NewsBiscuit » personalised number plate

Huge interest at rare auction of Range Rover without personalised number plate

Vertically Challenged Giant — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:00:25 +0000

An extremely rare Range Rover, believed by experts to be the only one in the UK without a personalised registration, is due to go on sale at auction today.

The rarity value of the 2008 Range Rover Sport is such that it is tipped to fetch over £150,000 once the bidding starts. This is considerably more than a new model featuring the standard personalised plate would cost, with numbers mangled to vaguely resemble the letters in ‘BIG MIKE’. Experts feel though that it is worth the extra cash to stand out from the crowd of other 4x4s, with a plate that doesn’t make any pretentious statement about the driver.

The current owner of the car has expressed his surprise at the amount of interest generated by the sale. ‘I just don’t get it, I can’t understand what all the fuss is about at all.’ said Mr YG58 HGY.

Woman found in possession of Range Rover without personalised number plate

Des Custard — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:00:40 +0000

Police pulled up a Range Rover in Sevenoaks yesterday for not having a personalised number plate and issued the driver with a fixed penalty notice. The driver Jane Smith, 43, surprised police by saying how grateful she was for having the major social faux pas pointed out to her. ‘I can’t thank the police enough. I had been ostracised by all my friends for some time and have been in therapy as a result. I was falling prey to a number of stress related conditions and feared there was no way out. The worst thing was not knowing the cause of the problem.’

While the family waits for the new registration to come through, Jane’s husband Grant has hired a Vogue with a Guernsey registration and has already been nominated for the captaincy of his golf club after previously being blackballed.

Personalised postcodes to include ‘B1G 80Y’ and ‘S3XY 0NE’

nealdoran — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

In a new plan to generate increased profits, the Royal Mail is to take a leaf out of the DVLA’s vanity licence plate business and enable the public to change ‘functional but drab’ post codes to ones that express their individuality and character through a personalised range. The new customised post code register is to include name-based entries such as J1M5 GAFF, ‘cheeky’ codes such as H0T L1PS or F15T M3, and a range of more discreet codes that pundits have said could be popular with parents keen to avoid difficult questions about how exactly their address falls into the most popular schools’ catchment areas.

While the general public is expected to take to the scheme in the hope of adding value to rapidly dwindling property prices, Post Office spokesman Jim Lancaster noted that there has also been significant interest from high-profile celebrities, billionaire businessmen, and politicians. He revealed that one of the first personalised post codes to be sold was V1R G1N, ‘and we wish Miss Widdecombe many years of enjoyment of her purchase.’

The Royal family were also rumoured to be interested in new post codes for their estates across the country but, according to Palace insiders, Princes Philip and Harry have so far only come up with abbreviations that clash with requirements on racial equality, taste and decency.

The move was described by some commentators as a ‘pointless gimmick’, but this was strongly denied by the Royal Mail, who highlighted several accompanying benefits such as the free access to the new ‘Premium Second’ class of mail delivery, which will arrive in the same time-frame and condition as traditional second class post but delivered by ‘slightly more attractive postmen’. ‘We’re very confident the scheme is going to take off and really capture the public’s imagination in the same way personalised plates have,’ insisted Lancaster, ‘why already we’ve heard of one young wag who was so keen to get one he’s gone and changed his name to HA4 1JT!’