Recently I had my old car for sale outside my house with a "For Sale" sign in the window. To my astonishment I was visited by a local authority officer who presented me with a notice telling me that I was breaking the law as I was a "street trader". The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 Schedule 4 - Street Trading and also the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 are the two acts referred to on the notice which he gave me.

Whilst I applaud the local council's attempts to deter rogue traders who avoid planning control, paying income tax, insurance, and the like, I cannot see that it is fair or right to apply these acts to a person selling their own car. A trader sells a car to make a profit, whilst an owner sells a car to minimise his loss. A trader does not have a car registered in his own name whereas a private owner does. If the local authority officer suspects trading he has only to ask to see the registration document - or access the details from the DVLA. I would like to hear your views on this and in particular whether you believe that the local authority are correctly applying the law?