Paid DVLA fee for clamp, now got a letter for separate fine

katie84

forgotmyname wrote: »

Might want to make sure your story is straight. You drove an untaxed vehicle back ....oops...

Oops, indeed. As I say, we genuinely thought the van was taxed when we drove down. It was advertised as such. It was stupid of us to drive back, but it would have been a wasted 4hr round trip. Which would've actually been the better option, as we've been left out of pocket with this whole thing.

As I say though, we could argue that we bought the van as taxed, and were awaiting the disk?

giraffe69

You seem to think there are 31 days in September each year. I'd resolve that part of the story before going on.

mad_rich

katie84 wrote: »

I've just thought, I have the ebay listing for the van with the tax date until 31/09/2014. Could I not argue (lie) that we drove back the vehicle as taxed, and only realised later that there was no disk? If we hadn't asked the salesman, we would never have known the van wasn't taxed. For all anyone knows, we could have been waiting for the dealership to send us the tax disk. Then we are only liable for not displaying a tax disk. I know it's lying, but we can't keep losing money.

Don't do this. This things have a way of coming back to haunt you.

You say 'dealership'. I would give the DVLA details of this dealership. If they are routinely advertising vehicles as taxed when they aren't, there's a fair chance that they are driving the odd one untaxed and without trade plates. Trading Standards may also be interested.

Also note that there are only 30 days in September. Not sure that helps you, but it caught my eye.

londonTiger

lots of ebay sellers just hit the relist button if they don't sell. Many listings roll over again and again and couple of times before selling. could have been an honest mistake. Sounds plausable if they stated tax disc expires on x.

mad_rich

giraffe69 wrote: »

You seem to think there are 31 days in September each year. I'd resolve that part of the story before going on.

I read it as the dealership coming up with the 31 September date (in their fictional advert), not the OP.

katie84

mad_rich wrote: »

If that was a typo, I'll eat my hat. When did you buy the van from the owner in Somerset?

Assuming it was 6 December, it seems you have been lured in with a false promise of tax. No normal human being advertises a SORN'd car by telling you when the old tax disc expired! Check what else they've stitched you up on.

As to your original question - the clamp, and release fee wasn't your penalty. It was just a method of immobilising the car while they decide how to penalise you. Sounds harsh, but that's the situation. I would imagine you'd be liable to backdated tax from when you became the registered keeper.

Rich, we bought the van on the 6th December. That's when we drove down. It came up in conversation when we were signing the documents, that the van was SORN. We told them the listing said taxed until September 2014, so he said it was a typo and he discounted £100.

As for what else they have stitched us up on, the van was advertised as having full service history. Over a month later, and they're still "going to send it first class today". Oh, and the alternator died after a couple of weeks, which was an extra £185.

We never became the registered keeper, in the sense of having the logbook in our name, as we only completer the motor trader yellow slip. But the car is in our name as being the owners/having bought it.

katie84

giraffe69 wrote: »

You seem to think there are 31 days in September each year. I'd resolve that part of the story before going on.

Oh...yeah. That too. Though the listing does say "Tax: 31/09/2014", that should have been the first give away, though not an excuse to turn my brain off.

Quentin

You sure you are a motor trader?

How could you make so many "mistakes" on one purchase when you are in the trade?

katie84

mad_rich wrote: »

Don't do this. This things have a way of coming back to haunt you.

You say 'dealership'. I would give the DVLA details of this dealership. If they are routinely advertising vehicles as taxed when they aren't, there's a fair chance that they are driving the odd one untaxed and without trade plates. Trading Standards may also be interested.

Also note that there are only 30 days in September. Not sure that helps you, but it caught my eye.

Thanks Rich. Yes, it was a showroom when we went, they sell commercial vehicles.

katie84

Quentin wrote: »

You sure you are a motor trader?

How could you make so many "mistakes" on one purchase when you are in the trade?

What mistakes do you mean? Going to buy a van advertised as taxed until the end of September 2014, to then be told it was a typo?
Buying a van advertised as having FSH, and then being promised during over 10 calls, that the booklet would be forwarded to us?
Or having a van sit for a few days during winter and have the battery and alternator die?

Unless I make "mistakes", because I enjoy being out of pocket.