Please can someone help with this situation.

A friend was on his way to England in his, legal, english van and was stopped by the police for (his van) being over weight. He is in the process of moving his family back to England and so was using his English vehicle to make the move.

Apparantly he was weighed and told he was 500Kg too heavy and had to pay a fine of 3301 euros. He was further told that until this fine was paid, he was not allowed to go any where.

On his behalf I have spoken to the central office and asked if a) the fine would be reduced for him being a resident and b) he could defer payment as they had his NIE number etc. and so could be traced if he failed to pay (which he wouldn't). On both counts they said NO!

Does he have any other course of action other than to have the money wired to a bank where he is (Pamplona), to draw it out in cash and pay the fine? All of this will take time, of course.

Thank you in advance for constructive responses.

dont know of any other course of action other paying the fine...when we moved from UK to Spain 6 years ago we got stopped and fined for being over weight, think our fine was around 1500 euros and they wouldnt let the van leave til the fine was paid

I think he will have to pay the fine.
This is one of the hazards of driving a foreign vehicle here, if it was on Spanish plates then they can contact the owner later, but as it is not and the owner can dissappear from their radar they need the cash to release it.
What is he going to do with the overweight stuff, he could get nicked again further up the road.
Strange how the Morrocans get away with stuff piled two mtrs high on their van roofs on the way to the ferry terminal.

But surely, if they have his NIE etc. then they can trace him if he does abscond?

Also, I thought the max. fine was 3k - so why 3301? Seems a strange figure.

Perhaps they should consider themselves lucky.

When I was living in the UK (I assume nothing has changed since I left) if a foreigner was stopped by the police driving on foreign plates having commited an offence (eg being overweight) then it was automatic arrest of the driver and court the next morning as they are not eligible to enter into the Fixed Penalty Scheme.

If you are in the UK in a vehicle over 7.5 tonnes and you are significantly over weight. Which 500kg in a van would be. You would be lucky to be allowed to carry on driving because of safety.
The vehicle is only designed to carry so much

Sorry I cannot offer any advice

But anyone can have an NIE, though they may not return to Spain, holding his van they are holding the payment, so to speak.

I understood that booze cruisers coming back to the UK from France with an overweight vehicle can have the vehicle confiscated. So, a fine seems mild by comparison.

We had a truck stopped for being overweight once in Holland. We had to send another truck to offload the overweight, and got a fine which had to be paid immediately ....... not much choice for your friend tbh, and I have to say half a ton overweight in a van is pretty dicey .... possibly verging on dangerous

I would be careful on the resident thing ........ as a resident he shouldn't be driving a Brit plated vehicle should he

[QUOTE=jdr;Strange how the Morrocans get away with stuff piled two mtrs high on their van roofs on the way to the ferry terminal.[/QUOTE]

There are limits though.

... which leads me on to - how do you stop being a resident (with certificate etc.)? If he moves back having been a resident, how does he legally undo this? He is legally allowed to drive an English van as he lives in UK (in process of moving family), he is not here other than to make the necessary trips and is 'normally resident' in UK.

As he is a Spanish resident going to live in the UK then he will have to report to somewhere, but no idea where.
The best place to try would be the DWP site, returning to the UK section as he will need to let them know anyway. HERE

That was and is still true but only enforced by some police forces Norhamptonshire being one. The Met are going to look at doing something since they are loosing millions on the congestion charge, parking, speeding and other fixed penalty offences.

Essex police enforce it too.

Surely this is muddling two offences ? If HM Customs are satisfied that the booze / tabs goods are for a commercial purpose they may seize them and any vehicle used to transport them, and may not return them.
Whether the vehicle is overweight or not.