Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:05 am
#1550131
Just over 10 years ago here in time-warp Belgium, my wife got fined for not having a car radio license.
For a car she no longer owned (and had done all the necessary paperwork)
From a region she no longer lived in.She had deregistered in the old region and re-registered in the new region as is required by law
She challenged it via the inter-regional Ombudsman.
The inter-regional Ombudsman said that technically my wife was correct, but Wallonia would still drag my wife through the courts - costing her significantly more, as even when found successful she couldn't claim back her legal costs.
Apparently there was an obscure local Govt ruling that said she should have sent a separate registered letter to some unheard of office to say she had sold her car and left the region. This little money spinning gotcha wasn't notified to any car owners etc - you're just meant to have spent the majority of your life reading every minor technical change in local, regional and national law.
I sometimes think that Douglas Adams must have spent time in Belgium....