Fast Marina Magazine

Just received a new V5 registration document from DVLA with no prompting by me. The explanatory note says that they had a load of the green ones stolen, so they are issuing a new red one for every registered car in the country.

If you haven't had yours yet, it may not turn up until Nov 2012 as with 20,000,000 plus cars it may take some time to print them all.







Chris
www.marinacoupe.co.uk

I thought it was a bit odd.
The document is not proof of ownership, so what is it for?

jiversteve wrote:I thought it was a bit odd.
The document is not proof of ownership, so what is it for?

to enable the authorities to know where you live so they can send you bills for road rent.. big brother is watching you lol

Its to screw you over even worse. Note; there is now no ability to 'scrap' a car on there so if you buy something for spares and strip it, find a very friendly scrappy to take the remains to as they are watching closely. I will elaborate further when I've got more time....

My brother had a letter to say he had to renew his driving licence which was the old paper type and pay to do it. He had not moved address or changed any detail or name etc so why this happen out of the blue I don't know?
I still have my paper licence and so does my wife and because I do, I don't pay every 10 years to have a plastic photo licence.
I hope this is not a way to make sure all pay as I want to keep my paper one!

I too have a paper licence. Hanging on to it for as long as I can as I did with my passport. But I do get the occasional odd look when trying to use it as ID or to hire a car overseas.
There is far too much documentation about individuals in this country.
The biggest problem is getting the info put right, if and when you ever manage to find out that it is wrong.

My bank once refused to communicate with me by phone because I got my date of birth wrong. Apart from my Mum, I am probably the best person to consult to get it right.
Turned out that it was a typo from someone at the bank typing 30th and not 13th, from a conversation, not from any written documentation.
They justified blocking my account as they were protecting my identity. I pointed out they had altered my records on the basis of a phone call, rather than the myriad of documentation that I had completed over many years of holding an account with them. They had made a change with no backup info.

I was once also, after being stopped by an ANPR check that the DVLA records showed my car was not taxed. I had a disc and a reciept from the Post Office, but it was my duty to go the the local DVLA office to correct the info. I told them to go spin, I had done everything by the book, had the evidence to support it, yet they wanted me to put their mistake right. I got back in my car, drove off and heard nothing more about it.

as were on paperwork who thinks the new mots are way to simple to forge dodgy car sellers dream they could soon wack a few more months on to sell a car at a better price i mean how many people check with the dvla to see if a car realy has one :roll:

The MoT Testers argued for the "MoT receipt" now issued - VOSA initially said that there was no need for it as "computer says yes" syndrome prevailed at the time.

Hence the half-baked "receipt" now issued (after all, "the public like to take something away to say the car passed") that can be mocked up using any number of Office-type programs.

I can honestly say I don't know anyone that thinks these constant creeping changes are in any way helpful.

The old 'its to catch the criminals' is wearing thin TBH. Everyone is being treated like a criminal to catch a minority of twonks who won't pay their way.

It's interesting that you have been allowed to retain your "paper" license. When the NZ government finally decided to go for photo id, they made the "lifetime" paper license illegal, but gave a rolling 5 years (iirc) cycle for the process.

Your MOT process sounds a bit half-arsed (but would you expect any less from beaurocrats? :roll: ). Here in NZ, the inspector fills out a paper checksheet, and any failures get entered into the computer system. No-one can issue a WOF (MOT) label without flagging that they've checked and passed those failures, so it makes them a party to the crime if you haven't fixed it properly. Also, all the Rego and WOF dates are available online, so it's easy to check if they're correct (and if the car's stolen or has money owing on it.). Our beaurocrats must have had a rush of blood to the head, devising a half decent system.

Number 63 wrote:I can honestly say I don't know anyone that thinks these constant creeping changes are in any way helpful.

The old 'its to catch the criminals' is wearing thin TBH. Everyone is being treated like a criminal to catch a minority of twonks who won't pay their way.

Have to agree.
The crime statistics are open to manimulation. Solve the easy crimes and 'ignore' the difficult ones. So the numbers look as though the Police are doing their job.
There are few in the security industry that claim that surveillance cameras solve crime, and fewer that they prevent crime. Despite this the authorities release particular videos, edited to bolster their argument. We are being manipulated.

More documentation does not mean less crime, it just makes detection easier if the criminals are part of the system.
The biggest problem is that it is almost impossible to check what data is held about the individual, and even less chance of correcting any data that may be incorrect.
At least the DVLA give you the opportunity to see some of the info they hold on you and your vehicle.

Rant Over

As a foot note. Its concerning that the modern Driving licences, like passports are valid for 10 years. The reason given is that your photo appearance may change.
But we all check our passports when we plan to travel abroad, but do we check our Driving Licences when we plan to drive our cars?
I wonder how many motorists, especially the older generation who once had a paper licence, valid for life, are driving illegally. Rather than the DVLA send out reminders as they do for Road Fund Licence, they do nothing, giving the Police an easy crime to prosecute.

Rant Really Over. But I reserve the right to start again.

While I have no doubt that CCTV does nothing to reduce crimes, what it has done is move them more underground. Criminals know where they can and can't be seen and use this to their advantage. CCTV has helped solve plenty of crimes by those too drunk and/or stupid to think about what they're doing.

As for too much documentation on the public. I want to half agree and half disagree.

There is too much, but only because any one organisation cannot keep everything about an individual due to the left wing voices shouting human rights etc.

This leads to lots of organisations holding bits of info, much of which is duplicated.

I don't claim to be bothered one way or another, but if you have nothing to worry about then carry an ID card. It is a quick, simple way of proving who you are. I carry one and have done for years. Its part of my job to, and I don't even think about it.

It's not a return to the dark days of WWII, its not communism. Its common sense. I don't see why everyone gets so dispassionate about it.

I don't see why we should carry them, but in this world, I am happy to as it stops me getting treated like an illegal immigrant who's up to no good.

jiversteve wrote:[I wonder how many motorists, especially the older generation who once had a paper licence, valid for life, are driving illegally. Rather than the DVLA send out reminders as they do for Road Fund Licence, they do nothing, giving the Police an easy crime to prosecute.

Our equivalent of the DVLA send out license reminders.

Don't the crims all drive unregistered, untaxed, uninsured cars on false plates anyway?

[quote="locost_bryan]Don't the crims all drive unregistered, untaxed, uninsured cars on false plates anyway? [/quote]

And the authorities know who they are. But because of our shoddy system, they are effectively sent back to their families, with a slapped wrist, to carry on as they were before. Human Rights act is quoted ad infinitum. And the law abiding amongst us contnue to pay their social benefits.
Most of the crims know how to work the system better than the Police.
Its only when the Police can slap something decent on them that they get locked up.

Its now illegal to video a policeman in the course of his duty in the UK, yet many in Police London have Helmet Cam's so that individuals can be prosecuted. When there is clear video evidence of illegal action by the Police, they manage to find it invalid in court (or something similar) on a technicality.

Its a nice idea to think that surveillance cameras are their for our protection, but what are they really protecting me from.

As for carrying Identity cards, is it right that the innocent have nothing to fear? But it is how Dictorships start. A reasonable argument is used by the state, that it is for the benefit of the people, but by a gradual process the ID cards become a means by which the innocent population can be controlled. Could, for example an ID card be required in order to buy an Oyster Card (London Transport pass) so the authorities can identify where an innocent person has travelled or prohibit them from travelling at all.
At an extreme, find me someone of the Jewish faith who approves of ID cards, or are they really all arch criminals, as portrayed in the past and guilty by definition.

Explain to me why the police have the powers to confiscate cameras from innocent members of the public, when simply taking tourist type pictures of buildings in London. We are no longer presumed to be an innocent member of the public, but as potential terrorists, and our civil liberties are being eroded bit by bit.


Rant wasnt over.

jiversteve wrote:Explain to me why the police have the powers to confiscate cameras from innocent members of the public, when simply taking tourist type pictures of buildings in London. We are no longer presumed to be an innocent member of the public, but as potential terrorists, and our civil liberties are being eroded bit by bit.

Rant wasnt over.

Better not wind you up any more then. :P

According to some of my UK trainspotter and photographer friends, the Police don't have the power to confiscate cameras, but they have been forced to carry a card with the relevant regulation or guideline to remind the plods.