Number plate 1 HRH sells for £113,815

The star of today's DVLA auction held in Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire, 1 HRH sold for £113,815 to a telephone bidder.

The registration had extensive media coverage in the days leading up to the auction and the auction hall had almost as many media people as people attending the auction. Journalists and several TV crews, including one from the BBC and Channel Five's Fifth Gear, were there to document the event - as was I. The tension in the room was high as the bidding increased quickly. Jonny Smith from Fifth Gear even offered £500 at one point if one of the bidders increased his bid. However, the bidder in the room declined. A partership from Scotland had travelled down to bid for the number and had to return empty handy.

Now what I want to know, is who purchased the registration? Was it really someone from the Royal Family as was speculated in the papers? I don't think so but let me know if anyone has any leads.

1 O and 3 S will be sold tomorrow at the same auction. I'll keep you posted as to how much they go for.

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Caught On Camera

For quite a number of years David Tennant has been in the spotlight as a result of his well known acting role in the hit show Doctor Who. Mr. Tennant was photographed recently, leaving a Radio Times party in his car. Mr. Tennant had failed to realise that the tax on his vehicle expired on the 31st of December 2008, which left him driving illegally without road tax.

Thanks to a photographer, Mr. Tennant could now be facing a fine of up to £1000 if the photograph should stand up as evidence in court. I’m sure Mr. Tennant will be rushing to the tax office as soon as he can.

Mr. Tennant who is yet to comment on the photograph which has put him between a rock and a hard place told his replacement about how he is going to be in the media’s eye and he will be under the scrutiny of the public 24/7. He said, "everything that's about to unfold and the way that his life is going to change in so many ways...it's exciting."

Maybe if the number plate D12 WHO was on the car, it may have been a bigger photo opportunity and the photographer may not have noticed the tax disc at all.

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DVLA Auctions 2009

Following the amazing success of the DVLA's Personalised Registration auctions, there will be another six number plate auctions this year.

The dates are as follows :

January 28th, 29th, and 30th 2009 - Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire
March 25th, 26th, and 27th 2009 - Ardencourt Manor Hotel, Claverdon, Warwick
June 3rd, 4th, and 5th 2009 - Wychwood Park, Cheshire
August 5th, 6th, and 7th 2009 - RBS Williams F1 Centre, Wantage, Oxfordshire
October 7th, 8th, and 9th 2009 - Dormy House Hotel, Worcestershire
December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 2009 - Tankersley Manor, Barnsley

It was at Barnsley in November 2008, that businessman Robert Harverson bid £247,653 for the registration 1 RH. The star of the first auction of the year at Whittlebury Hall will no doubt be the rare 1 O plate, which goes under the hammer on Friday 30th January. Many personalised registration experts consider 1 O as one of rarest plates available. The reserve for this has been set at £10,000. Previous plates that have had a £10,000 reserve include 1 OO and 51 NGH, which sold for £197,000 and £254,000 respectively. We'll let you know the outcome of this auction as soon as we have the details.

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Incompetent Tax Heads Aggravate Grandmother

A grandmother trying to take her ill grandson to hospital was stopped in her tracks by DVLA inspectors who had her car clamped over a taxation technicality.

Deborah Jones, aged 52 found her car clamped outside her daughters house while she was collecting her grandson Alfie for an important hospital appointment.

Her second hand BMW was bought in October and had a valid tax disk marked the January 31 2009. However, the previous owner’s cheque had bounced even though a tax disk had been issued. This therefore rendered the disk invalid, a fact that was unknown to Mrs Jones. "I bought it second-hand in October and, as far as I was concerned, it was taxed until the end of January. Mrs. Jones feels that this should have been pointed out to her when she sent the vehicle exchange forms to the DVLA.

However, the DVLA are standing their ground and claiming that Mrs. Jones is in the wrong. As far as they are concerned the car was untaxed and therefore not legally on the road. Although the matter has not been resolved in her favour of Mrs. Jones she remains adamant that she has done nothing wrong.

Does seem a little harsh, doesn't it?

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