Cambridgeshire plate theft

Cambridgeshire Constabulary has recently seen a rise in reports of stolen number plates. Most of them will be used on illegal vehicles to avoid congestion charges, speeding fines or to commit criminal activity including fuel theft and other crimes.

Vehicle owners can reduce the risk of their registration plates being stolen by replacing normal screws with anti theft number plate screws. These are available from most auto spare shops or via the Internet.

For further crime prevention/security advice, please contact the Crime Reduction Unit at Huntingdon Police Station via tel: 01480 415512 / 01480 415514 or visit the following websites:

www.cambs.police.uk
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
www.crimereduction.gov.uk
www.securedbydesign.com

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S1 record sale

On the 20 September 2008 the UK car registration number S 1 was sold by Bonhams the auctioneers at the Goodwood Revival Festival. The full price paid was £404,062.50, an amount far in excess of the £250,000 bandied about by press speculation before the sale.

S 1 was one of the first number plates issued in Edinburgh. It was initially released in 1903, the same year that the first ever registration, A 1, was issued in London. The first owner of S1 was Sir John MacDonald, Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, who owned one of the country's first motor vehicles.

At the time of the auction, the price paid for the S1 number plate was the second most expensive registration ever sold in Britain. The holder of the UK record is currently F 1, which was purchased in January 2009 by businessman Afzal Kahn of automotive styling studio Project Kahn.

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Sign of the times

In January, 1904, the registration plates FA 1, and FA 2, were issued to the town's first autos by the County Borough of Burton-upon-Trent.

The exclusive rights for the FA plates finished in January, 1964, with the UFA series, ending 60 years of FA designation.

How ironic, that the (Football Association) FA headquarters should be on Burton's doorstep.

When I revisit Burton, my home town, later this year I want to see signs at each main entrance into Burton declaring 'Burton-on-Trent – home of the FA'.




From: John Roberts
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
First Published: 22/01/2010

DVLA sell owner details

The personal details of millions of motorists have been sold to parking firms and clampers by a Government agency in a trade generating £43.9million so far.

More than 18million names and addresses have been passed to private sector companies in the past five years by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency so that they can be issued with fines

Access to the database was halted last year after complaints about improper use of the data when it was to be used in an advertising campaign for Castrol after the DVLA's assertion that it had not authorised its use.

The government trade in drivers' details helps to support a parking enforcement industry on private land worth an estimated £1billion

Private parking companies can get a driver's name and address by submitting their vehicle registration numbers and filling in a form confirming that they are pursuing an alleged parking offence.

The DVLA charges £2.50 a time for information from this database of 38million drivers.

Revenue from the trade has risen every year from £4.7million in 2004-5 to £9.2million for 2009-10.

Motoring organizations are concerned at evidence of this data falling into the wrong hands as a result of parking, clamping and other unvetted firms buying the details.

"This shows there is a huge Big Brother system run by the state which is in cahoots with parasite-parking companies and clamper." Said the Liberal Democrat MP Bob Russell, who gained the information from a parliamentary question.

"I find it wrong that the state is allowing itself to be used by parking companies to rip off drivers. They are using information given in good faith by drivers. It is totally wrong and no driver is safe."

Ministers agreed, last November, to implement every aspect of our Curb the Cowboy Clampers manifesto, including giving drivers an independent right of appeal.

A DVLA spokesman said: "The DVLA knows it is vitally important to safeguard the information it releases from misuse and has a range of robust measures in place to protect data.

"Any evidence of abuse will be referred to the Information Commissioner for investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution."


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Number plate tax for the UK?

I've just been reading Senate Bill 451-FN thats been passed in the State of New Hampshire and will take effect from July 1 2010.

A little unnerving as it's all about placing an annual tax on vanity number plates.

You've got to wonder how long it'll be before the British Governent get wise to this little earner?

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2010/SB0451.html

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S.A. 2010 Plates For Sale

Soccer enthusiast and owner of the most sought-after personalised "SA2010" number plates is looking for buyers.

Amod Khan, 63, of QwaQwa in the Free State owns the number plates for eight different of the provinces.

"I am now keen to sell all the plates, besides the Free State one, which I will keep on my personal vehicle. I am on the lookout for buyers and will take the best offers," said Khan.

"With all the hype after the announcement in 2004 that we would be hosting the soccer World Cup, I went out and applied for all the plates," he said.

Khan, who runs a furniture business, said that he was very excited at the time to have acquired eight of the plates, but he now planned to capitalise on his investment.

"People who buy them from me will be proud to drive around in a car with the SA2010 registration plates.

"Whenever I drive around in my car, the number plate attracts attention."

He said he spent over R20000 to obtain the number plates and believes that they are now worth a lot more now.

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A1 KOP for Auction

Liverpool FC fans have the chance to show their devotion to the club thanks to DVLA Personalised Registrations.

A1 KOP, one of the better private plates reflecting the Liverpool football ground in will going under the auctioneers' hammer during the first DVLA public auction of 2010 set for the Haycock Hotel, Wansford, Cambridgeshire.

The event, which takes place over three days, gets underway on Wednesday, January 27, and will also feature the first of DVLA's triple O registrations with 1OOO being auctioned on Friday, January 29.

DVLA Personalised Registrations Marketing Manager, Damian Lawson, said: "Any self respecting Liverpool fan, or Kopite, will undoubtedly want to put A1 KOP on their vehicle, I don't believe we have another personalised plate in our vault which so befits a club or ground in which A1 KOP does. It doesn't matter what football team you support, the mere mention of the word KOP brings instant recognition to Liverpool FC."

In total, the forthcoming auction will comprise 1500 registrations including, ABS 41L (reserve - £350), AMG 80Y (£400), AWS 50M (£400), A1 DAF (£900), A51 EEP (£300), 816 BOS (£1,700), 8 BSA (£1,900), BU55 BYS (£900), ELT 70N (£900), EMA 11L (£400), 458 FNE (£1,500), GHO 555T (£900), HAT 80X (£450), 1 HNE (£3,200), 1 OOO (£8,000), TOW 600D (£450).

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