A Crushing Blow
The following article appeared on June 24th 2003 in the local newspaper for the Brighton area, the Evening Argus. 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 they'll be trouble. If you've had a similar experience where you live let us know.