Will i be prosecuted / fined for a V5C mixup?

fridgeracer

hello,

bought a car. had major mechanical fault that seller did not tell me of and was hundreds of miles away.

decided to tell other car seller local to me about it and he said he would take if off me for £200 and would scrap it. I did that deal and bought another car from this other seller local to me.

i explained that i did not yet have the V5C for the car i gave away for £200. he said, it's ok just hand it to me when you receive it. i agreed with him that i would pop it in his forecourt's letterbox and he would deal with it. meanwhile waiting for it i sent a letter to the DVLA explaining that i am no longer keeper / owner of the £200 scrapped car and put the details of the trader in charge of it at the time that i knew of, and told them to update their records.

many weeks later i receive it. i give it to him via letterbox. 1 week later receive another copy of the same V5C that i already gave to the trader. i ignored it and shredded it - i already gave the 1st V5C document to the trader and sent a letter about it to the DVLA - just assumed it was a mixup in the system and therefore mistakenly received 2 copies of the same V5C.

today i receive a letter from the police ticket office telling me i am being prosecuted for driving 47mph in a 30 zone on a road i have not even visited in around 1 year, and the reg is the car i gave away to be scrapped for £200 to the trader.

so, the DVLA clearly have messed up and their system thinks i still own that car, and the police are just looking at out of date messed up DVLA records and assuming it is me and thus sent me the letter.

where do i stand on this? i did the right thing and give the V5C in, and was told it would be scrapped - not sold on, and i sent DVLA a letter telling them i didnt get a V5C in over 3 weeks and to update their records with the correct keeper details.

so am i now ruined?

Buzby

Not enough info - did you correctly return the V5C notifying the sale? The dealer clearly did not scrap it, so you would have been given paperwork confirming that he would arrange legal recycling?

Did you get any letter from DVLA confirming that you were no longer the Registered Keeper? Only this will prevent you being accused - the extra V5C seems to support it was not scrapped, and the time you should query why you were still showing as the RK (and fully liable to keep it insured).

fridgeracer

i gave the dealer the V5C for the car he bought off me for 200 quid. he said he just needs to use it to fill in his yellow bit as a trader and send it off to the DVLA. that was that.

clearly he didnt do what he said he would do and i am now the one with the crappy letter from the police. i didnt get a notification from the DVLA as of yet that i am not the kepper anymore, but in the past with other car sales those notes never got to me any earlier than 2 or 3 months after the sale. it's now over 3 months since i gave him that car and the v5c, and telling the DVLA with my letter.

i sent them the letter according to their instructions on their website, to send them a letter telling them the new keeper details IF you sell the car and have not got / yet required the V5C.

bigjl

You are responsible for any fines and offences committed in the vehicle.

This is your fault as you posted the V5 and never informed the DVLA that you had sold the car.

This isn't the fault of the DVLA, you need to realise this dodgy trader has stitched you up.

You should have read the V5 correctly as they changed it recently.

You need to prove when you sold the car, either with bank statements showing the money being paid in.

You need to sort this out with the DVLA as you say you have done.

Then talk to all the person involved in the tickets, offences.

Give them the traders info'

This is going to get sticky I'm afraid.

Don't try and be indignant and try to point of pedantic details that you think mean you are in the clear.

There is a lot of small print on the new V5.

And info on their website is not going to save you.

When the V5 arrived you should have posted it off and only given the new keeper supplement to the dealer.

I assume you never sent off the sold to a trader section?

As that would have shown the vehicle "in trade" and you wouldn't be in this situation.

Approach all the tickets, offences one by one and make contact with all of them before it escalates.

The speeding offence is easy, just give the traders name, then it is his problem.

Parking tickets and moving traffic offences can be a bit more problematic as before you realise it the bailiffs are at the door.

fridgeracer

how is this my fault?

i signed and dated the yellow / trader bit of the form and delivered it to the trader i sold the car too. they then said they would also fill in the yellow bit and send it to the DVLA. every other car seller / trader that i have dealt with before has done the same thing.

i did tell the DVLA i dont own / keep the car anymore; i said i sent them the letter with every bit of the traders details as i was worried that the v5c was late in the post and i didnt get it for a while after i had given them the car, and they insructed me to do JUST that - send them a letter. i did that.

bigjl

Oh, the DVLA get out of jail free card is "did you receive a confirmation in writing that we had received your letter/V5"

Some suspect that the DVLA are making a lot of money due to "lost" V5's and letters.

Don't expect them to admit any liability.

Just look after number one and chalk it up to experience.

And getting a timed, dated, signed receipt when you sell a car even if for next to nothing.

Cars like yours end up in the hands of the more dishonest members of the trade who drive them for as long as possible.

Rover_Driver

how is this my fault?

The problem is that you gave the yellow part of the V5C (V5C/3) to the trader instead of sending it to DVLA.

The first line of the notes on the V5C/3 is "Do not give this section to the motor trader"

Although traders may say they will deal with it, some do and some don't - and cause exactly the problem you have found yourself in.

fridgeracer

seriously? i am going to either take the prosecution and pay up or go to jail because someone else either did not send a form, or someone in an office messed up and sent me 2 forms, and someone in an office didnt bother to read or acknowledge my letter?

well if that's the case, i`ll go hang myself - i've had enough

bigjl

fridgeracer wrote: »

how is this my fault?

i signed and dated the yellow / trader bit of the form and delivered it to the trader i sold the car too. they then said they would also fill in the yellow bit and send it to the DVLA. every other car seller / trader that i have dealt with before has done the same thing.

i did tell the DVLA i dont own / keep the car anymore; i said i sent them the letter with every bit of the traders details as i was worried that the v5c was late in the post and i didnt get it for a while after i had given them the car, and they insructed me to do JUST that - send them a letter. i did that.

Your first sentence is why it is your fault.

You signed it and gave it to the TRADER.

You are meant to send it to the DVLA yourself.

Read your new V5.

And if it is unclear get it explained to you as it is likely meant to be ambiguous.

The registered keeper is responsible for informing the DVLA, then if they don't receive notification of the transfer they are supposed to chase it up.

I am not saying this is fair.

But, gs this is your fault for not reading the V5 fully and trusting a dodgy trader.

Take it on the chin.

The issue here is you don't know what date he put on the V5 as he may have changed it, or removed his name completely and sold it to some dodgy mate that wants to drive for a few weeks speeding fine and parking fine free.

None of this can be changed now so accept the situation for what it is and try to minimise the consequences.

You are of the first to be in this situation.

Will not be the last.

And don't try and blame the DVLA as they will simply point at the small print that you didn't read.

You read the website.

Which is relevant but only a guide.

Take the advise as given, in good faith, or winge and moan about how your are being stitched up until the bailiffs turn up to clamp your new car.

Rover_Driver

fridgeracer wrote: »

seriously? i am going to either take the prosecution and pay up or go to jail because someone else either did not send a form, or someone in an office messed up and sent me 2 forms, and someone in an office didnt bother to read or acknowledge my letter?

well if that's the case, i`ll go hang myself - i've had enough

What have you received from the police? If it is a Notice of Intended Prosecution and a request for the details of the driver, return it with the details of the trader.

fridgeracer

Rover_Driver wrote: »

What have you received from the police? If it is a Notice of Intended Prosecution and a request for the details of the driver, return it with the details of the trader.

good news, turns out under all my post that flies through the door I have an acknowledgement notice from DVLA telling me i dont own / keep that car reg anymore.

so that means i am safe, right? that must mean they updated everything, why else would i have a notice telling me they "know" i dont own that car anymore or drive it?

im just baffled that the police sent me their prosecution letter even more now, because ive found this DVLA note. it must have something to do with that 2nd V5C that i shredded at the time.