Unfair impounded case

sarafox

Hello, I need a bit of help and advice...
I bought a second hand car in sept. 2008 (privately) when we were negotiating with the girl she didn't wont to go down too much with the price because she was selling with road tax.
The disk was there and would have expired in November 30 2008.
Now November 17 my car was taken away , and when I went to collect I was told that wasn’t covered by road tax. (i was having a bit of family problem so I didn't really go on with this , I just paid and got my car back) now after a month I got an out of court letter, saying that the car was not cover with road tax for 6 months or more and that to settle the problem I had to pay £100 extra.
That was impossible because I had the car for just about 2 months and 1/2. I wrote DVLA a letter proving when I bought the car and proving that the car did have a disk. I tried to contact the person that I bought the car from and she was saying that she never got refund for that disk that the car was cover with road tax for the whole time.
I tried to get refund for this ( the money I paid to the impounding place) , and dvla forwarded my details to the local authority ,then they wrote me back saying that I cant get refund that was my responsibility .
So this person has been driving around before I bought the car form her without a valid disk , she made a full out of me and I have to pay for her dishonesty? How far can I go with this what can I do? I really think is really unfair and I really didn’t know that a person can get refund from DVLa without sanding the disk back. (spoke with dvla and they told me that if a person saying to have lost the disk and ask for refund has to sign a particular form. so if the previous owner did that and I have the prove that she lied , she didn’t loose the disk, shouldn't be her the one to be prosecuted and not me?) Thanks a lot

Hintza

To clarify you bought a car with a valid road tax disc. It then transpires that she had claimed disc was lost and received a refund?

I suspect that your only recourse will be via the small claims court. You will need to contact the seller giving them the opportunity to resolve the issue normally via Special Delivery letter but you will need to know that they still reside at the address you have.

This is going to be hassle so decide before you start whether you are going to follow through with the case.

Edit:- Are you sure the impound and £100 fine was for the tax?

thescouselander

At the end of the day you are responsible for ensuring the car is taxed so you'll have to pay the fine etc.

But, since you were mislead be the car seller and this made you think you were taxed you might have a case to reclaim the money from them via the small claims court. This process can be started on-line and costs about £30. Have a look here:

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp

You might also want to consider reporting this to the police.

sarafox

hello Hintza,
it appears that the seller bought a tax disk in June and got refund in July, ( I bought it in sept.) to get the refund she claim to dvla that she lost it so she didn’t have to give the disk back.
The impound and the £100 fine was for the tax
I contacted the seller, and keep saying that she NEVER got a refund for the disk. (this was my first time ever I bought a car since I live here in uk , and she looked such dissent person , even on the ad she wrote that the car was coming with a tax disk, and I never thought DVLA would allowed a refund without giving the disk back) thanks

thescouselander

At the end of the day you are responsible for ensuring the car is taxed so you are responsible for paying the fine etc.

But, as already said since you were mislead be the car seller and this made you think you were taxed you might have a case to reclaim the money from them via the small claims court. This process can be started on-line and costs about £30. Have a look here:

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp

You might also want to consider reporting this to the police.

MX5huggy

Sarafox did you fill get and send the V5c (log book) to the DVLA to say you are the registered keeper?

MX5huggy

It does raise the question of how do you check a Tax disk is valid I would never question one on a car.

sarafox

yes I did fill and send the V5c to the DVLA to say you are the registered keeper

sarafox

that is what happened , the disk was there i could I ever think or question if that was valid, I did pay to do other checks online , like if the car was stolen or was in accidents, if I knew somethignliek that was possible i would have cheked, not doubt

MX5huggy

All seems a bit of a mess, and your OP is not really that clear, Who is claiming the £100? was it the DVLA or the Local Authority that impounded your car?

Dave101t

you can check car tax online, however with having a disc, i would use this as proof of her deception (it is deception and car fraud) and go through the small claims court. you will get all the money you have paid out in fines, and maybe a little something extra for your trouble! pursue it!

oh, and never buy from a woman!