Ridiculous story, my sympathies are with the owners.....whether or not they chose to insure is their perogative but what a rubbish world we live in where we fear people stealing our posessions, yes they should have insured but that doesnt make the actions of the thief any more acceptable and i can't quite believe that the current occupiers can't be turfed out.......this makes me sooooooo angry
------------- Enjoyed tenting,
Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊
Quote: Originally posted by 664DaveS on 09/8/2013
Stupid human rights,PC nonsense,plod should go in evict the travellers and arrest them for receiving stolen property.
The question is whether you would want your caravan back after it has been lived in for a year or so? Agree about that they should have taken it back anyway, however Human Rights law prevailed and opened flood gates to legal theft of anything.
If the caravan had been insured none of this would have happened as it would have been replaced and the insurance company would be dealing with the fall out!
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Quote: Originally posted by Vectratot on 09/8/2013
Where's the law about receiving/handling stolen items? If it was me receiving car/TV/ tools/bicycle or any other item I would be prosecuted for handling/ receiving stolen goods. The law is a farce when it comes to these people!
I think this is close to my view. Even if they were unaware it was stolen, which in it's self we can assume is untruthful, it is still stolen and should/must be returned to the original and legal owner.
If we were to do a poll how many people would answer yes to the question. Did you buy your caravan off a man in a pub?
I think the most likely scenario is that two plod turned up to investigate said caravan, discovered that they were vastly outnumbered by travellers and were afraid of starting a riot or being attacked. So they retreated to the local cafe for a fry up whilst thinking of a 'reason' not to have to go and try and seize the caravan and return it to it's rightful owners.
Insurance, whilst the owner has been silly it doesn't make them responsible for the theft, just naive or unable to afford it probably the former.
I would be surprised if the van hasn't been sold on or shipped out of the country by now and will be next to impossible to recover.
There was a program on the TV recently about 'problem' Irish travellers who rip people off in the building trade, They are getting as far a field as the USA and Australia as well as Europe. They also have bought up most of a town in Ireland, the houses in Ireland were fitted with what can only be described as prison type bars over the windows and doors to prevent burglary whilst they were off travelling, I suppose if anyone knows the danger of living near travellers, they do.
There are two issues with this. One civil, one criminal.
The problem is that as they are living in the caravan then the police have no power to evict. The legal owners must apply to the court, get an eviction notice then apply to the court for bailiffs to evict. Only bailiffs have the legal right to forcibly remove someone from a property.
The police can act on the criminal matter which is the theft and/or handling of stolen goods however they are very unlikely to do so as they would need to prove they did indeed steal it or that they knowingly handled stolen goods.
Now it's especially difficult for the original owners as to regain possession they'll need to serve court papers on the current residents in the caravan. Now as I understand the police have not told the original owners how or where the caravan is (most likely for their own safety) so serving of the court papers is near on impossible so it's unlikely to ever get to court in the first place.
Even if it did the chances of the caravan still being at said location when it does get to court, chances of the current resident's paying any attention to the court and the chances of court appointed bailiffs ever finding the caravan let alone in a state the original owners would want it back in are very slim.
Before anyone blames the government, eu or red tape remember this legislation was put into place to protect those genuine tenants who rent properties from rogue landlords. If you've ever rented a domestic property in England or wales(Scottish/NI rules are different) and enjoyed the fact that the landlord can't just evict you at the drop of a hat then you'll be in favour of these rules.
Now the lesson to be learnt here is insure your van.
its nothing to do with human rights, that's just part of the filth peddled by the daily mail.
it is however to do with the extremely slack civil law surrounding eviction of squatters, but i would have thought the police could overturn this by proving its stolen but obviously that is too difficult!
The Police and the Law Courts become more useless by the hour. And more expensive. Off wi their bloody heads! Useless b****rs . . Perhaps the Government is promoting a "sea change" on what is wrong and what is right . . .
------------- Peripheral people don`t have as much excitement but they sure live longer
Oh showed me this in a news article recently. The law and our judicial system are far too lenient at times. Now if only the law/judicial system were like the book I am reading on my kindle at the moment it is called Gray Justice by Alan McDermott.
Its also fair to say that the police are as peed off as joe public is about how some judges are dealing with criminals.
There hands are also sometimes tied for various reasons or legal loopholes, like the case in point.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
So if somebody breaks into your house while you are away and stays there they can't be evicted because they are "living" there. What a load of ... is that. Criminals have far too many rights in this country and that is why there is so much crime - they know they can get away with it.
Surely the same rules don't apply to caravans as they do for houses? Eviction from a property needs to be by Court Order - not so on recovering stolen property. If a car was found to be stolen, it would have been recovered there and then.
These people think they are above the law - and now it seems the police are in agreement!!!
If I were the person who lawfully owned this van, I would make a formal complaint about the lack of action by the local plod. £30,000 is a lot of money to lose and to add insult to injury, the local force effectively allow the thieves to keep it.
If it was my caravan I'd go round with a few mates and tow my caravan back to my home. The people who bought it in the pub could then take me to court to get it back but I would bet that my paperwork would be better than theirs.
If the police are useless, and it seems that they are, then we need to act.
------------- We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.
Sorry but it is now a Criminal Offence to occupy a Domestic Residence, without the Owners Permission [that means Squatters, and does not include Tenants]. And as such, it is now the responsibility of the Police, and not Bailiffs to make the Eviction.
Legislation brought in by the Coalition Government, to speed up, Squatters being dealt with. And recently acted up by a Police Force, who could not action the Squatters in the Ground floor Business Premisses. As the Law only applies to Domestic Residence.
The Legislation was put in place by the Coalition.
As to whether a Caravan, is legally considered a Domestic Dwelling, is for the Lawyers to resolve in a Court of law.