A Crushing Blow
by James Lancaster, 10 July 2003
The following article appeared in the local newspaper for the Brighton area, the Evening Argus, on the 24th June 2003. It was originally written by reporter James Lancaster, and is reprinted here in its complete form.
'Motorist hangs on for compensation'
A French motorist whose car was wrongly crushed is still waiting for compensation more than six weeks later. Brighton and Hove City Council apologised after Caroline Peytavi's Renault 4 was towed away and destroyed because parking attendants assumed it was dumped. Being French-registered, the vehicle did not require a tax disc and it was legally parked in Lancaster Road, Brighton. Ms Peytavi said: "The council told me to send a letter explaining everything, which I did. They replied saying they were dealing with it. I phoned them to ask if they could send me a letter saying it was their mistake, which I could forward to my insurers but I've had nothing." A council spokesman said: "We received a letter from Ms Peytavi on May 15. We passed it on to our claim handlers and notified her. The handlers also wrote to her to confirm they were assessing the claim. On third party claims like this we are obliged to respond within three months. Our insurers will be writing to Ms Peytavi in the near future to make her an offer."This article appeared alongside another in which an additional Brighton motorist had their car towed away and crushed due to an administrative error, having already told them the untaxed vehicle would be taken off road once their driveway had been repaired. Ah well, another quatrelle dead and buried. It would seem that Brighton and Hove City Council are not helping the cause of the R4. They'd better not tow mine away or there'll be trouble. If you've had a similar experience where you live, let us know.
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