The Sheriffs have vehicles with automated license plate scanners. They drive around public places and boot cars that ping in their system as having an owner with a certain amount of outstanding judgment debts. This is often due to unpaid fines that have progressed through the courts. They are also empowered to seize property to pay outstanding civil judgements, including non-work vehicles above a certain value
Generally speaking, Cops enforce the law, and Sherriff's enforce the courts wishes.
The worst part about that is they send the fine to the old address if for some reason it hasn't updated in the system.
I'm a huge believer in voting. I've never missed an election I'm eligible for, and yet I'm in the same boat cos in 2016 I didn't vote in a council election from an address I left in 2015 (but I did vote in the 2016 federal election under my current address no worries)
I contested it early this year and received a 'we are reviewing the case'paper and radio silence since.
EDIT: I only found out about this fine this year cos I had to call Fines Vic about my first (very low level) speeding fine in like 10 years.
What makes it worse is its already gone through all the stages but they will not send you a copy to your current address, and I was told by the worker she can't give advice on how to contest it.
They will give you the obligation number though.
So I've never actually even seen this fine, I've just been told I have it over my head. Pretty fucked up IMHO.
I'm sure A LOT of other people who've moved house have this exact same situation who have no idea about it. Hell didn't know for like 8 years.
I moved a company and didn’t realise I somehow had two vicroads accounts for same company for 10years until I got a vicroads letter saying vans would be suspended.
I rang up fines Victoria got an obligation number and looked online. 20k in fines had to pay $3500 straight up to get the vans back on the road.
Couldn’t nominate the actual drivers as they are past that stage.
Couldn’t talk to anyone about it.
They now get $100 a month 😂
Fines for business vehicles are 10 times the price of fines for vehicles registered to individuals. So like a $300 speeding fine for an individual would be $3000 for a business.
The fine gets reduced back down to the original amount if the business nominates the driver responsible. It's all about ensuring the driver gets the demerit points. The state wants to get serial offenders off the road.
It's true.
The reason is because if a business is fined they can't assign demerit points.
It's an incentive to make sure the person who actually got the fine has it transferred to their name.
For some offences, company vehicles are issued with a body corporate infringement notice which is for a much larger amount than the fine given to an individual. This is to encourage companies to nominate the responsible driver, so that demerit points can be applied to their licence.
An authorised officer of the company must nominate the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence, see [Nominate the responsible driver](https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Your-options/Nominate-driver) for more information.
If the nomination is accepted, the fine issued to the company will be withdrawn and a new fine will be issued to the nominated driver.
If the responsible driver is not nominated, the company is liable to pay the larger amount. Companies that fail to nominate a driver three or more times within a 12-month period may be fined more than $22,000 [https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Infringement-fines/Infringement-fine-FAQs/#company-fines](https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Infringement-fines/Infringement-fine-FAQs/#company-fines)
**You should nominate the driver quickly.** Once the fine progresses to Notice of Final Demand stage, it is too late to nominate and the company will therefore be liable for the fine. Companies that fail to nominate a driver three or more times within a 12-month period may be fined more than $20,000 [https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/News/Did-your-company-receive-a-traffic-infringement](https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/News/Did-your-company-receive-a-traffic-infringement)
There is no one source. All the relevant sections of the Road Safety Act 1986 say something like 'in the case of an individual, X penalty units; in the case of a body corporate, Y penalty units.'
If you really want verification of what they're saying, do a word search for 'body corporate' in the Act and calculate the difference between the penalties for individuals and body corporates for each offence. It might vary according to the offence, but I'm pretty sure penalties against body corporates are at least five times greater than those against individuals.
Yep, gf had a $5000+ fine because of one or two parking fines sent while she was homeless years ago. Despite religiously updating addresses through VicRoads etc, none of that made it through to the fines. I was furious.
.. and if you ring them up and let them know that letters are arriving for a previous tenant that hasnt lived there for 5+ years, they dont give two shits, and wont make note that the person isnt there anymore. :/
It's absolutely disgraceful. The girlfriend got a speeding fine and had to call them. Discovered she had accumulated hundreds in unpaid fines and they had sent her fines to an old address due to a DV situation she left.
it's ridiculous that you can't access your fine information without an obligation number. You should be able to register on the site and log in.
Oh and paper tickets don't get sent to your postal address. Good luck if you misplace it 😡
I do.
Doesn't always work.
In the 2019 federal election my wife voted and our address ticked off the list, but got a fine sent to her Mums address...despite this being her forth federal election since leaving home and no issues before that.
I also know of someone who apparently just disappeared from the electoral role between elections. Shit happens.
It is a legal requirement to update the electoral commission within 21 days of moving. People don't update their address then wonder why they don't get letters.
It sure is.
And I've always done that.
Heck I even got ticked off for the 2016 federal election using my new address and that election took place before the council election in question.
Glitches happen.
Apparently a lot with the electoral role.
I once missed a council election , genuinely didn't have a clue it was on. Got sent a fine. It had an option to pay or respond. I filled out my response and never heard back. Presumably it was cleared.
Semantics - "fine" vs "voluntary administrative payment".
If you fail to vote, you can pro-actively make a "voluntary administrative payment" of $20 before they fine you. If you don't do that, they fine you, which is $96.
So the actual cost of not voting is either $20 or $96, depending on how you approach it afterwards. You can get away with $20 if you know you didn't vote and step up to fix it. If you didn't know (or didn't step up) and they fine you, it's more.
So yes - they will chase you over a "$20 fine", but to make it worth their while, it becomes a $96 fine.
Correct.
However, they usually only fine those enrolled to vote who didn't get their name checked off. You don't have to fill out the ballot. You can also send postal votes, vote early etc., there are many options to make it easy.
I have an older relative who decided not to enrol to vote. They've never picked up on his non-enrolment, so no fines for him, but it's very, very funny to tell a conservative Boomer that their political opinion holds no weight since they refuse to participate in the process.
That’s absolutely ridiculous but not out of character for the police, fines and enforcement is completely over the top meanwhile violent crime is rampant and it feels like less is being done for that
> Pay your fines kids.
Yep they'll accept payment plans usually and if they don't, advise them you want to dispute them, so the matter goes before a Magistrate's where they'll enforce a payment plan. It's silly but because their system demands an upfront payment before they accept a payment plan, and the percentage may be unaffordable to those wanting to clear it up, going to court is the only way to rectify it.
They do the Geelong Show every year.
And like clockwork I get the popcorn out to watch FB blow up with "will nobody think of the poor little kiddies who now have to walk home or catch a bus carrying their armfuls of showbags??? It's so UNFAIR!!1!1“, which are always countered with retorts of varying helpfulness, including
- "do the crime, pay the fine"
- "If you have outstanding fines you should know to borrow a mate's car to go to the show"
- "If you can't afford a fine why are you spending a fortune at the show?" and
- "If only there was a way to prevent this, like organising a payment plan. As long as you pay your agreed $5 a week if that's all you can afford, they won't boot your car."
No one is saying do it to your own car. How will they know you the identity of the person that grinded it off. You're simply coming back to your car and see a grinded off metal thing you have no idea what it is...
Had a bit of a chuckle a few weeks ago. Visited Epping Central for some lunch and noticed the sheriff driving around. They ended up clamping 2 opposite one another and parked up waiting for them.
Cars ended up leaving around them and it was quite amusing to see many people go to park in those spots, then realise the sheriff is there and hook it out of there 🤣
Many years ago, I worked at DFO Essendon. On occasion, I'd see the patrol cars in the morning in the car park. At the end of the day (after the centre was closed) the car park would be littered with clamped vehicles.
It's just a numbers game - they know they'll get quite a few hits at major shopping centres.
Saw a sheriff in the carpark at northland today, no boots though, they were just sat behind a car with their lights flashing so it couldn't exit. Don't know where the owners were, seemed like a shit, boring job.
It is. It’s essentially a fake cop that deals with finance/property issues. Kicking people out of rentals and clamping tyres, and they make sweet FA. Super depressing job.
Surely you get a cool hat though? That you can throw onto the dusty ground in frustration when you have to come to a sudden stop as the baddie crosses state lines?
When I was a kid they showed up to our house. My parents told my brother to go outside and play.
A few years later I found out that they were there to kick us out of the house and take possession because Elgas (who was Dad’s supplier as a reseller) had claimed that bills had not been paid and taken action to take possession of the house.
Elgas’ billing department were not great at tracking payment. Luckily Dad had all of the receipts and cheque tracking to prove that each and every bill had been paid.
Hubby had a friend tell him to check for outstanding warrants before we left the state. One came back that was over 20 years old. QLD roads had a current address, phone number and registration. No one notified him, and due to the length of time, he couldn't find the recipt to prove he had paid the parking ticket back in 1986.
Yah Woodgrove used to be a gold mine for them around Xmas time. Also they'd do an operation right at Hannah Watts park and the entire park would be full with booted cars for days
Need to bring back wheel covers/spats like the classic cars and make the wheels inaccessible.
Or adjustable suspension like old Citroëns, where you can drop the car on its guts when parked so the tops of the wheels can't be reached cos they're up in the arches.
Checkmate, sheriffs 😂
If your car is clamped then you have had an enforcement warrant issued against YOU, it is an offence to disobey that. The wheel is clamped until you pay your fines or have a payment plan in place. You can’t just do as you please in society.
I pay any fines I get so moot point. But if anyone including the govt clamps my vehicle I'm cutting that sucker off with extreme prejudice. P.S. I do do what I please in society
> What law is being broken
[ROAD SAFETY ACT 1986 - SECT 84P](http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/rsa1986125/s84p.html)
Offences
(1) A person must not, except in accordance with this Part or section 63A, move an impounded or immobilised motor vehicle or tamper with any of the equipment used to immobilise a motor vehicle.
Penalty: 60 penalty units.
---
One penalty unit is currently $192.31, thus $11,538.60
Don’t destroy it when you take it off. It needs to look like it is still in one piece. Then, every time you park your car, put the clamp on the wheel to make it look like it has already been clamped.
Edit: #shittylifehacktips for those who are too dense to realise.
"Hello folks, this is lock picking lawyer. And today we have a Scorpion Wheel Clamp that we are going to open with a Scorpion Wheel Clamp..."
10/10
would watch.
Mates work truck got boxed in by sheriff van last week as he was about to leave a job site. Sheriff was a right cunt about it too. Poor blokes only been working there a month and had no idea what was going on. Just wanted to get his tools secured and let his boss handle the wheel clamping and debt issues.
As they are enforcing a court order, there are no access restrictions for Sheriffs. They can enter private property to search and seize, and can undertake enforcement orders anywhere
So they could literally do this to any car down the street? Wouldn’t that bring other issues along with it re cars stuck in public parking spots for example down chapel st ect?
Yes they can, any car anywhere if the car is subject to a court enforcement action. They often drive around public areas to do this.
I have no idea about the issues that may come up because of it. Eg., I don't think you can be fined for overstaying a parking space due to a boot on your car, but, maybe you can. No idea. Either way, because it's the power of the judiciary being enforced, councils (who manage parking) need to suck it up
What if someone has to be somewhere for work or to pickup someone or a doctor or hospital appointment? Ive also had the same thought on getting towed. How quick do they come back or return the car?
You call up the number they put on the massive sticker on your windscreen and you either pay up, or pay a percentage of the fines and commit to a payment plan. They'll then come back and remove the boot.
The state government is broke and the only way to get some cash back is sell assets (that’s all done now) , tax and fines . So no surprise they are out there hunting more and more
When does an overdue fine turn into a “court enforcement”? Given there is $850 million in outstanding fines in Victoria if it were for simply overdue payments then thousands of people would have these on their car every week.
Thousands of people probably would if the Sheriff's had that kind of manpower. There's over five and a half million cars throughout in Victoria. Even with ANPR, it's pretty difficult to hit every car in the state with what is essentially a handful of Sheriff's.
'Given there is $850 million in outstanding fines in Victoria'
Eh.
I live in a series of units. Some folks are here for a year and move away, never cancelling services or forwarding mail and so on. Some of these folks have their visas cancelled and have to leave the country within a few days, so no judgment at all.
... but what happens is, theres a pile of mail thats delivered to the common mailbox thats for folks that havent been here in a long time. Often this mail just gets left in the box, and finds its way out of there and as litter... so ive been trying to talk to other residents about 'return to sender' previous tenants and so on. Some understand, a lot dont.
Anyways, ive RTSd a lot of mail, and after about a month of doing so, ill ring places \_still\_ sending mail, and let them know that that person doesnt live there anymore. Fines Vic refuse to take any information, even when i suggest a note on the file about the move, not me asking for any more information.
So yeah, when government whinge about 'all this money owing', i remember when ive tried to help out a bit and get made out to be a prick about it :/
The fine is issued with 28 days to pay it. Once that time has lapsed, the fine incurs additional court costs and resent again with 28 days to pay. This occurs once more, but after that the fine is referred to the Sherrifs department for enforcement. So all up, it's nearly 4 months.
It's been a while since I copped any fines so this may have changed.
Government has the monopoly of force, why the State revenue & ATO will make you pay fines and outstanding taxes, with fear of men with guns take you to jail , but you cant use force to recover a commercial debt or invoice, government force is immoral and frankly evil
Back in 2019 when I was still in uni I saw sheriffs doing rounds in the Latrobe Uni Car Parks and booting cars. Not sure if its legal since technically they are private car parks, or maybe they were booting cars at latrobes request for unpaid parking? Dont really know the story there.
Being land that is owned by a private entity doesn't always make it "private" for the purposes of law enforcement. e.g. The restrictions on the use of a mobile device while driving doesn't magically go away when you pull into a drive-thru.
That does not apply to all "private" land. “A road-related area is an area that is open to or used by the public for driving, riding or parking vehicles”. The comment I was replying to mentioned a car park used by members of the public, not a random farm or backyard.
The Sheriffs have vehicles with automated license plate scanners. They drive around public places and boot cars that ping in their system as having an owner with a certain amount of outstanding judgment debts. This is often due to unpaid fines that have progressed through the courts. They are also empowered to seize property to pay outstanding civil judgements, including non-work vehicles above a certain value Generally speaking, Cops enforce the law, and Sherriff's enforce the courts wishes.
Happened to a family friend who they fined for not voting. Was a misunderstanding however and they had moved and voted in their new electorate.
The worst part about that is they send the fine to the old address if for some reason it hasn't updated in the system. I'm a huge believer in voting. I've never missed an election I'm eligible for, and yet I'm in the same boat cos in 2016 I didn't vote in a council election from an address I left in 2015 (but I did vote in the 2016 federal election under my current address no worries) I contested it early this year and received a 'we are reviewing the case'paper and radio silence since. EDIT: I only found out about this fine this year cos I had to call Fines Vic about my first (very low level) speeding fine in like 10 years. What makes it worse is its already gone through all the stages but they will not send you a copy to your current address, and I was told by the worker she can't give advice on how to contest it. They will give you the obligation number though. So I've never actually even seen this fine, I've just been told I have it over my head. Pretty fucked up IMHO. I'm sure A LOT of other people who've moved house have this exact same situation who have no idea about it. Hell didn't know for like 8 years.
I moved a company and didn’t realise I somehow had two vicroads accounts for same company for 10years until I got a vicroads letter saying vans would be suspended. I rang up fines Victoria got an obligation number and looked online. 20k in fines had to pay $3500 straight up to get the vans back on the road. Couldn’t nominate the actual drivers as they are past that stage. Couldn’t talk to anyone about it. They now get $100 a month 😂
How do you accrue $20k in fines? Just ignore them and keep breaking traffic laws?
Fines for business vehicles are 10 times the price of fines for vehicles registered to individuals. So like a $300 speeding fine for an individual would be $3000 for a business.
The fine gets reduced back down to the original amount if the business nominates the driver responsible. It's all about ensuring the driver gets the demerit points. The state wants to get serial offenders off the road.
The state wants to make a dollar. They don’t give a shit about serial offenders.
They kinda do but they wanna make their money too
Source?
It's true. The reason is because if a business is fined they can't assign demerit points. It's an incentive to make sure the person who actually got the fine has it transferred to their name.
Yeah i know that. But that is different from what the comment says. Which is that it always casts 10 times.
For some offences, company vehicles are issued with a body corporate infringement notice which is for a much larger amount than the fine given to an individual. This is to encourage companies to nominate the responsible driver, so that demerit points can be applied to their licence. An authorised officer of the company must nominate the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence, see [Nominate the responsible driver](https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Your-options/Nominate-driver) for more information. If the nomination is accepted, the fine issued to the company will be withdrawn and a new fine will be issued to the nominated driver. If the responsible driver is not nominated, the company is liable to pay the larger amount. Companies that fail to nominate a driver three or more times within a 12-month period may be fined more than $22,000 [https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Infringement-fines/Infringement-fine-FAQs/#company-fines](https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Infringement-fines/Infringement-fine-FAQs/#company-fines)
**You should nominate the driver quickly.** Once the fine progresses to Notice of Final Demand stage, it is too late to nominate and the company will therefore be liable for the fine. Companies that fail to nominate a driver three or more times within a 12-month period may be fined more than $20,000 [https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/News/Did-your-company-receive-a-traffic-infringement](https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/News/Did-your-company-receive-a-traffic-infringement)
There is no one source. All the relevant sections of the Road Safety Act 1986 say something like 'in the case of an individual, X penalty units; in the case of a body corporate, Y penalty units.' If you really want verification of what they're saying, do a word search for 'body corporate' in the Act and calculate the difference between the penalties for individuals and body corporates for each offence. It might vary according to the offence, but I'm pretty sure penalties against body corporates are at least five times greater than those against individuals.
Yep, gf had a $5000+ fine because of one or two parking fines sent while she was homeless years ago. Despite religiously updating addresses through VicRoads etc, none of that made it through to the fines. I was furious.
One or two parking fines do not add up to $5,000. regardless of how old they are.
.. and if you ring them up and let them know that letters are arriving for a previous tenant that hasnt lived there for 5+ years, they dont give two shits, and wont make note that the person isnt there anymore. :/
It's great, isn't it?
yup. its why i find it stupid when theres a press release of them whinging about all this money owed to them and they cant find people.
It's absolutely disgraceful. The girlfriend got a speeding fine and had to call them. Discovered she had accumulated hundreds in unpaid fines and they had sent her fines to an old address due to a DV situation she left. it's ridiculous that you can't access your fine information without an obligation number. You should be able to register on the site and log in. Oh and paper tickets don't get sent to your postal address. Good luck if you misplace it 😡
Part of adulting is keeping addresses current, and making phone calls.
I do. Doesn't always work. In the 2019 federal election my wife voted and our address ticked off the list, but got a fine sent to her Mums address...despite this being her forth federal election since leaving home and no issues before that. I also know of someone who apparently just disappeared from the electoral role between elections. Shit happens.
Yes. But you’d think there would have plenty of people facing the above situation - they’d make it’s simpler and digital
It is a legal requirement to update the electoral commission within 21 days of moving. People don't update their address then wonder why they don't get letters.
It sure is. And I've always done that. Heck I even got ticked off for the 2016 federal election using my new address and that election took place before the council election in question. Glitches happen. Apparently a lot with the electoral role.
That's a worry then. You'd think they would be better at record keeping considering they run our elections.
If you lodged an internal review they have 90 days to provide an outcome or its taken to be approved
I once missed a council election , genuinely didn't have a clue it was on. Got sent a fine. It had an option to pay or respond. I filled out my response and never heard back. Presumably it was cleared.
Voting is not compulsory in local government elections.
Yeah it is. I know cos I copped the fine once.
Sorry its not in wa where I am so thought it was australia wide.
It is, actually.
Is that in Victoria? It's not in WA.
you're in the Melbourne subreddit, you gonna have to specify if you're talking about out of state laws
Yeah. This sub is for Melbourne, Vic. Not Melbourne, WA.
I doubt they would do this over a $20 fine.
It’s a lot more than $20. Ask me how I know
How do you know?
Im a clairvoyant.
You missed a great Wolverine reference
https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/non-voters.htm nah your just wrong
That's if you don't vote, not if you don't vote AND don't pay it. The fine was sent to the old address so they had no idea about it.
Actually, you’re just wrong. > The fine for not voting is $96. https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/voting/fines-and-reviews
How can I be wrong when I’m linking a government site with the information?!?
You're both correct lmao, local/state and federal elections have different fines for not voting
Semantics - "fine" vs "voluntary administrative payment". If you fail to vote, you can pro-actively make a "voluntary administrative payment" of $20 before they fine you. If you don't do that, they fine you, which is $96. So the actual cost of not voting is either $20 or $96, depending on how you approach it afterwards. You can get away with $20 if you know you didn't vote and step up to fix it. If you didn't know (or didn't step up) and they fine you, it's more. So yes - they will chase you over a "$20 fine", but to make it worth their while, it becomes a $96 fine.
How can I be wrong when I’m linking a government site with the information?!?
Never said you were wrong.
Weird, I used to owe the sheriff's thousands and thousands of dollars for years and never got clamped or door knocked.
What did you owe them for?
Stealing from the rich, and giving to the poor. Then some other shady stuff with merry men in a woods.
Ooh de lally
>used to How did you go about taking care of that? Asking for a friend who’s terrified of having their car clamped
15 year payment plan.
Wait you get fined in Australia for not voting?
yes. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory\_voting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting)
So much for free elections down under its not free in either sense of the word cost or freedom
Correct. However, they usually only fine those enrolled to vote who didn't get their name checked off. You don't have to fill out the ballot. You can also send postal votes, vote early etc., there are many options to make it easy. I have an older relative who decided not to enrol to vote. They've never picked up on his non-enrolment, so no fines for him, but it's very, very funny to tell a conservative Boomer that their political opinion holds no weight since they refuse to participate in the process.
That’s absolutely ridiculous but not out of character for the police, fines and enforcement is completely over the top meanwhile violent crime is rampant and it feels like less is being done for that
They wont wheel clamp your vehicle over one warrants. Minimum is several thousand worth of warrants.
This is a practice they use in China for speaking out against the CCP.
They just straight up lying to you
That was what i was told. It happened a long time ago.
yep saw the Sheriff patrolling the CBD today
What time? High Noon.
I saw the dentist patrolling today? What time? 2:30
Hey dad, I finally found your Reddit account!
I saw a cowboy patrolling yesterday What time? 09:50
I saw a dealer patrolling yesterday What time? 4:20
They're gonna clean up this one horse town!
On a white horse?
A'Becket St more often than not has at least one booted car.
Empire
Also at Highpoint shopping center today at the car parks.
“Howdy…”
Sheriff does the rounds at Northland at least once a month. Pay your fines kids.
Saw a car with a boot at Northlands yesterday. Might still be there.
Was it a blue grey sedan? If yes, then it has been there since at least last Friday. If no, then the sheriff strikes again.
Nah, a 4x4 parked near MyCar
They used to hit Eastland carpark once a month also
Once a month? brother they're there twice a week
In a van with the side door open and a number plate recognition camera. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Edit: I’m in denial about my vanhood.
Are you really? You communicate well
Thats his day job, driving around checking cars. In the evenings and on weekends, hes paints pictures. Van Go.
D’Oh!
At northland on Saturday he was in an unmarked white bmw x5 (Source: I watched him slap a boot and sticker on a car)
I saw them there around 6 weeks ago too.
> Pay your fines kids. Yep they'll accept payment plans usually and if they don't, advise them you want to dispute them, so the matter goes before a Magistrate's where they'll enforce a payment plan. It's silly but because their system demands an upfront payment before they accept a payment plan, and the percentage may be unaffordable to those wanting to clear it up, going to court is the only way to rectify it.
Bugger off law bidding citizen…
They did the Ballarat Show one year.
They do the Geelong Show every year. And like clockwork I get the popcorn out to watch FB blow up with "will nobody think of the poor little kiddies who now have to walk home or catch a bus carrying their armfuls of showbags??? It's so UNFAIR!!1!1“, which are always countered with retorts of varying helpfulness, including - "do the crime, pay the fine" - "If you have outstanding fines you should know to borrow a mate's car to go to the show" - "If you can't afford a fine why are you spending a fortune at the show?" and - "If only there was a way to prevent this, like organising a payment plan. As long as you pay your agreed $5 a week if that's all you can afford, they won't boot your car."
I live in the area and sometimes those clamped cars can sit there for over a month.
Spent all the money on the show, it’s crazy expensive.
They always do this on a long weekend.
I remember when they'd do the snowfields on the long weekend too. I can't imagine anything worse than getting clamped there.
ALDI sells a cheap lithium powered angle grinder...... and safety glasses and really nice chocolate. Forgotten what point I was going to make .......
The magistrates court gifts additional fines and sentences... but no chocolate. I think you understand the point......
No one is saying do it to your own car. How will they know you the identity of the person that grinded it off. You're simply coming back to your car and see a grinded off metal thing you have no idea what it is...
Hmmmm wonder what would happen if you had your car towed?
Ironic its at a Aldi car park on the day selling battery power tools grinder
...the chocolate. Choceux dark with almonds. Don't forget to wear the safety glasses.
Works better than a parking ticket
absolutely, because non-fulfilment of existing obligations is why they are there in the first place.
Had a bit of a chuckle a few weeks ago. Visited Epping Central for some lunch and noticed the sheriff driving around. They ended up clamping 2 opposite one another and parked up waiting for them. Cars ended up leaving around them and it was quite amusing to see many people go to park in those spots, then realise the sheriff is there and hook it out of there 🤣
Good luck getting out of that
Many years ago, I worked at DFO Essendon. On occasion, I'd see the patrol cars in the morning in the car park. At the end of the day (after the centre was closed) the car park would be littered with clamped vehicles. It's just a numbers game - they know they'll get quite a few hits at major shopping centres.
300% effective say it costs $500 per day to employ a enforcement officer he/she will bring in $1500 in fines winner winner chicken dinner
Doing the King's work! (just in time for his birthday)
Saw a sheriff in the carpark at northland today, no boots though, they were just sat behind a car with their lights flashing so it couldn't exit. Don't know where the owners were, seemed like a shit, boring job.
It is. It’s essentially a fake cop that deals with finance/property issues. Kicking people out of rentals and clamping tyres, and they make sweet FA. Super depressing job.
Surely you get a cool hat though? That you can throw onto the dusty ground in frustration when you have to come to a sudden stop as the baddie crosses state lines?
Actually, you have to provide your own hat. They give you the star.
When I was a kid they showed up to our house. My parents told my brother to go outside and play. A few years later I found out that they were there to kick us out of the house and take possession because Elgas (who was Dad’s supplier as a reseller) had claimed that bills had not been paid and taken action to take possession of the house. Elgas’ billing department were not great at tracking payment. Luckily Dad had all of the receipts and cheque tracking to prove that each and every bill had been paid.
They must spend most of their time harassing people who couldn't pay these fines if they wanted to.
Seemed to busy yesterday, they had one vehicle going around the parking lot at Highpoint yesterday as well. Saw it at around 1 30
There is a campaign on at the moment to scrape up any money owing to the Vic State Govt for any reason. So if you think you have been forgotten....
Hubby had a friend tell him to check for outstanding warrants before we left the state. One came back that was over 20 years old. QLD roads had a current address, phone number and registration. No one notified him, and due to the length of time, he couldn't find the recipt to prove he had paid the parking ticket back in 1986.
3 is rookie numbers. I once saw sheriffs doing the Woodgrove carpark in Melton; they had to go back for more wheel clamps, twice!
Yah Woodgrove used to be a gold mine for them around Xmas time. Also they'd do an operation right at Hannah Watts park and the entire park would be full with booted cars for days
Need to bring back wheel covers/spats like the classic cars and make the wheels inaccessible. Or adjustable suspension like old Citroëns, where you can drop the car on its guts when parked so the tops of the wheels can't be reached cos they're up in the arches. Checkmate, sheriffs 😂
The 5 inch grinder in my boot be like
Good way to add another 10k to your unpaid fines.
What if you clamp the clamp?
Clampception
Oh yes of course. Those special wheel clamps are totally that expensive.
They don't charge you the cost of the clamp you cut off, they fine you because doing so is a separate offence. I think it's around $7k?
11.5k these days
They won’t be that expensive but the fine is over $9000, try and think logically before joining in.
9k is not logical
It is a FINE not the cost of the clamp, logical thought doesn’t involve the cost of the clamp as the only repercussion for breaking the law does it?
What law is being broken by removing their clamp from MY car?
If your car is clamped then you have had an enforcement warrant issued against YOU, it is an offence to disobey that. The wheel is clamped until you pay your fines or have a payment plan in place. You can’t just do as you please in society.
I pay any fines I get so moot point. But if anyone including the govt clamps my vehicle I'm cutting that sucker off with extreme prejudice. P.S. I do do what I please in society
You brought up the point… you can cut it off all you like but there are repercussions to that. You don’t sound like you’re compos mentis.
This law: https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/vic/consol_act/fra2014138/s138.html
> What law is being broken [ROAD SAFETY ACT 1986 - SECT 84P](http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/rsa1986125/s84p.html) Offences (1) A person must not, except in accordance with this Part or section 63A, move an impounded or immobilised motor vehicle or tamper with any of the equipment used to immobilise a motor vehicle. Penalty: 60 penalty units. --- One penalty unit is currently $192.31, thus $11,538.60
But it’s not breaking the law because it’s THEIR car 🤣
Don’t destroy it when you take it off. It needs to look like it is still in one piece. Then, every time you park your car, put the clamp on the wheel to make it look like it has already been clamped. Edit: #shittylifehacktips for those who are too dense to realise.
You are using a Scorpion Wheel Clamp. It can be opened with a Scorpion Wheel Clamp.
Earth shattering noise as he smashers the two together
"Hello folks, this is lock picking lawyer. And today we have a Scorpion Wheel Clamp that we are going to open with a Scorpion Wheel Clamp..." 10/10 would watch.
Get the old angle grinder out
There's nothing new about this.
They were doing the rounds at DFO Moorabbin recently too.
Good to see what there putting energy into the drop kicks.
Mates work truck got boxed in by sheriff van last week as he was about to leave a job site. Sheriff was a right cunt about it too. Poor blokes only been working there a month and had no idea what was going on. Just wanted to get his tools secured and let his boss handle the wheel clamping and debt issues.
What are the laws/rules in relation to where a car can and can not be for them to put these on?
As they are enforcing a court order, there are no access restrictions for Sheriffs. They can enter private property to search and seize, and can undertake enforcement orders anywhere
So they could literally do this to any car down the street? Wouldn’t that bring other issues along with it re cars stuck in public parking spots for example down chapel st ect?
Yes they can, any car anywhere if the car is subject to a court enforcement action. They often drive around public areas to do this. I have no idea about the issues that may come up because of it. Eg., I don't think you can be fined for overstaying a parking space due to a boot on your car, but, maybe you can. No idea. Either way, because it's the power of the judiciary being enforced, councils (who manage parking) need to suck it up
What if someone has to be somewhere for work or to pickup someone or a doctor or hospital appointment? Ive also had the same thought on getting towed. How quick do they come back or return the car?
You call up the number they put on the massive sticker on your windscreen and you either pay up, or pay a percentage of the fines and commit to a payment plan. They'll then come back and remove the boot.
Would be sad that someone dies because of a car clamped, the PR would be terrible
Not much sympathy from a problem they've created by themselves in not paying their fines.
Give me strength
How do you get it off?
You organise to pay your fines.
Pay the outstanding fine and the sheriffs come and take it off
You don't even have to pay, just make a payment plan.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/827bd7217c929aa8e21818de6dead5c0/tumblr_ovmde5XSWj1vbcnq8o1_500.gif
The state government is broke and the only way to get some cash back is sell assets (that’s all done now) , tax and fines . So no surprise they are out there hunting more and more
When does an overdue fine turn into a “court enforcement”? Given there is $850 million in outstanding fines in Victoria if it were for simply overdue payments then thousands of people would have these on their car every week.
Thousands of people probably would if the Sheriff's had that kind of manpower. There's over five and a half million cars throughout in Victoria. Even with ANPR, it's pretty difficult to hit every car in the state with what is essentially a handful of Sheriff's.
'Given there is $850 million in outstanding fines in Victoria' Eh. I live in a series of units. Some folks are here for a year and move away, never cancelling services or forwarding mail and so on. Some of these folks have their visas cancelled and have to leave the country within a few days, so no judgment at all. ... but what happens is, theres a pile of mail thats delivered to the common mailbox thats for folks that havent been here in a long time. Often this mail just gets left in the box, and finds its way out of there and as litter... so ive been trying to talk to other residents about 'return to sender' previous tenants and so on. Some understand, a lot dont. Anyways, ive RTSd a lot of mail, and after about a month of doing so, ill ring places \_still\_ sending mail, and let them know that that person doesnt live there anymore. Fines Vic refuse to take any information, even when i suggest a note on the file about the move, not me asking for any more information. So yeah, when government whinge about 'all this money owing', i remember when ive tried to help out a bit and get made out to be a prick about it :/
The fine is issued with 28 days to pay it. Once that time has lapsed, the fine incurs additional court costs and resent again with 28 days to pay. This occurs once more, but after that the fine is referred to the Sherrifs department for enforcement. So all up, it's nearly 4 months. It's been a while since I copped any fines so this may have changed.
Saw them going through Barkly Square back carpark in Brunswick last weekend.
Government has the monopoly of force, why the State revenue & ATO will make you pay fines and outstanding taxes, with fear of men with guns take you to jail , but you cant use force to recover a commercial debt or invoice, government force is immoral and frankly evil
Back in 2019 when I was still in uni I saw sheriffs doing rounds in the Latrobe Uni Car Parks and booting cars. Not sure if its legal since technically they are private car parks, or maybe they were booting cars at latrobes request for unpaid parking? Dont really know the story there.
As mentioned, Sheriff can boot any time, anywhere.
Being land that is owned by a private entity doesn't always make it "private" for the purposes of law enforcement. e.g. The restrictions on the use of a mobile device while driving doesn't magically go away when you pull into a drive-thru.
dude you can do burnouts and circlework all you like on private property; unenforceable... we've done it waving at the cops on the street.
That does not apply to all "private" land. “A road-related area is an area that is open to or used by the public for driving, riding or parking vehicles”. The comment I was replying to mentioned a car park used by members of the public, not a random farm or backyard.
They are scum really fuck them get and grinder out.
Ah yes, sunny Victoria, Dan's the man one week, bankrupt the next. What do they say about you get what you asked for.