H15 BOX

Ex businessman David Donoghue from Essex is now enjoying his retirement - which is why he bought himself to a Porsche Boxster for Christmas.

Much as he is enjoying his new toy he decided it needed that little something extra and so traveled to DVLA Personalised Registrations' first auction of the year currently being held at The Haycock Hotel, Wansford, Cambridgeshire, where he bought the perfect personalised plates for the car, H15 BOX.







"I love my cars and I love having fun with them which is why I opted to buy a Porsche Boxster for Christmas. It'll be a cracking summer toy and I can't wait to have a play with it." Explained the 70 year old Mr Donoghue.

"To me, coming to the auction and buying H15 BOX was a no brainer. For little over £1,500 I've personalised my six-year-old car and made it look dateless."

"Over the years I've made some great investments, this is one of them. While I doubt whether I'd sell it, I am sure some other Boxster owner would be willing to take it off my hands."

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Free Stolen And Lost Car Checks

Motorists no longer have to pay to find out if the used car or motorbike they are about to purchase is one of more than 300,000 cars and motorbikes stolen each year in the UK.

Checkmyfile.com has launched the UK’s first free, online Police Stolen Vehicle Check, sanctioned by The Police Information Technology Organisation – a government agency that provides information technology, communications systems and services to the Police.

Barry Stamp, Joint Managing Director of checkmyfile.com, the UK’s leading online credit reporting agency, says, “When a consumer buys a used car, there is always the big fear it may have been stolen. Because of the way our laws work, many have lost both their new car and their money because they didn’t check if the car they were about to buy was stolen.

“Now a quick, free check of the police lost or stolen database, on checkmyfile.com, will help to cut the number of people who fall victim to buying stolen cars. If a member of the public has bought a car recently they can also gain peace of mind by checking it isn’t stolen.”

The latest car theft index, produced by the Home Office, states that 282,816 cars and 50,591 motorbikes were stolen, in England, Scotland and Wales in the latest recorded year.

Government statistics show small saloon cars were the most likely type of car to be targeted by thieves, with around 12 in every thousand registered being stolen. People carriers and 4×4s had half that risk with 6 in every thousand being stolen.

Cars registered more than 13 years ago were the most likely to be stolen, according to Home Office figures, with a theft rate of 31 per 1000 registered. Vehicle registrations between 1997 and 2002 were at the least risk of being stolen, with just 5 in every 1000 being stolen.

Scooters and mopeds were the most targeted motorbikes, with low powered motorbikes under-5-years-old having a theft rate of 85 per 1000, making up 60 per cent of motorbike thefts in the UK. Motorbikes were much more likely to be stolen than cars, with 37 per 1000 being stolen, in comparison to 10 per 1000 for cars.

http://www.checkmyfile.com offers a free online service that can also be used to check the number plates of cars that have been parked unattended in residential streets for unduly long periods or any suspicious vehicle. If required, prospective purchasers can also go on to purchase further vehicle checks to ensure that the car is as recorded at the DVLA, is not an insurance write-off and has no HP or finance outstanding against it.

About The Author

Richard Goedegebuur is press relations officer for checkmyfile.com the UK’s leading supplier of credit files to consumers. http://www.checkmyfile.com also offers consumer credit advice and post code relevent information to consumers.

Richard Goedegebuur can be contacted at 0870 240 2613 or richardg@checkmyfile.com

A1 KOP sells for £2,606

A delivery driver from Bootle was the lucky bidder who bought "the KOP" - for a bargain totalling £2,606!

Tony Deegan, an avid Liverpool FC fan, "chanced his arm" when he phoned in to bid for the registration A1 KOP being sold by DVLA Personalised Registrations at its auction being held at The Haycock Hotel, Wansford, Cambridgeshire, this week.

The 42-year-old admitted that he didn't think his £2,000 limit would bag him what he describes as the perfect personalised registration plate for any Liverpool fan.

"I am absolutely ecstatic. No one will ever be able to take away from me the fact that I bought the KOP, albeit the number plates!" Said a delighted Mr Deegan.

"The truth is, I never thought for a second that I'd get it. I had a £2,000 limit - which I stuck to - and chanced my arm by phoning in my bids. To say it is the bargain of the century, in my mind, is an understatement." He added.

When asked if he'd consider selling A1 KOP, he replied: "I doubt it. You never say never, but at the moment I just can't wait to be able to get it on my car and show it off!"

DVLA Personalised Registrations' Marketing Manager, Damian Lawson said: "While business has been brisk on our first morning of the three day auction, there are still bargains to be had. And given the huge support for Liverpool FC, he's almost certainly onto a winner with this plate."

The opening two hours proved very profitable for DVLA Personalised Registrations with plates selling as listed below;

AMJ 111D - £17,000
98 AB - £12,700
94 B - £10,400
A44 DAM - £10,000
A458 FER - £9,900
AMG 80Y - £5,600
AWS 50M - £3,200

All fees include VAT, buyers' premiums and assignment fees.

The DVLA's forthcoming auction will comprise 1500 registrations offering a wide range of number plate styles to suit all tastes and price ranges 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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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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