dvla late licensing penalty

hairybeanbag

hi new to the forum
just need a bit of advice where i stand in this issue

here goes

i bought a transit van back in january
tax ran out on end of jan 11
it was sitting on my driveway i was going to tax it and mot it until i noticed that it was a bit of a rotbox lol
anyways put on ebay for sapres or repairs on 21st feb
someone bought it (a trader) on the 24th
i was at work and he had sent a driver to pick it up with trade plates my misses gave him the v5 signed and he said he would post it and sort the paperwork as his boss delt with that side of things

thought that was it ...
until last week recieved a leter from dvla saying that i had to pay a fine for not road taxing the vehicle
i wrote back to them stating that i sold the vehicle to a trader and gave his details

now i have a letter saying
dear mr .......
thank you for your recent leter concering the late licensing penalty imposed upon your failing to relicense your vehicle as required

the keeper details you have provided will be used to update our records and an acknowlegement letter should be sent to you within the next 4 weeks. if you do not recieve this letter phone 0300 7906802
although you may no longer be the owner of this vehicle we did not receive notification that the vehicle had been sold. As registered keeper of the vehicle your are legally responsible for licensing your vehicle and notifying that the vehicle is no longer in your possession(2). its not a vaild defence to claim that you used a motor trader or other third party to notify the department of disposal.

on the information before us, you are sill liable for the £80.00 penaalty. Only payments recieved by FRD are at the reduced rate of £40.00

please pay this penalty .....bla bla lol

where do i stand in this or should i just pay the fine ?

[Deleted User]

The DVLA have to prove that you didn't send it. You don't need to prove that you sent it.

hairybeanbag

in the letter i sent to them i stated that the trader had took the form and said he would send it on
should i recontact them stating that i found out my misses had posted it away and they should have recieved it or just ignore the letter and wait and see what happens ?

s_b

You dont make clear what your wife gave to trader
i assume you had complete v5 yes?
wife should have given trader all v5 but top right hand section signed and dated by trader and YOU should have posted this to dvla (i always recommend this is sent recorded and you scan a copy of it beforehand)
If wife gave complete v5 to trader and trusted him then i am afraid an offence was committed and you could be liable for this vehicle for eternity,as it turns out if this was the case, this trader fortunately just did a few blaggings in your old van then registered it
if so you is lucky

i therefore suggest to yourself and anyone else reading this thread that you MUST read all the bits on your v5 logbook and never ever trust anyone else to do the paperwork guv (saves time see )it will bite you, because they will lie to you and do the dirty,seen it so many times

hairybeanbag

i know i dont know to try contacting the trader giving him an earfull and try and get out of this situation or just pay the fine and move on
i know i did the wrong thing by not getting the traders driver to sign the form and send it away but it will be a lesson learned

Wig

As you have told DVLA that you basically did not send the V5 or any other notification to them, you have shot yourself in the foot.

You could try to blag it by saying that you did send a written notice in the form of a letter (which would be an acceptable alternative to the V5) and it's not your fault they did not process it correctly.

But if they keep your original letter and present it as evidence in court, the judge may look very dimly on your attempt to cover up your mistake - not to mention possible perjury.

Pay up.