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Speed of
emergency services and accident Investigation
How
well do our emergency services respond to accidents are the delays
following the shooting of the biker closing the M40 motorway for
24 hours or an overturned van closing the M6 for 4 hours apart from
the delay to thousands of motorists how many minor accidents were
caused by the delays due to frustration
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Mumbai
back on track
Not
so happy cheshire Cat
Top Steer
Comment – Congestion Charges
Many
of our country’s angry motorists think Ken Livingstone should follow
the internet trend and “Scrooge Himself”. They are reeling from
the costly repercussions of not paying the London congestion charge
on the day (otherwise known as the tax for working or visiting our
capital city).
The daily charge began at £5 to get folk used to the idea, then
like all stealth taxes it was raised to £8. Calculating the fines
for not paying - is based on the intricate formula: ‘think of a
number, double it….etc’. It started out as a fine of £50 for not
paying on the day (laughably referred to as a ‘concession’ because
the full fine was really £100, but half was waived by paying within
a certain period). |
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Invariably,
busy city types forget to pay and now, some months after the ‘offence’
took place, many are receiving notices from a company called ‘Equita
– certified bailiffs’ – asking for £158.16. The trouble is, they
don’t tell you what the amount refers to, and before you’ve had
an answer to your indignant letter…. Equita’s bailiff’s are clamping
your vehicle and demanding up to £500 to release it!
Frantic phone calls follow and Equita’s bailiffs insist their notification
process has included sending out a ‘charge certificate’ months ago,
followed by a ‘debt registration certificate’. Strangely enough,
these are frequently never received – surely such wake up calls
should be sent out by ‘Recorded Delivery’ or registered post? Or
are they just making the most of it while the going’s good?
‘Equita-certified bailiffs’ next letter further down the line, runs
something like this…..
‘As you have failed to accept our offer to pay half of your debt
this month and the balance next month, your file has been passed
to our removals team.’
So in desperation to stop the Equita ‘removals team’ from removing
your car for ‘auction’ you pay up! |
Following
on from the Northern Rock fiasco, the credit crunch will bite harder
in 2008 as people reach the end of their borrowing and repayment
abilities. Some of the big names on the high streets are clinging
on waiting for others to fold first. A bit like the world’s strongest
man contest – every account and sinew is stretched to the limit,
there’s a lot of gnashing of teeth, trembling and grimacing, before
eventually something snaps…
If other bailiff’s are operating with similar methods to Equita,
the painful process of debt collection will cause misery for more
than just the city motorists. The real rub about all this, is the
total lack of responsibility or accountability of these organisations.
One would have thought that the huge surplus of funds from motoring
fines, would entitle the poor motorist to have these bureaucratic
demands sent out by ‘recorded delivery’.
Kevin Smith - South London
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