dvla / sorn when ill?

firesidemaid

just had a great (not) conversation with the dvla re. reclaiming road tax already paid when unable to drive due to illness.

it seems that unless you apply in advance (ie. that you KNOW that you are going to be ill) then you are not entitled to any tax back even though the car is off-road.

i asked them 'what if you did not know you were going to be ill and couldn't drive for a long period of time?' the answer was that you should still do it in advance or asap. surely if you are so ill that you are unable to drive, the last thing on your mind is remembering to SORN your car?

there is also nothing helpful on the website re a minimum sorn time.

am i being over-thingy about this?:rolleyes:

richardw

Will they accept a Dr's Certificate?

firesidemaid

thanks for that. didn't get that far - the conservation was all too frustrating and one-sided!

you would have thought so - i doubt they would though as most people would prob have the docs certificate.

i don't want to ring up again:rolleyes: - i couldn't bear it and you can't contact them by email, only an 0870 number. i think there was an article on watchdog on how they make 3 04 million a year from phonecalls x

lisyloo

I would have thought it's reasonable to expect that if you aren't able to carry out any paperwork yourself that you get someone in to help you.
Do you have no friends, family coleagues, neighbours or relatives who would help you at all?

If any member of my close family was ill I'd make sure they had everything they needed.

firesidemaid

problem is this didn't even enter my head until someone just mentioned it to me as an afterthought - and now it is too late.

it's a shame that you can't backdate it with a doctor's note.

i have to say myself (and i think i'm very mse) and none of my friends, family or colleagues had even thought about this at all.

sturll

Times must be hard.

firesidemaid

every little helps;)

darrenbarker

I really can't see why the DVLA would let you do this, as just because you have been ill and couldn't drive your car it doesn't mean that someone else hasn't been driving your car on the road.

darrenbarker

firesidemaid wrote: »

there is also nothing helpful on the website re a minimum sorn time.

There is no minimum SORN time, though as you can only buy and get refunds for road tax for whole calendar months it's not worth SORNing a car for less than a month.

firesidemaid

that's true - i understand that.

but it has been sitting on the drive for nearly 2 months, no-one else in our household can drive, i am the reg keeper and the only one on the insurance.

it's difficult as it's just something i didn't think of in advance - it never occurred to me and obviously now i know it's too late!

i suppose what i am also trying to do is let others know if they or someone they know are potentially in the same position now or in the future.