Q. HMRC, what happened to all the 5618 vehicles you seized? A. We don't know!

"www.hmrc.gov.uk 

Date
3 October 2011


Our ref 
FoI 2249 -11
           
        
Your ref 
        
________

          
        



Dear Ms Hawkins

Thank you for your e-mail of 7 September asking for the following information.  

Dear HM Revenue and Customs, you state that in the period 2008/9 that you seized 5618
vehicles. You further state that the sale of seized vehicles for the period 2008/9 totalled
£4,259K. 
   
I therefore request under FOI the following. For the period 2008/9 -

How many vehicles were sent to auction (l understand the auction company you use is
Wilsons Auctions)?
How many vehicles were scrapped and to which company(s)?
How many vehicles were restored to their owners?

I am answering under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA).

I can confirm that the company the Department uses is Wilsons Auctions and would advise
you that, following a search of our records, I have established HMRC does not hold the
remainder of the information you requested.

If you are not happy with this reply you may request a review by writing to the HMRC FOI
Team, Room 1C/25, 100 Parliament Street, London SWIA 2BQ or email
[email address] 

You must request a review within 2 months of the date of this letter. It would assist our
review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern you and why you are dissatisfied.



Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats.
Text Relay service prefix number – 18001


Foi 2249 11 J Hawkins Foi Request

 
October 2011"

WTF?

HMRC sell seized vehicles for an average of 66 pence each!

HMRC have got it wrong ... surely?  l mean, they must have ... right?

Look at this FOI request :-

"H Rauchen

2 September 2011

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,
                                          l'm sorry, you seem to have 

misunderstood my request. Allow me to clarify.

l was not asking for the purchaser details of individual vehicles.
l was asking for specific details regarding disposal of these
seized vehicles.

Which specific company or companies auction these vehicles off.

Also your figures for sales make no sense. You surely have made a
mistake?

Number of vehicles seized:-

2005/6 6,256
2006/7 6,293
2007/8 5,697
2008/9 5,618

ln your reply you state that monies received from sales of said
vehicles are :-

• 2005-06: £3,017
• 2006-07: £4,135
• 2007-08: £4,021
• 2008-09: £4,259

That works out as an average of 66p per vehicle????
Please explain how HMRC arrived at these figures if they are
correct. lf it is a mistake, please supply correct figures.

Yours faithfully,

H Rauchen"

Follow up request :-

"H Rauchen

2 September 2011

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,
                                          if your figures are correct, 

where and when can l come to view your current seized 

vehicles in order to purchase a few?


Yours faithfully,


H Rauchen"

The eternal optimist :)


UPDATE


Got a reply and HMRC say they missed a 'k' off the totals. Damn!

Average of 5,500 Vehicles seized by HMRC/UKBA per year ... sold £36.80 each?

The official statistics from HMRC state vehicles seized per year as follows :-

2003/4    6,848
2004/5    6,093
2005/6    6,256
2006/7    6,293
2007/8    5,697
2008/9    5,618

ln their annual accounts HMRC state that it is not practicable to show monies received from sale of these vehicles ... however ... UKBA state that it is not practicable to show the number of vehicles seized since Customs were amalgamated into the UKBA on 1st April 2008. They do however estimate it to be over 5000 per year (from Feb 2010 UKBA)

UKBA  do have statistics on something else though. ln their annual accounts they DO show the monies received from sale of seized vehicles and here is where it gets interesting.

They state in their 2009/10(Section 24) report :-

The agency also seized assets at the border. Tobacco and illegal substances are
destroyed but the agency did raise £432k (2008/09: £877k) from the sale of seized
vehicles with all proceeds going to HM Treasury.

And in their 2009/10 (Section 24) report they state :-

The agency also seized assets at the border. Tobacco and illegal substances are destroyed but the agency did raise £184k (2009-10: £432k) from the sale of seized vehicles with all proceeds going to HM Treasury.

WTF? .... they seize over 5000 vehicles per year, so lets be kind and use that figure of 5000 (the extra 500 or so we'll put down to people getting their vehicles back ... yeah right.)

ln 2008/9 ..........     that equates to £175   per vehicle  (£877k for 5000 vehicles)
ln 2009/10............. that equates to £86.40 per vehicle (£432k for 5000 vehicles)
and their latest figures equate to .. £36.80 per vehicle (£184k for 5000 vehicles)

These figures are insane but they come from their own accounts so wtf is going on? There's got to be something else surely? .... anyone???




KARMA! >>> here!She gets no sympathy from me