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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 3:45 pm
by Suggers
Finally got my old Isuzu Trooper roadworthy - MOT, tax, insurance etc - (300,000+ m. on clock and still going strong) - been used just round the farm on red diesel for last 3 yrs - is that any defence, with customs & ex, if I get pulled for a spot check?
Still got 3/4 of a tank of red in her.
Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:42 pm
by msh paving
£500 instant fine for red in a tank suggers,no if's or but's
if you what to argue they back date the fine from when you bought the truck and assume you was on red and charge the duty, 3 friend's have been done for it, MSH 
Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:12 pm
by lutonlagerlout
^^
our digger driver was short and put a gallon of red in his lowloader to get home,he rang them and told them straight away
they said "£500 please"
LLL
Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 7:42 pm
by rab1
mates dad was a bp/esso tanker driver and they used to be allowed to fill up for free but then customs put a stop to that as well, they check for the additive levels in the fuel. believe it was freshly processed stuff that they used rather than the stuff they delivered.
Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 7:55 pm
by Tony McC
GB_Groundworks wrote:whats that 1970's on a T at the end?
I bought my first legal road bike that year - UCB 489T
I turned 17 in the July and waited an extra month to get a new reg letter on a little 100cc Honda.
'Twas a very good year....
Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 11:58 pm
by mickg
so that makes you 57 years old then 
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:57 am
by Tony McC
17 in 1978 - check yer maths!
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:16 am
by flowjoe
The fuel testing vans seem to be everywhere in the last couple of years, i have had two separate road side checks on the fuel in the last 14months. The lads doing the testing say that there's always an increase in the use of red during a recession.
No probs of course, we even put white in the jetting units when we could easily use red.
Don`t know if i am unlucky or on a data base somewhere after a couple of run ins with Vosa?
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 12:37 pm
by Dave_L
VOSA do keep local records/notes of operators who need to be "watched"
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 12:41 pm
by Dave_L
OK......what about this....
Go to a filling station that has gas oil at the pumps and imagine you've "accidentally" put three gallons in your tank.
Ring up HMRC and ask to pay the duty on the amount.....If so, you then have a green light as to the reason for the red trace in your tank should you be tested at a later date!
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:30 pm
by rab1
accidents do happen dave, good though. :;):
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:37 pm
by lutonlagerlout
it doesnt work dave,if its in your tank its your problem
TBH i dont see why fuel should be subsidised
same with airlines,their fuel is a fraction of what we pay at the pumps
LLL
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:46 pm
by GB_Groundworks
its not subsidised its just taxed at a lower duty
we can burn through 600 litres a week easy, would cripple plant firms to pay the road duty knock on effect on the economy etc
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:04 pm
by lutonlagerlout
yes but by doing so it opens the doors to organised crime
i pay 80 quid a week for 70 litres,why should farmers or operators get it cheaper,its artificially subsidising the price of food?
if everyone had to pay the same wack for diesel then all the prices would be affected equally
LLL
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:23 am
by Tony McC
The argument is that the tax on fuel covers the cost of road construction and maintenance (or it would if all taxes were hypothecated rather than being put into one big pot), and as farmers and plant operators don't use their kit on the road (except when they are causing tailbacks for fun) they are not liable to pay the tax.
That's the theory - in practice, there's a huge composting facility been set up on the edge of our village, and each day they take in hundreds of tonnes of the garden waste collected by local council. The hundreds of tonnes of composted material generated then leaves the site in 20 tonne trailer loads, towed by a big tractor on the public highway.
I've seen these tractors pulling their load up to 7 miles away from the compost centre, and the only sensible conclusion is that this is a huge tax dodge. Just imagine if Eddie Stobart or Norbert Dentressangle decided they'd distribute their goods by tractor in order to save money by burning red!
Tractors, and diggers, use the public highways. They put heavier-than-normal loads on those roads, entailing repairs and maintenance at tax-payers' expense. They spread mud and other crap all over the roads, which has to be cleaned at the tax-payers's expense. They delay tax-paying vehicles. Tax the buggers!