Number plates/ Show plates and the police

[Bill Dewison]

Could you email me a copy of your disclaimer Paul? It maybe that he’s just being a pedantic twit with nothing better to do than mither you, but once they start on you, they have a right ole do. I’ve had a few ‘officials’ into the shop regarding show plates, but I clearly state with every purchase that they’re illegal for road use and for show plate use only. If they end up on the public highways, its the customer breaking the law.

The web thingy is a bizarre one as there is a major loophole. If you host your website selling number plates offshore, anywhere not within the legal confines of the British Government, you can get away with selling plates without documentation. Even legal plates! 😮 It’s bizarre, but true. 🙄

Typical though, if you burgle a house you get a caution… sell someone a numberplate with a daffy duck picture on it, you get the riot act! 👿

Cheers, Dewi

[Phill Fenton]

Police investigating number plates. 🙄

Officialdom in this country has gone completely mad

Meanwhile a good citizen is in Jail because she reached the end of her tether when intimidated by local thugs so threatened them with an air pistol because the police were too busy to attend her call.

[Martin Pearson]

Dewi you dont need to host your web site offshore, just base it in Scotland, it’s still not law up here as the regulations only apply to England and Wales, some one told me I had to register so I did, only to be told by the DVLA that I didn’t need to register as my business was in Scotland, I thought that was very nice of them to tell me after they had cashed my cheque and registered me!!!!

[Gordon Forbes]

As to the woman with the air rifle or pistol I also noticed that all the media I saw reported it as a FIREARM which ofcourse they aren’t.

hacked me off that did as I am a firearm owner and sick of the media reporting absolute rubbish as far a firearms are concerned make it up to sensationalise it they do.

Goop

[signworxs]

What realy pis*”s me off is that dvla actualy advertise numberplates with incorrectly spaced numbers and letters to make up names and relieve you of your cash THEN tell you its illigal to use incorrectly spaced plates. (:) (:) (:) (:)

[Paul Goodwin]

Hi Guys thnx for replies

Dewi i’ll e-mail it now

[Kevin.Beck]

easy targets all the time.

mr burglar has legs and can run away, thats too much hard work.

motorists and honest people all the time.

shop owner got his window smashed by a 12 year old walking past with a hammer. they ran out and caught him, the police didn`t prosicute because the police couldn`t prove he ment to do it. cost the shop owner £700 to replace the glass.

the worlds gone mad.

[Cookster]

Don’t worry about it Mort there’s not a thing the old bill can do about it!

Like everyone has said they should not be wasting time on such trivial matters and go out & catch some proper criminals, but that’s a bit like too much hard work!

John

[Dazzel]

Mort,

Your Mr Policeman was quoting another piece of legislation that went thru at the same time as the plate law. It requires anyone dealing in “parts” ie scrap yards to register ( most policemen are aware of this law and “think” that number plates falls within it ). We had a visit and was told that we needed to register with the council ! – as I was part of the orginial meetings with the DVLA/DOT when it all went thru – I was indeed a little ******* off that the law officer did not know “what law to apply”.
I was also ****** That if was visiting our customers and telling them the same ( ie they need to register twice !! ) then even more would stop selling plates. I phoned my local Trading standards people (waste of time), then the regional crime group ( the only one’s who knew anything about anything ) and they contacted local police. We even got an apology, and he is now a good customer 🙂
Not police fault..it’s down to rushing thru legislation…no -one thought who would enforce it ! they thought trading standards…but the act says it’s the responsibility of local councils……trading standards don;t work for them ! they work for county councils….ha ha… so it”s left to poor old policeman.
Normally they get a day or so a year to “check” these type of things, unless they get a formal complaint…..must easier to nick the motorist for illegal plates – helps the targets.
The law is too vague on showplates….even dvla officers cannot give a definitive answer although many local agents of the DVLA say yes you can sell them as long as you put the legend – “not for road use” on them.
The only prosecution/s i know so far…is guys who sold plates without being registered ( England/Wales only ).
The law did need tightening….but all they have done is drive the average legal “maker” out of the market and confuse the life out of punters and suppliers…..number plate sales dropped over 20% since law…..quite a loss to the governments vat coffers….serves them right.
I know of many local pubs where a visit to the toilets involves pushing past drug dealers….a fare more serious use of time would be to send the copper for a pint !
Cheers
Paul

[onestopsigns]

so scotish folk dont have to register to make legal plates is this rite ?was reading dvla and they seem to hint that i do

[Paul Goodwin]

Thanks Paul 🙂

just waiting to see hwta they come back with now, i called the DVLA and they said it’s a grey area but the law doesn’t recognise the words showplates/fancy plates, and as soon as u put a registration on a plate it’s a number plate ect, but i argued that if the person signs a disclaimer that they are show plates not for road use ect, how can that be against the law to sell them ?

confusing.

[David Rowland]

i think a judge would decide that you have taken best effort to protect you and your business. I do wonder if the majority of plates are names like “Ford”, “Capri” or a registration of some description like P1SSD etc., I would then argue that is a sign and not a reigstration plate.

We get enquiries, we simply turn them away.

[sprint]

quote Mort:

Hi all

Just got a friendly visit from my local copper regarding me selling showplates.
I’m a registered number plate supplier, and like a lot of ppl also sell show plates, i get my customers to sign a disclaimer ect.

Now he asked if i was registered with teh local council to sell plates, err the DVLA i told him and showed my paper work. He also argued that even selling show plates, it constitutes a registration number, that makes it illigal unless u have all documentation ect.

I then showed him the disclaimers i get ppl to sign. He took a blank one and is looking into it.

I also asked him re: all the websites selling them ec, he said that they can’t police the internet.

So atm i’m not sure what is right or wrong. I was advised by another police officer last yr that as long as i get a disclaimer signed i was doing nothing illigal. Now i’m not sure.

I’ll let you know what happens …………………..

Hope you dont mind me jumping on this one, any chance i could see a copy of the wording you use as i’m looking into this at the moment.

Does anyone know how the law stands with regards to ‘copy’ documents? I noticed some web sites will accept a scan, photo or in some instances copies by post for proof to gain fully BS compliant plates.

Cheers

Will

[Martin Pearson]

Will if you want to make 100% legal number plates then a copy of the documents is not good enough, The legislation says you must take the original documents.

[sprint]

quote martin:

Will if you want to make 100% legal number plates then a copy of the documents is not good enough, The legislation says you must take the original documents.

Thought so, these people must be taking a risk or are using what Dewi mentioned. If i’m going to do them don’t want any agro…

cheers

Will

[Peter Normington]

there are only two answers to this,
1, if you make a number plate, then it must comply to the regs, and you must register to do so.
2, if you make a bit of plastic, with a number on it, and it does not comply with the regs, then it is not a number plate, so you cannot be prosecuted in any way, all it takes is for one of you chaps that make “show” plates is to stand by your convictions, keep doing it and when prosecuted, pay good money for a barister to argue your case, and it will be found in your favour. Costs will be awarded, job sorted
Peter

[sprint]

Cheers Peter, going to get registered etc, not going to start until fully sorted & understand all regs,

Will

[Bill Dewison]

Basically all the DVLA ask for is that you record reference numbers. Humble opinion, how the hell would they know if you’ve seen original documentation or now? :lol1:

Until they sort out this whole number plate documentation thing and get something more realistic together, make your legal plates once registered and take documentation reference numbers however you see fit, anything else, slap a “Illegal for Road Use” on it and use a disclaimer to relieve you from the heavy hand of the local ole bill! 😀 Bugger em, if they don’t understand their own legislation, how the hell are we s’posed to do it? 🙄

Any problems with the stickers Will, I’ll send you a couple over to get you going, just PM me and I’ll get them across to you 😀

Cheers, Dewi

[Dazzel]

Sore point…(for me anyway!)

There is hardly any LEGAL plates made in the uk!!!!

If your local dealer has a logo on his plates – a www site address etc then his plates do not conform to BSAU145D and are therefore illegal to be supplied as a number plate 😀

The law states – name and location of supplier only – as the legend to be printed – no other marking allowed ( unless it is a border up to 6mm or legal flag emblem).

So guys you are not alone 😀

Paul

[Kevin.Beck]

so Dazzel

any advise on what to say when PC plod comes knocking……

[Bill Dewison]

quote becky:

any advise on what to say when PC plod comes knocking……

No one saw me do it, no one can prove a thing as loud as you can and run for the back door!!!

Not that thats ever happened 😳

Cheers, Dewi

[Dazzel]

There are approx 36,000 registered number plate suppliers ( forgive me if i’m out by a few 000, can;t keep up ).

So your chances of having a visit are slim unless you operate an “in your face” high street shop etc.

I assume that you are registered ?

My response – make him a cup of tea and show him all the details you have kept !!! for the legal plates you have supplied – show that you are a good guy.

Also show him “as we do” – copies of your disclaimers (showing customer name/address etc and payment methods ).

I think that it would be very unlikley for him to take any further interest in you.

The only confusion we had was that he quoted the act ref; Scrap yards / parts etc and once we “put him right” that we only needed to be registered with the DVLA we got an apology.

As a trade supplier we cannot afford to lose our licence, so to make double sure, all the requests for showplates we get are made and supplied via our sister company in Scotland 🙂

Hands across the border……. :lol1:

Paul

[onestopsigns]

thanks to beckys roller were now offering show plates
hig h street shop ,no dvla licence [yet] can we do a plate with kermit the frog at one end and the blokes licene plate lettering on rest
were in scotland if that makes a difference
wat would we have to do to be allowed by who ever to make this plate?

[sprint]

quote Dewi:

Any problems with the stickers Will, I’ll send you a couple over to get you going, just PM me and I’ll get them across to you 😀

Cheers, Dewi

Tried to PM you but cant, dont know if Gold access should give me that? If you could send it me would be most grateful. 😀

Curious about the web loophole, any idea where that comes from?

cheers

Will

[Phill Fenton]

My advice to anybody who gets a visit from the “number plate police” is to tell them to f*** *ff and try working for a living!!

Really, this sort of nonsense really annoys me. Tonight I am reading in my local paper that our local council are employing youngsters to go into off licences to try and buy tobacco products and alcohol to test retailers to make sure they aren’t selling products to youngsters that are underage !! . Is this not called “entrapment” and surely this in itself is illegal 😮

Similarly, there are plans to recruit people to go into pubs and arrest people once Scotland has passed it’s draconion laws that make smoking in a public place illegal.

I don’t smoke – but I detest the officials that insist on imposing their petty rules on others (:)

[barrysm]

hi all, at the end of the day, you didn’t sell them a set of plates as he all ready had some on his car, yo made him 2 clear poly signs and what he doe’s with them at the end of the day is up to him…..????? 😀

[Iain Gordon]

Its a bit like “snoopers”, the warning systems for speed traps

Its not illegal to make them
Its not illegal to sell them
Its not illegal to buy them
But its illegal to use them

The worlds gone mad, i tell you

Iain