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Go forth and notify

This is not the first time the subject of the DVLA and responsibility has been raised. On a non-motoring issue I had a discussion with the Royal Mail about a "missing" parcel. I was informed that by EU law that neither the sender nor the Royal Mail are responsible for the article once it has been sent and that it is the receiver’s responsibilty. I was incredulous about this but apparently it is so. So how can the DVLA possibly get away with its stance on this matter? Perhaps it needs a European Court ruling but that would require a concerted effort. One for the Daily Telegraph perhaps?

Asked on 5 December 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Actually, the only legal obligation is for the seller to “notify” the DVLA
of change of keepership. It is not his responsibility to check that the Post Office has done its job and that the DVLA has actually recorded the change of keepership. Cases where the DVLA had taken a seller to court for non-notification are being thrown out of magistrates courts where the magistrates believe the seller's testimony that he did post the V5C to the DVLA. The DVLA has no legal right to enforce rules to cover its own incompetence or failures of the post office.
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