If the vehicle is on the public highway, which includes the road, grass verge and footpath, generally we can remove it as long as it is more than 2 months and 1 day out of tax or subject to a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). The other proviso is that it is accessible to our recovery operator. There are, however, some instances when we cannot remove an untaxed vehicle from the public highway, one such example being if the keeper is disabled.
If it is on a car park belonging to our housing department they will liaise with the vehicle keeper to have it removed.
If it is on a road which has not been adopted as part of the public highway or it is in a car park not linked to residential accommodation we will pass the details to the driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA’s) national contractor who is authorised to remove vehicles from this type of land.
If the vehicle is in a residential car park not owned by the council, on a private driveway or any other type of private land it cannot be removed.
Please report an untaxed vehicle online (opens in new window), providing details of the vehicle and location.
If you know the vehicle registration number and make you can check the licence renewal date (date of liability) for the vehicle yourself online by using the vehicle enquiry service on the DVLA’s vehicle online services section of the DirectGov website:
DirectGov - DVLA (external website)
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Please report an abandoned vehicle online (opens in new window), providing full details of the vehicle and location. We aim to investigate all reports received within 24 hours (excluding weekends / bank holidays). If our investigations lead us to conclude the vehicle is abandoned we aim to have it removed within 48 hours of the original report (excluding weekends and bank holidays).
We have a duty under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 to remove vehicles in the open air which appear to be abandoned. The Act makes it a criminal offence for someone to abandon a vehicle and in cases where there is sufficient evidence we will issue a fixed penalty notice for £200. If the fixed penalty is not paid, legal proceedings will be initiated which carries a penalty upon conviction of a fine of up to £2,500 or 3 months imprisonment or both. We can also claim back the cost of removing and disposing of the vehicle.
The legislation website contains full details of the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 relating to abandoned vehicles:
Legislation - Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 (external website)
It also contains full details of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 relating to the issuing of fixed penalty notices for the offence of abandoning a vehicles:
Legislation - Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (external website)
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We may have removed your vehicle if it was left on the public highway without a valid tax disc or if we had reason to believe it to be abandoned. Should you wish to check if we have removed your vehicle you can do so by telephoning us on (01482) 395299 or (01482) 395298.
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Vehicles are stored for a limited time at Willinghams Recovery Limited at either their Hull (Unit 3, Haller Street, Hull, HU9 1RZ) or Skipsea (Skipsea Service Station, Hornsea Road, Skipsea, YO25 8ST) storage facilities. To get the vehicle back you will need to make an appointment with Willinghams by calling them on (01482) 581568. When you collect the vehicle you will have to provide proof of ownership, identification and address. You will also have to pay release and storage fees as follows:
Untaxed vehicle release charges (pdf 93kb opens in new window)
Abandoned vehicle release charges (pdf 103kb opens in new window)
We are authorised by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to remove untaxed vehicles or vehicles subject to a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) from the public highway, which includes the carriageway, grass verge and footpath, under the Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1997:
Legislation - The Vehicle Excise Duty Regulations 1997 (external website)
Information is also contained in a leaflet produced by the DVLA:
Wheelclamping and removal of vehicles without tax (pdf 189kb opens in new window)
We have a duty under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 to remove vehicles which appear to be abandoned. Full details of these regulations can be found on the legislation website:
Legislation - Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 (external website)
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To be eligible for a refund of the £160 surety fee, paid in lieu of a valid tax disc for the release of an untaxed vehicle, a valid tax disc must be produced for the vehicle within 14 days of the release date.
If the vehicle was released from our storage pound (Drapers, Raven Street, Hull, HU9 1PP) the tax disc needs to be produced at the pound to receive the refund. You can contact them on (01482) 320712.
If a roadside release payment was made to avoid the vehicle being impounded the tax disc needs to be produced at a customer service centre who will make arrangements to have the fee refunded onto the card from which the roadside release payment was made. This could take up to 10 days.
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If you know the vehicle registration number and make you can check the licence renewal date (date of liability) for the vehicle online by using the vehicle enquiry service on the DVLA’s vehicle online services section of the DirectGov website:
DirectGov - DVLA (external website)
We may be able to remove untaxed vehicles depending on where the vehicle is parked and how long the tax has expired.
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You need to dispose of your vehicle via an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) as they are authorised by the Environment Agency to accept waste motor vehicles and they comply with the requirements of the End of Life Vehicle (ELV) and Environmental Permitting (EP) regulations. Some ATF’s will collect the vehicle for you if you are unable to take it to them and they may even give you some money for it. They will issue you with a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) which is a requirement of the ELV’s regulations.
The Environment Agency has a public register list of ATF’s. Those for the East Riding area are listed under the North East tab of the ELV authorised treatment facilities public register excel spreadsheet:
Environment Agency - Authorised Treatment Facilities (external website)
Car recycling
Cartakeback.com is the official scrap car recycling partner for a wide range of car manufacturers. Their website provides the list of the manufacturers and it is possible to get an instant quote online for both collection and delivery:
Car Take Back (external website)
The legislation website contains full details of the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 relating to abandoned vehicles:
Legislation - Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 (external website)
It also contains full details of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 relating to issuing of fixed penalty notices for the offence of abandoning a vehicle:
Legislation - Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (external website)
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It is an offence under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 for someone to abandon a vehicle. In cases where there is sufficient evidence someone has abandoned a vehicle we will issue a fixed penalty notice for £200. If the fixed penalty is not paid, legal proceedings will be initiated which carries a penalty upon conviction of a fine of up to £2,500 or 3 months imprisonment or both. We can also claim back the cost of removing and disposing of the vehicle.
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