Debt collector for fine on car we dont own | Legal matters | Back Room Forum

Fri 1 May 2009 16:36

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - sarah76

Hi All

Can anyone help as im not sure where i stand with this

My hubby owned a car before we got together approx 4 yrs ago, he never owned it when i met him and we have owned several vehicles since we have been together. The car in question has been insured by another or other drivers since he sold it. and he says that he sent off the dvla paperwork when he sold it. We are now being chased by debtors for a non tax fine issued by the preston office - we live in the south ??? The dvla are saying thst they had no notification of the change of owner and my hubby moved shortly after selling it so did not recieve the confirmation letter. Our address has 2 other vehicals registered in his name, but it has taken them over 4 yrs to send us this letter. I have written to the dvla for further investigation about this as they advised and also to the debt company to advise them of this and they still are saying they want immediate payment from us.

Can anyone help as i dont see why we should pay for a car that we dont own when we did it all right and this debt agency are adimant they are not going to back off

Thanks
Sarah

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Fri 1 May 2009 16:39

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - oldnotbold

" We are now being chased by debtors for a non tax fine issued by the preston office - we live in the south ?"

Preston office covers England for non-taxed vehicles, I think you'll find, regardless of where you live.

Edited by oldnotbold on 01/05/2009 at 16:39

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Fri 1 May 2009 16:43

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - sarah76

ah ok i didnt realise that, but it still doesnt change the fact blood sucking debt collectors are being heavy handed ovr something we are trying to resolve with the dvla

thanks for reply

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Fri 1 May 2009 16:43

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - bell boy

Is the car still registered to your husband at the dvla then under the failure to notify rules?

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Fri 1 May 2009 16:46

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - sarah76

i dont know all we had is a letter from this debt agency saying that we had been ignoring contact with them, although we have never had any letters from them with regards to this and as i said our address isnt a secret we have 2 vehicles taxed and insured registered at our address in his name

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Fri 1 May 2009 16:53

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - bell boy

i would ask dvla and confirm i wasnt the keeper anymore
and then see how much the debt is and consider paying it as unfortunately under the new rules its up to the registered keeper to keep them the dvla informed of new keepers
my local paper is full of £200 fines for such things every week
its a lesson for anyone to not treat a change of keeper as a mere inconveniance anymore unfortunately
let us know what the dvla say phone them now and ask,they will tell you if you ask in the right tone,or ask to speak to a supervisor

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Fri 1 May 2009 16:59

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - BrianW

The only way to be sure that you are in the clear from the DVLA when you sell or scrap a vehicle is to have the letter from them saying that you are no longer the registered keeper in your possession.

The DVLA will doubtless claim that they did not receive your hubby's notification of sale and you will need them to admit either:
That it was registered to others in the interim
or
They have given the debt collectors out of date information

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Fri 1 May 2009 16:52

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - oilrag

"hubby moved shortly after selling it so did not recieve the confirmation letter."

It would have triggered alarm bells with me - didn`t he get his mail re-directed? I notice its you having to sort it too...

Good luck with it anyway Sarah

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Fri 1 May 2009 17:07

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - jbif

Can anyone help as i dont see why we should pay for a car that we dont own >>

Some questions first:

My hubby owned a car before we got together approx 4 yrs ago, he never owned it when i met him >>

1. Are you saying he sold it more than four years ago?

my hubby moved shortly after selling it >>

2. How did the debt agency link that car to your hubby at his present address?

The car in question has been insured by another or other drivers since he sold it. >>

3. Questions to ask DVLA: Who has been taxing it since?
The DVLA/Police ANPR and MIB/MID database should be able to tie it to the current/previous insured driver.

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Fri 1 May 2009 17:31

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - sarah76

Hi

Yes these are answers i would like i have just spoken to this debt agency who wont put it on hold untill we can get a reply from the dvla as we all know that the dvla takes forever and a day to do anything

Yes it was sold over 4 yrs ago, the agency wont tell me how they found our present address apprently "its what they do" although as i have said we arnt hiding we have other cars registered at our current address and i havent a clue who has been taxing it since but it was insured up until march last year i checked on askmid. It now is currently not taxed or insured, so now concerned that if some pink fluffy dice is driving it around we will get done for that as well.

When we recieved inital letter 2 weeks ago we phoned and sent letters to dvla stating that we were not owners etc and according to the debt agency he still is the registered keeper today.

These agencies dont take into account that they only people the harass are the honest people that call them and want to sort these things out. the moment we got the letter hubby called them and tried to sort it out.

The people who dont tax their cars and run up debts and dont pay them just dont answer the letters and get away with it.

Dont get me wrong, he made the mistake of not chasing it up when he moved but its so frustrating that the agency aarnt even willng to be the slightest bit helpfull and its money that we dont have right now.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 01/05/2009 at 19:25

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Fri 1 May 2009 17:37

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - v8man

Can you get askmid to verify that someone else has been insuring it? Obviously they won't tell you who because of the Data Protection Act.

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Fri 1 May 2009 18:04

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - bell boy

I suggest you see a solicitor who is conversant in motoring law to minimise any further problems this car is going to cause you,because this is only the start of the bad news im afraid.
We as the public now have to do all the duties that the dvla once did,we are their policeman and by registering a car at swansea we agree to abide by their rules.
It frightens me weekly that im going to get fined for something done wrong in error

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Fri 1 May 2009 18:12

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - rtj70

the dvla as we all know that the dvla takes forever and a day to do anything

Well from many peoples experience on here the DVLA are very effective and efficient these days. Get him on the phone to them ASAP - it will need to be him.

Failing that, do you live near a DVLA regional office? Could he drop in to sort this out in person. He did send in the notification of change of ownership slip himself 4 years ago didn't he? If he didn't and the new owner didn't then he could still be the current registered keeper.

Best of luck.

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Fri 1 May 2009 18:12

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - jbif

i havent a clue who has been taxing it >>

The reason I asked that question was that the tax renewal reminders will have been going to the registered keeper. To tax the car you can either

with reminder:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowTo...7

or without reminder
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowTo...0

or do it online
www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/

The keeper therefore has to declare their address at each renewal.

Edited by jbif on 01/05/2009 at 18:15

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Fri 1 May 2009 18:24

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - mrsarcasm

In the first instance you need to actually speak to someone about getting the debt collectors off your back, talk to someone like Comunity Legal Advice on 0845 345 4 345. The advice given in this thread so far is largely far from useful.

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Fri 1 May 2009 18:58

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - Armitage Shanks {p}

Or use this link to contact Community Legal advice and request them to phone you.

www.clsdirect.org.uk/en/about/callback.jsp

Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 01/05/2009 at 19:01

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Fri 1 May 2009 20:51

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - b308

From what you've said it does sound as if your other half is still the registered keeper... phone the DVLA!

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Sat 2 May 2009 09:01

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - L'escargot

blood sucking

debt collectors are being heavy handed ..........

These agencies dont take into account that they only people the harass are the honest

people that call them and want to sort these things out. the moment we got

the letter hubby called them and tried to sort it out.

The debt collectors are just doing what they've been legally instructed to do. It's just a job to them. It's not their fault. If you can't sort it with DVLA then no doubt the debt collectors will continue to press for payment of the fine. I suggest that a phone call to DVLA would be more productive than letters. Concentrate all your efforts on the DVLA.

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Sat 2 May 2009 13:01

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - adverse camber

Is there a ccj? If the collectors are pushing when there is no court judgement I would write to them explaining that you dispute the debt and will regard any further contact as harasment and take legal action.

Go read up on debt collection somewhere like martin lewis's moneysaver site.

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Fri 1 May 2009 21:48

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - barney100

Next time I send paperwork to the dvla I will use recorded delivery. Sometimes the post dosen't make it so you need to cover yourself.

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Fri 1 May 2009 21:59

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - BobbyG

Don't need to use recorded delivery - just make sure you remember to check whether you received an acknowledgement from them and if not give them a call.

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Fri 1 May 2009 22:05

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - oilrag

It might help to know what was said to DVLA and what they said back. I had a telephone conversation with them a while back and found them very efficient.

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Sat 2 May 2009 13:25

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - maz64

Don't need to use recorded delivery

But if it does get lost, isn't it a good idea to at least have proof of posting?

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Sat 2 May 2009 13:38

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - henry k

>> Don't need to use recorded delivery

>>But if it does get lost isn't it a good idea to at least have proof of posting?
>>
I scrapped my last car and sent of the docs by normal post to the DVLA ( I kept a photo copy).
I was not aware of the follow up check if docs get lost.
A fine arrived in the post. I called them and explained that I had sent docs.
They were most friendly and helpful on the phone. I sent then the photocopies and all was resolved and sorted free of charge.

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Sat 2 May 2009 13:57

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - Pugugly

What I'm not clear on is how they traced the OP's partner to another geographic region.....

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Sat 2 May 2009 17:12

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - jbif

What I'm not clear on is how they traced the OP's partner to another geographic region..... >>

Debt collectors have "ways and means" [legal or otherwise] to access databases!

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Sat 2 May 2009 17:29

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - csgmart

Debt collectors have "ways and means" [legal or otherwise] to access databases!

All perfectly legal - see www.tracesmart.co.uk - there are several other companies that debt collectors and private detectives etc use too.

In my line of work you will be surprised what information I can get my hands on - all legally too.

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Sat 2 May 2009 17:26

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - L'escargot

What I'm not clear on is how they traced the OP's partner to another geographic

region.....

I don't know how they do it but it must be fairly easy when you know how. Every year I get a letter and magazine from the university I attended from 1957 - 1960. I never reply so they don't get my latest address from me. Including rented accomodation in my 20s and 30s I've moved house literally dozens of times since leaving university, and every year they track me down. Spooky.

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Sat 2 May 2009 17:31

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - csgmart

I don't know how they do it but it must be fairly easy when you

know how. Every year I get a letter and magazine from the university I attended

from 1957 - 1960. I never reply so they don't get my latest address from

me. Including rented accomodation in my 20s and 30s I've moved house literally dozens of

times since leaving university and every year they track me down. Spooky.

Not that spooky if you know who to ask and where to get it.

Do you ever get your post redirected? If so the Royal Mail will sell that information on to companies to update their databases and records. Other means of doing this too.

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Sat 2 May 2009 15:53

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - Armitage Shanks {p}

In the latest stats I can find Royal Mail admitted to losing 16 million items in 2005, down from 28 million in 2004. I hope the trend has continued but I bet the losses are still in millions. That said the success rate is over 99% and you don't get that in hospitals or a lot of other services.!

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Sat 2 May 2009 16:33

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - b308

But if it does get lost isn't it a good idea to at least have

proof of posting?

Yes, but you can get that just by sending it normal post via a Post Office and asking for a receipt.

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Fri 19 Jul 2019 00:36

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - Miniman777

Yep, I use recorded delivery too, and If no reply, I chase it, not leave to chance.

Edited by Miniman777 on 19/07/2019 at 00:38

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 10:25

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - alex.mercado

This helped me in my issue on debt collectors (Spam link deleted)

Do not trust right away to debt collectors and never admit who you are and do not give information to them because there are too many debt collector scam companies out there looking for vulnerability.

Edited by Avant on 18/07/2019 at 16:16

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Thu 18 Jul 2019 16:11

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - FP

A familiar story: a ten-year-old thread resurrected for the sole purpose of planting spam.

There are people looking for vulnerability, are there? Goodness me!

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Fri 19 Jul 2019 20:14

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - jc2

I don't understand-if you're shown as the owner,you must have been getting tax reminders for the last four years

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Sat 20 Jul 2019 12:30

Debt collector for fine on car we dont own - Bromptonaut

I don't understand-if you're shown as the owner,you must have been getting tax reminders for the last four years

Academic now as this thread is ancient but the reminders would be going to OP's husband's old address. Suspect debt collector would have visited that address first, assured themselves that the 'debtor' was gone away and then attempted to trace him to current address.

First question for people getting surprise visit from Bailiffs is to ask if car is registered to them at current address.

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