Legal eagle question re fuel (1 Viewer)

[Jaws]

I have often wondered about this..
A couple of years ago while in Hungary we filled the van up at a garage
Went straight from there to a nearby campsite where the following day I got chatting to another brit about this and that..
Mentioned we had filled up and how cheap it was
He laughed, said the reason it was cheap was that the garage sold agricultural diesel out of all their pumps.. had I not noticed it was bright red !

Oops !!
Oh well..........

Anyway..
It dawned on me several months later as I drove past a VOSA check point that there was every chance not only was the filter bright red, but the markers would likely still be detectable in the fuel..
Now if I got dipped and said markers were found, would I be in trouble ?

I suspect the answer might well be yes, but have no idea

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I have often wondered about this..
A couple of years ago while in Hungary we filled the van up at a garage
Went straight from there to a nearby campsite where the following day I got chatting to another brit about this and that..
Mentioned we had filled up and how cheap it was
He laughed, said the reason it was cheap was that the garage sold agricultural diesel out of all their pumps.. had I not noticed it was bright red !

Oops !!
Oh well..........

Anyway..
It dawned on me several months later as I drove past a VOSA check point that there was every chance not only was the filter bright red, but the markers would likely still be detectable in the fuel..
Now if I got dipped and said markers were found, would I be in trouble ?

I suspectr the answer might well be yes, but have no idea

In a word, "yes" unless you could prove that they refilled you by accident. Unfortunately a case of ignorance is no excuse. However, a plea as you said above might just work....

 

[Yorick]

My mate used to have 2 fuel filters. One in normal place and other hidden which he ran the red through

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[Geo]

Concentration levels is what really matters, thats why a sample is taken for analysis
you will be cautioned every time of course, and prosecution or warning follows

 

[DuxDeluxe]

My mate used to have 2 fuel filters. One in normal place and other hidden which he ran the red through

That won't help when they dip the tank, which is the normal method .........

 

[Snowbird]

How were you to know what colour it was. There is no sight glass in pump nozzles. If it was before the days of the EU everyone ran on red in Bulgy, I even had a 2000ltr belly tank under the trailer, just for red.

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[Forestboy]

My mate used to have 2 fuel filters. One in normal place and other hidden which he ran the red through

What difference does that make?
Owned 8 trucks for 20 years and regularly got raided and checked on roadside and they always dipped the tank. They certainly didnt mess around with filters.

 

[Steve]

there is a held held piece of equipment that takes a sample from the exhaust pipe, engine running or not that will indicate if 'dyed' diesel has been used this is then followed up with a dip test takes less than 10secs and you dont even know its been done.

 

[Geo]

Interesting here's your excuse
Copied and pasted from HMRC
Unlicensed vehicles not used on public roads
A vehicle that is not used on the public road and has no licence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 is an excepted vehicle. If a vehicle has become untaxed since 31 January 1998 it requires a SORN. Such vehicles will be eligible to use red diesel if a SORN declaration has been made. Unlicensed vehicles that do not require a SORN(including unregistered vehicles that have never used the public road) will continue to be able to use red diesel without a SORN declaration if kept off-road.

Under DVLA rules, a vehicle with a SORN declaration in place may only use the public road to travel to and from a licensed station for a pre-arranged MOT, vehicle identity check, or weight or emissions test.

Unregistered or unlicensed vehicles are not permitted to run on public roads unless they are travelling to and from a pre-arranged mandatory Department for Transport (DfT) test or re-test. HMRC will take action if such a vehicle is found on public roads using red diesel at any other time. Other offences beyond the scope of HMRC responsibility may also be committed if such a vehicle runs on public roads, even if road fuel (‘white diesel’) is being used.

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[davejen]

So if you sorn your van for a while and run it on private land, say for a month on red then tax it again and get tested you can tell them the red was from when it was sorned, you MIGHT get away with it? Doubt it myself.
Cheers, Dave

 

[Jaws]

Not a matter of might do really.. Rules are rules..
In the case of the vehicle in my question I know the vehicle was sorn'd before we bought it from a dealer.. It had been in stock for a while and they had moved it about the site several times ( to shift it over to the workshop, then back on the front etc etc .. all on private land all on the same site
So they could quite legally have put red in it .. that would still be detectable for one hellova time .. so therefore what Geo has kindly found and posted is in fact an absolute and not a maybe

 

[Badknee]

A mate of mine ran ten of his eight wheeler tippers for Tarmac when building the M65 for eighteen months, job finished he re tested them and put them back on the road. One was pulled months later and showed red in the sample. All the trucks were given GV9's and had to be parked up. He got Tarmac to explain that they were off road for the term of the contract and were running on Tarmacs red out of an onsite tank. He was able to produce all receipts for white derv from when they were re tested till when they were pulled. All was well but it was a worrying time.

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[Steve]

it would seem like most things tax related, guilty until proven innocent

 

[Yorick]

What difference does that make?
Owned 8 trucks for 20 years and regularly got raided and checked on roadside and they always dipped the tank. They certainly didnt mess around with filters.

Oh, this was 25 years ago and he reckoned he was checked and got away with it. He used to use red when in Europe and legal stuff in UK

 

[Tea Bag]

My mate used to have 2 fuel filters. One in normal place and other hidden which he ran the red through

Tank dip test days ? Mk 3 L/Rover,fit a spare tank under the passenger seat,filled from inside........ Or so i was led to believe.......
Tea Bag

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