Car got impounded by Police(need info)

er786

Hi,

Yesterday night I got stopped by the police here in Cork City. I came from the UK and registered my car here in Ireland. Still didnt get any paperwork from the revenue so i couldnt get my car insured. I still had my UK plates on and I was insured too.
The police now is saying that I do not have any insurance here in Ireland as I am a resident here. Even though I spoke to my Insurance and explained them that I will be in Ireland. The police officer wouldnt believe. I tried to explain and then he started with '' I'm gonna arrest you now if you do not stop arguing'' and I was like '' Excuse me?!, I just want to explain that I have insurance here and I can prove it'' Him again: Your attidude in this country stinks, go back to your country and speak to the police like that!!''
Damn, was he angry at me :-/ So I thought'' F.. that ****, I aint saying nothing now!

If i want to get my car back I have to pay 125 quid and show them that the car is insured in ireland. Is it possible that my girlfriend gets the insurance for herself and pick MY car up ? The vehicle is insured then...

or what do you think guys?

PS; if you find any misspelling, sorry for that

working fool

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork .
Quinn direct used to insure a uk car for a few weeks till re registered .
Their liberty now I think

Duiske

er786 wrote: »

Hi,

Yesterday night I got stopped by the police here in Cork City. I came from the UK and registered my car here in Ireland. Still didnt get any paperwork from the revenue so i couldnt get my car insured. I still had my UK plates on and I was insured too.

Might be wrong here, but my understanding is that if you can prove you were insured at the time the car was impounded then you do not have to pay any storage charges. Can you get your UK insurance company to e-mail/fax over copies of your documents ?

Kenny Logins

Hmm that's an odd one. The car has an Irish registration number but you were still on UK plates?

Check with your UK insurer to see if you are still covered, and then bring the certificate in to release your car.

I have driven on UK plates during a transfer but I had the car insured with an Irish company, so not sure how it works in your case...

Good luck.

er786

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork .
Quinn direct used to insure a uk car for a few weeks till re registered .
Their liberty now I think

Sorry, i mean Traffic Corps (didnt know that they are not called police)

so can my girlfriend get insured and take my car then?

working fool

er786 wrote: »

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork .
Quinn direct used to insure a uk car for a few weeks till re registered .
Their liberty now I think

Sorry, i mean Traffic Corps (didnt know that they are not called police)

so can my girlfriend get insured and take my car then?

They cant stop u having it brought out by a tow truck so long as u have documents to prove u own it

_Kaiser_

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork

er786 wrote: »

Sorry, i mean Traffic Corps (didnt know that they are not called police)

Come on working fool, no need for the pedantry. I'm sure we all know who he meant


er786: Sounds like you met one of our "highly trained, professional" Gardai if that's how he carried on. Don't worry though, the apologists will be along shortly to tell you that you must have provoked him or something -nice "welcome to Ireland" though! Racism free of charge :rolleyes:

Get confirmation of your insurance cover and call Revenue and get them to email you something confirming you've paid the VRT etc, then go down to whatever station this Keystone Cop is based at and ask to speak to the Inspector on duty (or above - Superintendent would be better again).

Hopefully that'll get it sorted out for you.

(Personally I'd also be lodging a complaint with the Superintendent/Garda Ombudsman for racism, but that's me)

charlemont

The Guard was just being a bully. Get onto the Garda Ombudsman Office. Its purpose is to sort out know-it-all dicks like the guard you were unfortunate enough to meet.


www.gardaombudsman.ie/

corktina

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork .

Oh yes there is....try the Airport.

working fool

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork

er786 wrote: »

Sorry, i mean Traffic Corps (didnt know that they are not called police)

Come on working fool, no need for the pedantry. I'm sure we all know who he meant


er786: Sounds like you met one of our "highly trained, professional" Gardai if that's how he carried on. Don't worry though, the apologists will be along shortly to tell you that you must have provoked him or something -nice "welcome to Ireland" though! Racism free of charge :rolleyes:

Get confirmation of your insurance cover and call Revenue and get them to email you something confirming you've paid the VRT etc, then go down to whatever station this Keystone Cop is based at and ask to speak to the Inspector on duty (or above).

Hopefully that'll get it sorted out for you.

Apologys .
The op is from the uk so easy mistake to make .
Thought he was a D4 type who calls the Garda " police "

dar83

working fool wrote: »

Apologys .
The op is from the uk so easy mistake to make .
Thought he was a D4 type who calls the Garda " police "

I get the feeling the Op isn't even originally from the UK, just so happens that's where he has come from and that's where the car was bought.

Still, if someone wishes to call the Gards the "Police" is it really worth being pedantic about? It is what they do...

corktina

Something doesn't add up here. If you re-registered your car, you get the paperwork on the spot and you would have a reg number and could insure it immediately. You could also tax it using the sheet they give you, as soon as you had insured it.Having taxed it , you would then receive the taxbook and not before. You need to display the new number within, i think 24 hours, so it's not surprising the Gard didn't believe your story.

Big Nasty

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork .

No, no you don't know about spelling. :pac::D:p

Atomic Pineapple

Yes as above the OP's story doesn't add up so accusing the Garda of being a bully is a bit of a leap when we've no idea of the actual truth and the OP's version is full of holes.

MCMLXXV wrote: »

No, no you don't know about spelling. :pac::D:p

Nothing wrong with the posters spelling there.

mathepac

er786 wrote: »

... Still didnt get any paperwork from the revenue so i couldnt get my car insured. ...

Sorry my friend, but I have to say that someone is BS'ing someone else here.

I have insured cars with no plates and foreign plates based on the VIN which is acceptable to most (all?) insurance companies here and in the UK. It is also a better and more permanent identifying mark than the reg.

How long are you living here?

er786 wrote: »

... Is it possible that my girlfriend gets the insurance for herself and pick MY car up ? The vehicle is insured then...

or what do you think guys? ...

I think your Irish is very good for an immigrant, kudos bro

The girlfriend thing won't work as to get insurance here the car must be registered in the name of the owner / keeper and that person can then register additional named drivers on the policy or opt for an "open driving" option.

It's a sticky one. I suggest you get the car insured here on the VIN (get it off the V5c) and reclaim it. I believe the cop was correct about your UK insurance being no good here, but he sounds like a right asshole to deal with. Sorry about that chief, but you get some of them everywhere.

kippy

It's amazing how often in this forum and others how people are so quick to come down on the side of the poster and not see the potential that the Garda may in fact be completely correct in how he dealt with the situation and in enforcing the law of the land.

We're only getting one side of the story here.

_Kaiser_

kippy wrote: »

It's amazing how often in this forum and others how people are so quick to come down on the side of the poster and not see the potential that the Garda may in fact be completely correct in how he dealt with the situation and in enforcing the law of the land.

We're only getting one side of the story here.

Of course, but experience and all too many similar stories, would tell me that what we had here was a cop who wasn't impressed when the OP didn't just bow and take his medicine but rather tried to explain the situation.

Assuming what the OP says happens next (regardless of the paperwork) is true, then the cop's reaction is inexcusable, racist and a complaint should formally be lodged against him.

There's too many of these Dirty Harry/Harriette wannabes infesting the ranks of the Gardai and they only serve to ruin the reputation of those who actually DO take the job and responsibility it carries seriously.

Gary ITR

corktina wrote: »

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork .

Oh yes there is....try the Airport.

Doesn't sting have a holiday home in west cork too?

kippy

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Of course, but experience and all too many similar stories, would tell me that what we had here was a cop who wasn't impressed when the OP didn't just bow and take his medicine but rather tried to explain the situation.

Assuming what the OP says happens next (regardless of the paperwork) is true, then the cop's reaction is inexcusable, racist and a complaint should formally be lodged against him.

There's too many of these Dirty Harry/Harriette wannabes infesting the ranks of the Gardai and they only serve to ruin the reputation of those who actually DO take the job and responsibility it carries seriously.

While I am sure there are the odd one, reading this forums you'd think a meeting with the enforcers of the law in this country would be akin to a meeting with the SAS.
I've never been pulled over/questioned/stopped by any member of the emergency services (for good reason), but I have dealt with members of the traffic corps on other occasions and have to say I would never get that impression of those that I have met.

If there is genuine wrongdoing here, there should be a complaint raised and perhaps that is where the OP should be going to next.

Nissan doctor

I may have missed something, but if the car is properly and legally insured for you to drive in Ireland then why would you need to get your girlfriend insured on it so she can collect it?

working fool

Gary ITR wrote: »

corktina wrote: »

working fool wrote: »

Dunno about spelling but theirs no police in cork .

Oh yes there is....try the Airport.

Doesn't sting have a holiday home in west cork too?

I bow to ur superior knowledge sir .
And u picked up on it first time .
Not like d other fella who had to go back and recheck the spelling .

Back to the op
Seems the garda may have taken a dislike to you and held ur car till he seen more documentation .

kippy

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I may have missed something, but if the car is properly and legally insured for you to drive in Ireland then why would you need to get your girlfriend insured on it so she can collect it?

For me the original story makes little sense to be honest, which is why, perhaps I am a bit more sympathetic to the plight of the Garda involved.

langdang

working fool wrote: »

Back to the op
Seems the garda may have taken a dislike to you and held ur car till he seen more documentation .

Maybe he took a dislike to the dubious story. As is his job.

Would you be so happy with the OP's story if the two of you had a collision?
If he has/had valid insurance, why he no produce proof and pick up car?

Insurance is a kinda exception to the "innocent until proven guilty" (not really, but kinda), the onus is on you to prove you are legally on the road, and I'm cool with that.

Duiske

kippy wrote: »

We're only getting one side of the story here.

In these case's you are only ever going to get one side, so people need to decide if the op is being truthful.

Still didnt get any paperwork from the revenue so i couldnt get my car insured.

I still had my UK plates on and I was insured too.

Excuse me?!, I just want to explain that I have insurance here and I can prove it''

Is it possible that my girlfriend gets the insurance for herself and pick MY car up ? The vehicle is insured then...

Based on the above, the Garda was duty bound to impound that car until the op could prove he was covered to drive it. The op told him he could prove he had insurance, so today that's all he needs to do. Also should be easy enough to prove that the car has been re-registered. As for the Garda's attitude, if the op is being truthful, it stank and he should report him.

Tallon

Duiske wrote: »

In these case's you are only ever going to get one side, so people need to decide if the op is being truthful.

Really? What about the Gardaí on the forum?

Lemming

mathepac wrote: »

I have insured cars with no plates and foreign plates based on the VIN which is acceptable to most (all?) insurance companies here and in the UK. It is also a better and more permanent identifying mark than the reg.

I've had UK insurance companies tell me to f*ck off with insurance on an Irish-reg car; specifically Aviva UK, when enquiring about my Aviva IE insured car at the time, although I recall a few others generally not entertaining the notion either. Car needed DVLA registration first was the general theme I was met with. Not one asked about the VIN.

Sold the Irish-reg car in Ireland and bought a UK car. Problem solved.

munchkin_utd

theres holes in that story, or at least missing info that would help us understand what has happened

If you "came" from the UK, were you living there as a resident or importing the car? How long are you living in Ireland/ living in UK?
How did the guard come to believe you were a resident of Ireland? Are you Irish with an Irish or other non UK licence driving a UK car?
Had you no paperwork in the car to proove what you are saying about the insurance? If not, why not? At least something to proove its insured in the UK.

My sympathy is quite low for the OP because you should know that the Gardai are preoccupied with enforcing vehicle registration offences so you at least should have made the effort to have as much ammunition as possible to excuse your driving of a car with no obvious insurance about the place.

awec

This post has been deleted.

Duiske

Tallon wrote: »

Really? What about the Gardaí on the forum?

If one of the Gardai on Boards is actually the Gardai who spoke to the op last night, impounded his car and is willing to give his own version of why he chose to impound and what was said, then yea, we will hear both side's. But that's not going to happen, so my point stands. We can of course hear another Gardai's opinion of what "may" have transpired, but that's not quite the same, is it ?

Max Headroom

working fool wrote: »

Seems the garda may have taken a dislike to you and held ur car till he seen more documentation .

Hope he didnt start the conversation.."Awright Paddy...."......:D

Tallon

Duiske wrote: »

If one of the Gardai on Boards is actually the Gardai who spoke to the op last night, impounded his car and is willing to give his own version of why he chose to impound and what was said, then yea, we will hear both side's. But that's not going to happen, so my point stands. We can of course hear another Gardai's opinion of what "may" have transpired, but that's not quite the same, is it ?

Missing the point, how can you say we will 'never ever' get the other side, when there are several Gardaí on the forum?

Duiske

Tallon wrote: »

Missing the point, how can you say we will 'never ever' get the other side, when there are several Gardaí on the forum?

If I understand your point, you think that the particular Gardai involved may at some point come on this thread to give his version of events ? That's not going to happen. We have the op's version of what happened between himself and a Gardai, and that's all we will get. One side.

Tallon

Duiske wrote: »

If I understand your point, you think that the particular Gardai involved may at some point come on this thread to give his version of events ? That's not going to happen. We have the op's version of what happened between himself and a Gardai, and that's all we will get. One side.

Nope, you said 'these cases'

Are you telling me, there is no possible way a Garda from here could interact with a member from here?

aujopimur

I think the OP story is a makey upey.

Duiske

Tallon wrote: »

Nope, you said 'these cases'

Are you telling me, there is no possible way a Garda from here could interact with a member from here?

I meant these "type" of case's, where an op accuses the Gardai of wrongdoing, either by acting outside his power's or being rude, aggressive or whatever. Maybe I could have made that clearer, so fair point.

In a case like this, no, the Gardai would not interact with the op. The op obviously knows the name of the Gardai involved. Do you seriously think that the Gardai, if he is a member of Boards, would want to make the op aware of his Boards username by interacting with him ? Not sure of this, but I would be surprised if there were not rules in place regarding how a Gardai may or may not interact with a person involved in a case in which the Gardai is also involved.

whomitconcerns

It says on VRT page

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/temporary-exemption-foreign-registered.html

"What happens if I don't register my vehicle?
It is an offence to drive an unregistered vehicle in the State. Accordingly, an unregistered vehicle may be detained by Revenue officials or by An Garda Síochána. Additionally, a vehicle may be seized by Revenue officials and may only be released on the payment of a penalty."

and

"12. What must I do if challenged by a Revenue officer or a Garda?
You are required to stop your vehicle and allow it to be examined if requested by an Officer of the Revenue Commissioners or An Garda Síochána. You must co-operate in answering questions for the purpose of verifying your status and produce on request all documents relating to the bringing into the State, ownership and registration of the vehicle."

So I would say based on that, and the fact the OP had no paperwork, and he seems to have caught a guard "on a bad day", that the guards were entitled to impound it...ouch...

But...

er786 wrote: »

Hi,

Yesterday night I got stopped by the police here in Cork City. I came from the UK and registered my car here in Ireland. Still didnt get any paperwork from the revenue so i couldnt get my car insured. I still had my UK plates on and I was insured too.
The police now is saying that I do not have any insurance here in Ireland as I am a resident here. Even though I spoke to my Insurance and explained them that I will be in Ireland. The police officer wouldnt believe. I tried to explain and then he started with '' I'm gonna arrest you now if you do not stop arguing'' and I was like '' Excuse me?!, I just want to explain that I have insurance here and I can prove it'' Him again: Your attidude in this country stinks, go back to your country and speak to the police like that!!''
Damn, was he angry at me :-/ So I thought'' F.. that ****, I aint saying nothing now!

If i want to get my car back I have to pay 125 quid and show them that the car is insured in ireland. Is it possible that my girlfriend gets the insurance for herself and pick MY car up ? The vehicle is insured then...

or what do you think guys?

PS; if you find any misspelling, sorry for that

mathepac

Lemming wrote: »

I've had UK insurance companies tell me to f*ck off ...

Good for them. Were they right?

alias no.9

So many questions...
Does the OP live in Ireland and if so for how long?
How long was the car in the country?
Was the declaration of permanent export section of the UK V5 form filled in and returned to the DVLA?
What was the expiry of the most recent UK tax and MOT?
When was it registered here?
Why wasn't it displaying its Irish plates after being registered?
Was the car subject to a UK insurance policy or was the OP claiming to be insured to drive it via some third party extension?
What would the UK police do if they stopped the OP in a car that had previously been registered in the UK, then reregistered in another country but was still displaying the original UK plates?
How could it be possible for the OP's girlfriend to now take out a policy on the car now but not possible for the OP to do the same?

CiniO

According to what OP was saying, garda came to conclusion, that OP's insurance from foreign country was not valid anymore, as OP was resident in Ireland.
I don't think it's as simple as that, as foreign insurance can be valid even someone who is not resident in the country in which insurance was issued.

dgt

Why was your car pounded by police, was it being drunk and disorderly?

sunnysoutheast

Lemming wrote: »

I've had UK insurance companies tell me to f*ck off with insurance on an Irish-reg car; specifically Aviva UK, when enquiring about my Aviva IE insured car at the time, although I recall a few others generally not entertaining the notion either. Car needed DVLA registration first was the general theme I was met with. Not one asked about the VIN.

Sold the Irish-reg car in Ireland and bought a UK car. Problem solved.

You can get insured on the VIN in the UK if you intend to import a car, but it's best to go to a broker as it's a somewhat specialist area. There was an endorsement on the policy I took out saying that the insurance only covered road journeys to/from an MoT testing station (the theft etc. being active at all times). When I got my UK registration through I just informed them and all was fine.

Also note that it's illegal to have dual insurance, so you can't rely on the "Irish" policy you may already have to cover you while you are waiting for your UK documentation to come through. In effect, you can't use the car after you have taken out the UK policy until you get your UK plate.

I was insured in Ireland with Quinn/Liberty, but the "VIN" quote I got from them was four times the price of my new UK policy.

Lemming

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

You can get insured on the VIN in the UK if you intend to import a car, but it's best to go to a broker as it's a somewhat specialist area

I had just been ringing companies direct looking for quotes at the time, so it's entirely fair to assume that joe-soap phone person didn't know about the ability to insure on the VIN. It's hardly something that crops up on a daily basis I'm sure. But that was the general theme I got at the time (I hadn't thought to enquire about using the VIN) so I just sold the Irish reg car and bought a UK one as it seemed the path of least resistance to get myself squared away with the powers-that-be for motoring in the UK.

Mind you, at four times the UK quote you received, I shudder to think what that was given that UK insurance prices are a bit on the "nutty" side of insane unless you've been living/driving in the UK for years already.

Our man in Havana

CiniO wrote: »

According to what OP was saying, garda came to conclusion, that OP's insurance from foreign country was not valid anymore, as OP was resident in Ireland.
I don't think it's as simple as that, as foreign insurance can be valid even someone who is not resident in the country in which insurance was issued.

You are correct.

Del2005

munchkin_utd wrote: »

because you should know that the Gardai are preoccupied with enforcing vehicle registration offences

That's one of the funniest posts I've read here. The Gardaí are barely enforcing the laws that they control, apart from exceeding the posted limit and DUI, why would they be bothered doing Customs job.

The OPs car was impounded for no proof of insurance not lack of registration documents.

munchkin_utd

Del2005 wrote: »

That's one of the funniest posts I've read here. The Gardaí are barely enforcing the laws that they control, apart from exceeding the posted limit and DUI, why would they be bothered doing Customs job.

The OPs car was impounded for no proof of insurance not lack of registration documents.

grrrrrrrrrrr
I meant not having all your various car related paperwork in order.
"registration offences" to me being not having your car registered, taxed, insured, imported and christ knows what other class of bureaucratic paperwork is needed. Have it registered, notified, listed with whatever companies and agencies is needed to have the car legally on the road.

But "Registration offences" is a far shorter term isnt it than listing everything singally that may be checked to have your car on the road and kosher in every way?

Anan1

CiniO wrote: »

According to what OP was saying, garda came to conclusion, that OP's insurance from foreign country was not valid anymore, as OP was resident in Ireland.
I don't think it's as simple as that, as foreign insurance can be valid even someone who is not resident in the country in which insurance was issued.

HYere's how I see it: OP registered the car here, meaning that the DVLA in Swansea would have deregistered it. UK insurance would therefore be invalid, as the car is no longer UK registered. For argument's sake, however, let's say that the OP gave the UK insurer their ROI reg. Even then, the law here requires that ROI registered cars be insured as per our RTA and bearing the relevant disc. Even had the UK insurance still been valid, it wouldn't have fulfilled the requirements of our RTA, therefore the Garda was correct to seize the car.

Zubeneschamali

munchkin_utd wrote: »

"registration offences" to me being not having your car registered, taxed, insured, imported and christ knows what other class of bureaucratic paperwork is needed.

Insurance is a bit more than a bit of bureaucratic paperwork. You could be looking at thousands in fines and a jail sentence.

Zubeneschamali

Anan1 wrote: »

the Garda was correct to seize the car.

And the OP knows this very well, hence his question about can the girlfriend get insured on it to get it out of the pound.

Henry Ford III

OP has gone awol here. Hmmmm.

stevenmu

It sounds like the OP has/had insurance in the UK who said that they would cover him over here, but I'd bet that was on the assumption that he was visiting. I'm pretty sure that any UK insurance would be voided when the OP became resident here, in the same way that a policy from an Irish company would cover an Irish resident on holiday in the UK, but wouldn't if you became resident there.

mathepac

Henry Ford III wrote: »

OP has gone awol ...

Ah well.