How to report an abandoned car on the street or community

Consular Matters

IT is still quite common to see cars, vans, or motorcycles that are completely dete‐riorated, covered in dust, and with de‐flated tyres occupying a parking space. In fact, the Spanish traffic authorities (DGT) estimates that there are about 20,000 abandoned cars in private facilities (abandoned cars in garages, in a commu‐nity of owners, in workshops...) and that around 50,000 vehicles are abandoned each year. This can result in a hefty fine for the owner, as their obligation is to deregister it and remove it from the obli‐gation, as indicated by the Law.

Until now, you could only request the removal of the vehicle if it was on the public road. However, with the Spanish VEH 2022/26 instruction, you can also request it if the vehicle is abandoned in a community of owners, in a shopping centre, in a workshop, in a private zones, etc. In each case, the time to file the complaint is different. In a private area, it must be proven that the vehicle has been abandoned for a minimum of two months. In a public parking lot, at least six months must elapse to report aban‐donment.

You can report an abandoned car to your town hall by phone, internet, or in person.

It may happen that you go on a trip for a period exceeding one month or any other circumstance that prevents you from moving the car and someone has reported it. To prove that the vehicle is not abandoned, you will have to provide the valid vehicle documentation, with the latest ITV passed, car’s insurance, and payment of taxes. You will also have to pay the fine and the expenses of the crane and deposit before you can take it away.

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Marisa Moreno Castillo Consul for Denmark and Senior Lawyer at Just Law Solicitors. www.justlawsolicitors.com • contact@justlawsolicitors.com

lemon meringue pie and Arctic Roll ‐cake AND ice ‐ cream in one pudding. What more could you want? And as for snacks, what about jelly cubes eaten straight from the packet? Squashed fly biscuits (Garibaldi, weren’t they?). Or Wagon Wheels ‐ though should be re ‐named Trolley Castors thanks to shrink‐flation.

After all that, who’d feel nostalgic for Quinoa salad?

And as for the height of sophistication in my youth: Vesta Chow Mein with crispy noodles! Or oeufs Mornay ‐ a ‘posh’ starter. A boiled egg cut in half and smothered in a dodgy ‘sauce’ that invariably tasted like salad cream with a bit of wilted mint sprinkled over it. Also avocado vinaigrette ‐ half a rock hard or ridiculously mushy avocado with bitter vinaigrette filling the hole. And, in the more upmarket restaurants, a couple of sad ‐ looking prawns floating around in the liquid.

Actually, Delia Smith was way ahead of her time and her recipes are still in ‐credibly reliable crowd pleasers. They’ll surely long outlive the dreadful recipes you regularly come across these days where the ‘chef’ believes you can chuck anything together and just camouflage the tasteless result with chilli. Yuk! But frankly, I’ve never understood this ‘comeback’ thing. If something is good, it’s good. End of. Do you stop eat‐ing a certain food (like the humble quiche), drinking a certain drink, watch‐ing a certain movie or reading a certain book (a suspense or crime thriller, like me?) because somebody else tells you it’s outdated, and that’s the thing to do?

Do you throw away all your clothes or shoes every year when some magazine tells you: ‘They’re so last season!’? (Clue: it’s a business ‐ that’s their job.) There’s absolutely nothing wrong with trying new things and being experimen‐tal, but it’s good to have the classics locked away too. After all, it’s the clas‐sics that are your gold standard for comparing quality.

So, in brief, all I’m saying is: Give Quiche a Chance...

Nora Johnson’s 12 critically acclaimed psychological suspense crime thrillers (www.nora ‐ johnson.net) all available online including eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, audiobooks, paperbacks at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.