DVLA Fine SORN

Sirdan

mike1983 wrote: »

Thank you very much for the feedback, I did try Pepipoo and they seemed to be of the same opinion.

I didnt realise that the DVLA would actually have a record of all BOOKED MOT tests even if one wasnt actually taken?! That seems like quite a sophisticated system

I'm sure they don't. However if you go down this line of "well there was a booked MOT but it never happened" the DVLA will be asking lots of questions of yourself and the garage.
I don't think they are going to accept your word for it .

If you don't pay based on this defence I would fully expect them to prosecute you. They only have to prove the car was on the road and not taxed , whereas you are going to have to prove to a court that there was an MOT booked ..can you do that ..will the garage be prepared to state this in the witness box on oath ?
As this is a statutory offence not a contractual dispute there is every chance the DVLA would persue it all the way to court on principal regardless of the costs involved.

mike1983_2

Sirdan wrote: »

I'm sure they don't. However if you go down this line of "well there was a booked MOT but it never happened" the DVLA will be asking lots of questions of yourself and the garage.
I don't think they are going to accept your word for it .

If you don't pay based on this defence I would fully expect them to prosecute you. They only have to prove the car was on the road and not taxed , whereas you are going to have to prove to a court that there was an MOT booked ..can you do that ..will the garage be prepared to state this in the witness box on oath ?
As this is a statutory offence not a contractual dispute there is every chance the DVLA would persue it all the way to court on principal regardless of the costs involved.

Wow, I didnt realise it would get that serious. Thanks for the great advice

peter_the_piper

Going back to the start.
OP sorns car.
OP gets car to garage.
Garage presumably tries to mot car.(Can't see how else they knew about change in parking place.)
DVLA flag sorn and different name.
Surely its up to the DVLA to prove he drove it not him to prove he did not.

Sirdan

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Going back to the start.
OP sorns car.
OP gets car to garage.
Garage presumably tries to mot car.(Can't see how else they knew about change in parking place.)
DVLA flag sorn and different name.
Surely its up to the DVLA to prove he drove it not him to prove he did not.

Yes that is the crux of this matter ..how did the DVLA get to know the car was on the road ?
Maybe the DVLA got smart and sneaky and noting the SORN they asked the new keeper i.e. the garage how they accquired the vehicle and the garage decided it was best to tell the truth ..i.e. it was driven here by the previous keeper...
I'm not sure they need to prove who was driving it though,just that it was driven on the road...does the person who declared SORN not have liability even if they are not driving???

At the end of the day only the OP knows if there was really an MOT booked ..he has not made a clear statement either way on this ...that leads me to my own conclusion ..although of course I can't prove it.

My original advice stands ..if the DVLA beleive they have evidence the vehicle was driven on the road they may pursue this ..and the OP will need to evidence as fact a booked MOT..i suspect he may have some difficulty doing this ?

Also it has to be a PRE booked MOT test ..if you are selling your car to the garage why would you pre book an MOT..if the garage are prepared to buy the car without it having a MOT ,then they will put it through the test as and when they choose (if they need to) ..YOU won't need to make a pre booked appointment.

Tigsteroonie

I personally would write to the DVLA and ask for their evidence that the car was on the road on that day. As others have said, it could have been carried by trailer to the garage.

Paradigm

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Going back to the start.
OP sorns car.
OP gets car to garage.
Garage presumably tries to mot car.(Can't see how else they knew about change in parking place.)
DVLA flag sorn and different name.
Surely its up to the DVLA to prove he drove it not him to prove he did not.

Unless the car was seen on the road while SORN I find it hard to see how the DVLA can prove anything? After all the garage could have moved it using trade plates... if they have them?

esmerobbo

mike1983 wrote: »

Thank you very much for the feedback, I did try Pepipoo and they seemed to be of the same opinion.

I didnt realise that the DVLA would actually have a record of all BOOKED MOT tests even if one wasnt actually taken?! That seems like quite a sophisticated system

They don't have a record of "booked tests" but they would know if it had been tested because the results are put on the DVLA MOT database.

To stop us guessing do you know how the DVLA knew the car was used on the road?


Ooops! http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=59293 Mike1983 I know it seems unfair but don't even think about going down them lines! You don't want to be the next Jeffrey Archer!

peter_the_piper

Whilst that should be the end of the story. I would still like the op to advise how dvla knew of the vehicle movement, for future info.

mike1983_2

Thank you all for your helpful comments.

I have decided to pay this fine anyway even though I think it is very unjust, but let me be completely honest with you all and explain what happened:

The incident occurred on the Monday, when I drove the car off my driveway for a few metres only on my own road to check it was still working properly as I wanted to sell it (which I did on the Friday). Since it had a flat tyre I turned around immediately and stuck it back on my driveway. So I did not ever leave the road I live on, which is which I find it extremely strange that the DVLA picked me up for driving it. Maybe its possible they have some sort of camera or device on my road? Its a reasonably big road so I guess its not completely out of the question.

Having been so angry at receiving this letter my immediate reaction was to try and find a way out of paying this fine (yes very wrong I know but I was really really angry because I am a law abiding citizen and I know so many people that do much much worse with their cars and all I did was move it a couple of metres on my own road to see it if worked before I sold it). Anyway I was investigating this 'pre booked MOT' idea, and wondered whether, if I could just get my local garage to vouch for me that I had an appointment for an MOT on the monday but did not turn up (since my tyre was flat) then whether the DVLA would have a record of pre booked MOTs or whether I could get away with it. As was suggested it is unlikely that the DVLA will have a record of pre booked MOTs but then they might take me to court which all sounds like a nightmare (even though I know for a fact I could get my local garage to vouch for me just that I had an appointment booked but didnt turn up).

I wish I could just be honest with them and tell them that the car only moved a couple of metres but I know that they would just laugh at me and tell me to pay the fine. As you can imagine these things are very frustrating so I aplogise if I have offended anyone.

Thank you all again for your helpful comments.

peter_the_piper

Actually, to me this is even more worrying than before. There have been a few cases similar to this recently where the poster has just driven onto the road and back again in a quiet cul-de-sac or similar. Either the dvla have millions of anpr cameras down every road or something else is going on. I can't believe that they are just cruising around looking for untaxed cars.