202 A Quiet, Ordinary Day

I got out of bed on Wednesday morning thinking that the day to come would be yet another quiet, ordinary day spent sat in my comfy recliner, reading a newspaper, doing online puzzles and then planning and preparing that evening’s food.  There was, however, one thing I knew that I had to do and I expected it would cost me around £35.

The day before, on Tuesday evening, Caroline had left her office and as she approached the car, had seen a note on the windscreen.  It read ‘YOU HAVE A FLAT TYRE’.

The KIA EV6 doesn’t carry a spare but every one of its very expensive tyres contains a sealant that supposedly fills holes made by an intrusion.  In this case the sealant had clearly not worked.  The screw that had punctured the tyre was too large.

Our car insurance includes AA breakdown cover and so Caroline called them. Within an hour, the problem was fixed and she could drive home.  The man from the AA had warned Caroline that his fix was only temporary and she should get it repaired properly as soon as possible.  While Caroline went to work in the Mini on Wednesday, my job was to have the KIA’s tyre repaired.

At FastFit, the tyre mechanic told me that a repair was impossible and I needed a new tyre.  He said that the presence of the sealant made reparation impossible.  I suspected that this was just a line to get me to buy a new tyre and so I went outside, sat in the car and made some phone calls.  I found out that he was right.  The tyre was irreparable and so I went back into the tyre company’s office and ordered a new tyre

“£250 please.”

Back in the car, I pressed the start button.  I saw messages that I’ve never seen before.  One said, “12 volt battery low”, while another read, “Press the start button with the key fob”.  I did that and the screens went completely black.  The car would not start.

I called the AA and within 30 minutes a yellow AA van pulled up next to me in the car park.  After doing some tests I was told that the 12 volt battery was not charging and I need to have a new one.  Luckily, he carried one.

“£215 please.” *

When I got home, the post had been delivered and an ominous brown envelope was lying on the mat.  In October last year, I drove into London and according to a letter from the Metropolitan Police that I received a few days later, I went through a red traffic light.  I didn’t think I had but on November 2nd, I phoned to pay the £60 fine.  

The reference number on the letter the police had sent did not match any that the call handler could find and so he told me to hang up and they would either send me another letter or phone me.  

I heard nothing from them until more than four months later in early March when I got a letter advising me that as I had not paid the fine in the time allowed, I was either to attend a court hearing or fill in an online form.  The form asked all kinds of intrusive questions including ‘What is your monthly income net of tax?’

The brown envelope glaring at me from the door mat contained a letter headed ‘Result of court case’.  The fine I have to pay is made up of three components.

Fine                             £216.00 and 3 penalty points

Costs                           £50.00

Victim surcharge         £86.00       Victim?  Surely that’s me.

The last line of the letter is: If you don't pay, you could be sent to prison for non-payment.

“£352 please.”

I phoned the number on the letter and explained that I had tried to pay the fine last year but because of their incompetence and through no fault of mine, I had been unable to.  I was told there was no record of that call (what a surprise!) and that I had 28 days to pay the amount stated.  

So, my quiet, ordinary day cost me £817.00, three penalty points and a threat of imprisonment. 

* In 1977, a new 12 volt battery for my Honda Z cost £5.00.  That's £40.00 today, allowing for inflation