Bongo Fury

I'm struggling with this nonsense! On the TFL site if i do the check by 'vehicle type' it clearly states exempt - but not when I do the registration plate. - trying to get everything together including the photos etc..but please 'Where is the VIN plate?'

Ian - I'm trusting to your set of documents..thanks in advance.
Sally

skd wrote:I'm struggling with this nonsense! On the TFL site if i do the check by 'vehicle type' it clearly states exempt - but not when I do the registration plate. - trying to get everything together including the photos etc..but please 'Where is the VIN plate?'

Ian - I'm trusting to your set of documents..thanks in advance.
Sally

on the door post

skd wrote:Ian - I'm trusting to your set of documents..thanks in advance.Sally

I'm ahead of schedule and the info pack, including full instructions, the TfL form, a covering letter from the owners club, and back up documentation, will be available for download from the members area of the main website (
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... factsheets) from about 8pm tonight.

Here's the pdf version of the info pack: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... ts/lez.pdf

Wow! what a good info pack. should do the trick, I did it with far less. Common sense would suggest that when they get many registrations they would accept that all bongos are all OK, but having dealt with them I doubt this will happen.

Well done Ian

Just checked my reg and they have it down as exempt already. Looks like they've been listening.

Jim

Thanks for the info and have dug out the paperwork I bought my Freda direct from a dealer in Japan in 2003. The deregulation certificate gives a vehicle weight of 1860kg and a gross weight of 2300kg this is slightly different from the example. I wonder if this is due to having bull bars and sports rack, rear sensor, wheel arch spats and corner pole as when I bought it I was told it was an aniversary edition and these were factory fitted.

Hi
In a previous post I said I'd let you know what I did if I got LEZ exemption.

I wrote a letter (in my wife's name, as she is the registered keeper) to the DVLA pointing out, amongst other things, that there was no Revenue weight recorded, and suggesting that one could reasonably be calculated (thanks, Ian, for the tip at the SW bash).

The DVLA accepted this and sent me and updated V5C. I then contacted the TfL who agreed that the car was not liable and are sending me a letter confirming this. The text of the letter follows:-

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxx EX1 XXX



DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1BD
25 September 2011


Dear Sir/Madam

Vehicle Registration Mark: XXXX XXX

Enclosed are the following:-

1) The V5C document for the above vehicle.
2) A weighbridge ticket dated 07/09/2011.
3) Photographs of the VIN plate and a nearby sticker which may hold some useful information.

There are two problems with the V5C document, which came to light when I received a letter from TfL about the Low Emissions Zone claiming that my vehicle was unlikely to meet the new emissions standards. The two problems are that:-

1) The VIN number appears to have been wrongly transcribed.
2) There is no Revenue Weight recorded.

The vehicle model is a Ford Freda, but there is no update field for the model, so I assume that this cannot now be added. Is this the case?

I have taken the vehicle to a weighbridge, and the kerbside weight with my husband in the driver’s seat and a full tank of fuel was exactly 2000 Kgm. Assuming another 4 passengers (about 80 kilos each) and about 40 kilos of luggage, that still gives a maximum weight of about 2360 Kgm. This would seem to be a reasonable weight for the Revenue weight. According to the handbook, the unladen weight is 1860 Kgm.

I hope you now have all the information to be able to issue me with an updated V5C, with a corrected VIN and hopefully a Revenue Weight. Please let me know if there is a charge for this service.


Yours faithfully


Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx





I hope this helps other people.

Cheers


John
[/i]

Breaking news! TfL have been in contact and have told me that they can issue a blanket exemption for Mazda Bongos and Ford Fredas. However, although "Mazda" and "Ford" are fields on the TfL database, "Bongo Friendee" and "Freda" are not database fields. So the only way they can do a blanket exemption is via registration number.

We have registration numbers for 2,705 members on our database and this will be forwarded to TfL.

For non-members, and members who did not supply us with their vehicle registration on sign-up, TfL have advised that you should get the Revenue Weight inserted on your V5 via DVLA.

Anyone who has already sent a letter to TfL will receive a response shortly.

I will update the fact sheet accordingly.

finally got them to answer phone yesterday

and ended up having a blazing row

evan told them they should listen to the owners club funny enough

as to getting weight added by dvla when i rang them after they seemed uninterested

but guy seemed willing to change it from camper to an mpv for me

apon payment off 25 quid

why is it i cannot find a pm button for you ian?

any way to be sure ive emailed you my reg

Dear Ian - thank you for everything above. I have prepared most of the pack of info to send but given your most recent post re the registrations numbers being sent - and you have mine (N106ENC) I think - I am going to give it another week to see what happens.
You're a star Sally

I'm looking to buy my first Bongo. Do I hunt for one with a reg that passes the LEZ checker online or do I ignore the checker on the assumption that it's basically wrong on Bongos and I can appeal to TFL?

I've been looking up examples of bongos on ebay and entering the registrations into the LEZ checker. At a rough reckoning I'd say about 1/3 are exempt and 2/3 are not. I'm only interested in unconverted pop-tops.

Following our submission of vehicle registrations for cross-referencing I have today heard from the Policy Unit at TfL who have confirmed that Bongos are not subject to LEZ.

Of the 2,651 registrations on the Bongo Fury club member database, 1,866 are not subject to LEZ at all. Of the remaining 785, 561 are registered as "Motor Caravans" and TfL have accepted that these vehicles are all under 2.5 tonnes, and will not be subject to LEZ.

This leaves 224 member's Bongos with anomalies. 56 of these are registered as vehicle types OTHER than "Motor Caravans", and these owners will need to take corrective action with TfL (details to follow). The other 168 Bongos/Fredas have registration numbers not recognised by their database (many from overseas we think) and may be subject to LEZ unless pre-registered with TfL. Again, details to follow.

For members who have not given us their vehicle registration details (about 1,000 in total), you should read the instructions in the next member's newsletter.

For people who sign up with the club between 1 November and 30 November, we will forward details to TfL on your behalf.

For non-members, we are unable to include you in this blanket exemption.

TfL have said that they will update their database by the beginning of December, so Bongo owners are advised that if their vehicle is currently showing as "subject to LEZ" on the TfL website, to re-check on or after 5 December.

Further details will be available in the next member's email update (6 November) and the quarterly member's newsletter which will be distributed in early December. The fact sheet in the members area of the main website will be updated next week.

That's what I call a result!

I'm locking this thread now as we have come to an arrangement with TfL. These arrangements will expire on 1 December. See here for details: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =1&t=52514