I have just received a letter from the DVLA enforcement dept that my last tax disc expired (end April 2003) and they cannot find any record of a new licence or a SWORN form being filled in. I in fact retaxed my car 9 days late (9 May 2003).
There is a form on the back of the letter to fill in any new licence or SORN details which I have completed.
They are saying that if I committed an offence of not having any tax after the end of April that I must pay a fine of £25-00 if I did not fill in a SORN.
Are they trying to fine me for the nine days it was untaxed (despite starting my present licence to cover that period) or is this just a blip on their part, i.e not having received details from the PO I renewed my tax at?
Anybody know of this?
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You will be fine. As long as the new license runs from the expiry of the old one and there is no gap, you have nothing to worry about.
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Just let them know.
I'm amazed that with all the millions of pounds spent on computers on post office counters that they still fill tax disks in by hand.
Although I have noticed that they now scan the barcode in from the renewal form, so that may help things now.
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I was done for similar once. I think the detail is elsewhere, but I bought a car and due to an argument with the dealer, ended up using the car, in the end for a couple of months, without tax. When I finally got the logbook and taxed it I backdated it to the start of the month during which I'd bought the car.
Following month an official visited me "your car was seen on such a date on such a road with no tax disc". Explained the background and showed Mr Jobsworth the car & tax, backdated to cover the period in question. He went away.
Next thing I know, I've got a summons. Legal friends said I HAD to plead guilty as charged but that mitigating circs would mean discharge (or similar). They wrote me a letter which I read to the Court. £5 fine and no costs. (This was in the 70s).
Nevertheless, I felt a bit miffed that I'd bothered to be honest enough to backdate the tax, and still ended up in Court...
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The DVLA computer threw up the fact that your car was untaxed and automatically generated the letter. These letters are generated six weeks before they go out so take no account of any action you may have taken in the meantime. As stated above, if you have paid all the duty owed you have nothing to worry about.
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Bogart
Those 9 days when the vehicle was untaxed and in use TECHNICALLY then you were committing an offence under the law. There is no days of grace as such. However DVLA can take NFA if licence is back dated but could prosecute should they so wish.
Think of it like Insurance. Apart from the Cover note you cannot use without and then pay back duty?
DVD
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I read in What Car? that after 1st Jan 2004 failure to licence a vehicle on time will result in an automatic £80 fine.
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Why can't they pick on real criminals? where tehy leave real victims?
Damn this anti-motorist government.
I was a bit late renewing mine (a few days) due to waiting for a cheque to clear and not being able to afford it, It makes me so angry!
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IIRC, isn't the position as follows;
Not taxing the vehicle is not actually an offence under the RTA. Not properly displaying a valid disc *is* an offence. Therefore, back dating it gets you out of some offences, such as no tax, but doesn't relieve you of failing to display.
Its the conflict between the two offences that causes issues.
As I say, IIRC, and I may not.
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