole the tax disk. This was reported by a neighbour and the officer never contacted me to tell me I had been a victim of a crime. I received no note or letter about the vandolism of my legally parked car. The first contact I received was a letter saying the vehicle had been impounded and due for disposal with a hefty fine. I was understandably upset and I am not convinced the police had gone through the correct procedures before taking this action. I am being punished for nothing in my view.. they claim I had abandoned it.. do I have the law on my side here to fight this case?

[voltr4m4x]

Accepting that you have been kept busy at your workplace during the whole time the car was on the road, the fact remains that any vehicle parked on a road (whether it is taxed/insured or whatever) is, to all intents and purposes, likely to cause an obstruction to other road users. I think you may find that a notice will have been placed on the vehicle during some stage in which it was left on the road, which will have warned you of the consequences of action under the Civic Amenities Act, and so the Police/Local Highways Authority are perfectly entitled to remove the car in the event of your failure to remove it yourself. You are free to consult a Solicitor if you so wish in order to obtain advice on the matter, but I very much doubt that the law will be on your side in court.

[redcrx]

as you were leaving it there, did you not think to notify the police that youd had to park it up and leave it?

As far as they know you did abandon it, they will have left it a few days (unless in a dangerous position) and then had it removed.

[sandmaster]

Someone parked a car outside my mother's house for over two weeks without moving it. It looked abandoned or stolen and I reported it to the police. As it had a valid tax disc they were not interested. It disappeared after the two weeks and we never discovered who owned it. It was certainly not a neighbour's.
So your story seems very harsh. A pity the police could not have been bothered to contact you.