No SORN, No reminders, No V5C

Wig

IMHO the worst that could happen is that you are given a single "fail to declare SORN supplementary payment which would amount to £40 if you pay it early.

They can't charge backdated tax as it has not been on the road.
The only offence commited was a failure to make statutory declaration which is punishable by a supplementary charge of £80, £40 for early payment.

But as others have found out, DVLA seems to accept in these cases that it is genuine oversight and don't make the charge.

Whilst flutterby is correct that DVLA is supposed to only target those who deliberately avoid SORNing/taxing in practice they target everyone who in the normal course of events just forget to do it, or who do it but the DVLA loses their declaration.

Shoshannah

If this helps anyone, I forgot to declare SORN on a car, which then sat for a long period of time, and I was fined.

I purchased the car as a non-runner (no engine - being used as a donor shell for another vehicle) and it was trailered to my house in Jan 2008. I did not realise at the time that I had to declare SORN myself, because the previous owner had declared SORN and I thought it was continuous. I should have researched it at the time, I know.

Anyway, the car is still off road today and obviously has never been used on account of having no engine. Out of curiosity I was checking the DVLA database in late 2009 and realised that the car was 'unlicensed' - not good. I was in a similar position to those posters above, with no fines or reminders being sent by DVLA but the car apparantly gathering months of fines. Oh dear.

If the vehicle is unlicensed you cannot declare SORN online or by phone so I wrote a letter to the local DVLA Office asking to declare SORN for the vehicle. This was on the advice of the DVLA after a couple of phone calls.

I received a letter saying that SORN was now active, but I had a fine for about £100-150 (I can't remember exactly) for not declaring SORN and back payment of some tax. I wrote another letter apologising for the oversight but explaining that the car had never been on the road, and I sent some photos of the engine-less car to help my case although of course there is no real way I could prove for certain the car hadn't been used.

A few days later I received a phone call from the local office telling me that the fine was optional (????) and that 'probably nothing' would happen if I didn't pay it? So I didn't pay it, 18 months later the car is still SORN and nothing has happened.

SmokyJoe

I'm in a similar position to one of the posts above. I have two cars I want to scrap. Both are rusting heaps stored on private land, with seized wheels and grass growing out of them. Neither have been on the road since the road tax expired many years ago. I have the original log books, but not the replacements.

Car 1: never SORNed. First registered in 1972, road tax expired 1989. I guess this one is in the clear with SORN fines?

Car 2: I may have SORNED this once, a long time ago. It was registered in 1986, road tax expired 2002.

I've never received any reminders or fines, so I kept quiet. But when I scrap them and tell the DVLA, I expect they'll set the dogs on me, and fine me ££££

Is there a defence which the DVLA will accept? I've always assumed that "I forgot" was not a legal defence. Of course I've never taken the vehicles on the public road after the road tax expired. And they're not insured.

Every couple of weeks I get a flyer through the letter box from "Jim's Scrap Cars" or similar, offering to take them away for free. But I'm worried the number plates will end up on a car used in a ram-raid. or worse.

Any practical advice to help me scrap them painlessly will be most welcome - thanks in advance.

boyse7en

I don't think there is a "defence" as such.

I wrote a polite letter to them explaining the situation and got a polite response and no fine/back payment or anything.
Despite what you read on these forums, there are some real human beings working there, who apparently can make a judgement by themselves. It is a bit "pot luck" I guess, depending on who opens your letter. Otherwise, I think you are technically guilty of not declaring SORN and all you can do is pay the penalty.

LittleMissAspie

SmokyJoe wrote: »

Car 2: I may have SORNED this once, a long time ago. It was registered in 1986, road tax expired 2002.

I drove my tax-exempt car around for several years without a valid tax disc, because I didn't realise tax-exempt cars still had to have a disc and I never once got a reminder. Then it was off road for a couple of years and I never SORNed it and never got a reminder or a letter. To make matters worse, the car wasn't actually registered as tax-exempt even though it was made before 1972.

When I got it back on the road I went to a DVLA office to change the registration to tax-exempt and get a disc. I was terrified they were going to fine me £1000 but the guy looked at my form, said "been off road has it?", I said "yup!", and he just processed it and I got my disc in the post a while later and no fine! This was before the new rule about uninsured cars being SORN though.

So you could perhaps just apply for a tax disc like I did and see if you get lucky, although someone above says the fine is only £40??

ryan5454

I have a very similar situation to the first poster my bike came off the road in 2002 and never had a sorn, v5c or any other documentation. I called dvla today and the lady there explained that a new v5c would be sent in the post and that I should sorn or tax it as soon as the new document arrives nothing mentioned about the time its been unlicensed.. Well I hope its that simple. I will update once I've received the new doc and been to the post office to tax it.

hanover123

Hi all,

I have a similar problem and have not declared my vehicle SORN for about 10 years and I am not sure about how to sort the situation out.

In summary:

- the car was last taxed in 2003 and never declared SORN;

- in 2003 I took it to Italy (my cousin's a specialist mechanic & did some engine work on it for me). It's remained there ever since (I have family there & it's been stored in a garage to protect the bodywork);

- I have an old-style V5 registration document which is registered to my old UK address.

I now want to bring the car back to the UK and need to get my documentation in order to finally use it again. I don't mind paying £40/£80 as a non-SORN fine as I should've declared it all those years ago - it was just an oversight and I forgot.

The question is, will I be facing anything more hefty, or having to pay back road tax for the 10 years it was undeclared?

If anyone's SORN'd a car that's been undeclared for a long period of time, could they post what the DVLA's response or attitude was? And if there were any fines?

It's quite a complex situation but any help on the matter would be much appreciated!

Thanks

forgotmyname

10 years of SORN fines. yummy.

Or register it in someone elses name? Then transfer it back later?

Or tell them you lived in Italy for the last 10 years? You went for a 2 week holiday and sort of forgot about the time

The only issue i can see if what if they fined you and even took you to court back then? You didnt turn up and they won the case?

Did you still get letters from the old address? SORN fines etc?

ikhowell

Just contacted DVLA regard a motorcycle frame with no SORN notice that has been in the shed for many yrs,I bought it just before my divorce(wasn't aware at time this was the next move) and subsequently forgot about said frame. Have just been made redundant after 17 yrs and come across old V5,it has no engine number just frame number. I called DVLA to explain any help please I just get put through to the Fines payment dept!!