DVLA Fine - What to do?

Rolandtheroadie

Traded in the wifes car once. Months later got the fine through. Sent a cheque and a cheeky letter saying they should state documents should be sent recorded if it was required and that I had no proof we sent it because of this. Also mentioned I was only paying because if I didnt i'd have to pay double what I could pay now.
They sent the cheque back uncashed.

Wig

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=89430

Wig

blue_haddock wrote: »

Right well i will disagree with all of the above posters and say that yes you can take on the DVLA and yes you can get them to admit they are in the wrong. I know because i have done it!

A couple of years ago now i did the same as you, sold a car and posted off the V5 and then forgot all about it until a few months later i received the tax reminder for the car. I sent them another letter stating i no longer owned the vehicle.

Fast forward another couple of months i get the fine through saying i hadn't taaxed the vehicle or declared it sorn. So i phone up the DVLA and explain it all to them and the customer service person says ok and notes everything down. A month or so later i get letters from a debt collection agency chasing the fine.

Now i'm starting to get angry! I know write to them yet again but this time i send it recorded delivery to ensure that it gets there. A couple of days later i check the royal mail track and trace and confirm they have received it. I still kept on receiving ever threatening letters from the debt collection agency so i tell them to speak to DVLA as i have informed them several times that i am no longer the owner of the vehicle.

I call the DVLA and talk to them and they say that a customer service rep on the phone would not update the details - well funny that they did when i called! Also they had not received any correspondance from me regarding the matter - well what about the recorded delivery letter which i know they have received?

I get the details from the DVLA about their complaints procedure and duly write in giving all the details of my correspondance including the trracking number for the recorded letter. I wrote that seeing as i had sent several letters including one i could prove they had had it wasn't down to the royal mail not delivering them but due to failures within their internal systems and therefore why should i be liable for the fine.

About a week letter i received a brief letter merely stating they will not be chasing the fine any further and then a week after that i get a letter from the head of their complaints department saying that they will look at how things are done and that they are sorry for the inconvenience etc.

So yes it can be done but i do believe that a less strong willed person may have caved in and paid it rather than fighting it. Now though anything i do that goes to the DVLA goes recorded.

You were lucky in that you had a clear evidence in your dealings with them that they mislaid one of your subsequent letters. If it happened again they might now have procedures in place to deal with recorded delivery items very differently.

duncan303

I try to make a point of visiting local DVLA offices when I can, reading this thread has justified my effort.

..

Oneday77

Well I bit the bullet and just paid it
With Christmas coming up and the closed days not to metion postal delays I wasn't worth the hassle. They can do Tax and sorn online so this should be available too. But a lesson learned I suppose, next time it will be worth teh 75p for recorded and 5 extra mins in the postal queue.
Thanks for th eadvice anyway peeps

Hintza

I took London Transport once over a £10 fine and that is when I realised that having principals is one thing but at the end of the day you have to decide whether the fight is worth it and you are willing to carry it through.

In most xases the simplest , least stressful route is just pay the fine (and swear a lot) but at least the pain is over fairly quickly.