Tale of woe and the DVLA

Jimme_2

Hello everyone,im new here and am in need of some advice regarding the DVLA.
Im not great at putting things into writing so please bear with me....

On the 2 February i purchased a motorcycle,it was taxed until the end of March 2014.
There was no insurance cover on the bike as the owner was recently deceased.
There was also no sorn in place as obviously there was no one to do it.
I took the bike home in a van and left it in the garage,to sorn it as soon as the log book came back in my name,as i had no intention of riding till April and the warmer weather.
On the 19th February the log book arrived and i dutifully sorned the bike online,i also sent the tax disc back to DVLA for the refund.
I got the refund back in a few weeks time no problem.
Yesterday 29th March i received a FINAL demand due to the said bike having no insurance cover on the 11th February.
Now first things first...i never received any other demand from the DVLA.

After checking the V5C the date they actually transfered the ownership was 12 february,so therefore on the 11th Feb(date of offence),the owner on there records was still the previous owner (deceased).
This makes me believe the original demand went to this previous owner.
Now secondly i sorned the bike as soon as i could,the day the V5C was delivered.(have the email comfirmation)
Theres is no other way i could sorn it.
There is form V890 that can be used by post,but this specifically states that it cannot be used if the vehicle is taxed(which it was).
and the tax disc must be surrendered and form V14 must be used instead.
However to surrender a tax disc the vehicle has to be registered in your name.
Therefore i had absolutely no way of sorning the vehicle until the V5C arrived in my name.
As you can see its a bit of a mess and through no fault of my own.
I probably have very little time to contest this as i never received the original demand.
To cap it all off,there is no telephone number to contest it,it has to be done by a list of pre printed reasons on the back of the demand letter that are very basic and don`t allow for mitigating circumstances and reasons.
Has anybody ever had anything like this or similar,should i protest my innocence to them somehow?.
Thanks for reading..

specialboy

You are just getting onto the roller coaster with the DVLA, sit back and expect loads more begging letters and threats off them because that is what is coming next. Call them and ask why they feel you are in the wrong and if no joy tell them to take you to court, they wont.

da_rule

What the DVLA recommends is that you submit the SORN application along with the transfer part of the V5. Look at the 'By Post' section of the 'Other Ways to Apply' section of this site: https://www.gov.uk/register-sorn-statutory-off-road-notification#other-ways-to-apply

Nodding_Donkey

If the date of the so called offence was 11th and and you weren't the registered keeper until the 12th then let them waste their time and money.

jumperjohn

Why oh why surrender the tax for the sake of one month? What was the refund, £5? Really should have kept it simple, keep the tax no problems, a lesson for others.

Jimme_2

Hi all,thanks for the replies.
Just to clarify a few points...
Jumperjohn,it wasn`t because of the tax,it was the no insurance.
The bike was not insured by the previous owner as he was deceased.
Hence why it probably was flagged in the first place.
I had insurance cover on a bike i use in winter and intented to transfer it to the new bike in April,therefore i had to sorn the bike.

Nodding Donkey,the bike was purchased on the 2nd February by me,but DVLA only changed the ownership records on the 12th...a day after the "offence" on the 11th.
Therefore the first warning letters all went to the previous owner,this first warning letter just warns you,it doesn`t fine you.
I obviously didn`t get this,just the final warning as by now they had updated there records.
Da rule..as the bike had tax that method by post is not possible,the form specifically states it cannot be used if there is tax on the vehicle and form V14 (tax disc surrender)must be used instead,however form V14 can only be used if your the registered keeper.
Looks like i have fell between the cracks here and even though there was absolutely no way i could have sorned the bike before i received the log book,the fact it wasn`t insured on the 11th will probably rule against me,despite the fact that i received no prior warnings through DVLA incompetence.
God knows what its going to be like later this year when the disc is abolished and the tax cannot be transfered to the new owner.

fivetide

jumperjohn wrote: »

Why oh why surrender the tax for the sake of one month? What was the refund, £5? Really should have kept it simple, keep the tax no problems, a lesson for others.

OP is spot on and this is very wrong.

Any taxed vehicle has to be insured. That's why he's getting the letters now about the fact the bike was taxed but also, not insured.

The lesson for others is that the DVLA couldn't find their backside with both hands and a map.

[Deleted User]

If you purchased the bike on the 2nd February then that is the date you also became the registered keeper. As that would have been the date put down on the old V5C either by you or the seller. 11th Feb is just the date the DVLA received/processed the application.

Jimme_2

Sent a letter to them explaining the situation.
Also criticising there procedure of how the first letters could be sent to one person then the final demand sent to another,with hardly any options for mitigation.
If this was the banks or energy firms the govt would be fining them.
Made my decision to fight now as there is a great injustice here.

Jimme_2

Well got a reply today from the DVLA.....

No further action will be taken..
RESULT.. and glad to see common sense prevail.
No apology though...
Many thanks to all who replied and i hope this thread serves a purpose for any one else who finds themselves in this situation...

Jim