DVLA - No Valid Tax on Vehicle Kept on the Road

srisport

Hi All,

3 months ago i put my old car back on the road after some time being kept on a private driveway. It was previously SORN and so once i had taxed it online i just had to wait for the disc to arrive in the post. Now my understanding is that DVLA allow 5 working days for you to display a valid disc once you have purchased it online which would of been ok as my arrived 3 days later..... but on te 2nd day i was given a fixed penalty notice for not having a valid tax disc while parked on a public highway.

I quickly phoned DVLA who put me through to th appropiate department, i explained my circumstances and they told me as the car was taxed on the day the FPN was given that no further action would be taken.

and so we come to today when i recieve a letter through the post demanding for £171 in 10 days or a court hearing!
So i phone the department who take the payment and asked to speak to someone regarding advise and there answer was simple - they dont dispute over the phone and i had to fill in a form and post it back with my evidence and they have 4 weeks to get back to me!

anybody ever been in this position? i need help/advise?

regards

Mike

Rover_Driver

There are 14 days grace for the offence of failing to display a licence applied for on-line.


DVLA do not deal with the offence of failing to display, did you contact and explain the situation to who issued the fixed penalty?

specialboy

Let them take you to court, they don't ave a case against you.

Marvel1

Just to clarify the 14 days of not displaying:

I have not received the tax disc. Can I use the vehicle without the tax disc displayed?

When you apply for a tax disc online or by using DVLA's phone service you are able to legally continue to drive your vehicle for up to 14 days after the tax disc has expired while you wait for the new tax disc to arrive. This will only apply when you have applied for a new tax disc before the current one expires. You should continue to display the expired disc on your vehicle, until the new one arrives.

https://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/app/home/commonquestions#question9

srisport

Rover_Driver wrote: »

There are 14 days grace for the offence of failing to display a licence applied for on-line.


DVLA do not deal with the offence of failing to display, did you contact and explain the situation to who issued the fixed penalty?

What source did you get that answer from as im reading alot of conflicting articles online that state that 14 days is a myth and that actually it is 5 days.....

The FPN was issued by my local police constabulary but all it said was my local DVLA office has been notified of the offence of no valid tax on a car parked on the public highway.

the letter was sent from DVLA Enforcement Centre

Regards.

Mike

Joe_Horner

The problem is, as shown in cjdavies' quote above, the "grace" period only applies if you buy the new disk "before the current one expires".

In this case, the last one expired when the car was declared SORN so the grace period doesn't apply. It's unreasonable for the law to make that distinction (especially since there won't be any requirement to display anything in another few months) but that's how it is.

Rover_Driver

There was 5 working days grace for the offence of failing to display a licence - s.33 Vehicles Excise & Registration Act 1994, which was extended to 14 days by an amendment - s.188 Finance Act 2013.


Normal police procedure if they issue a FPN for failing to display a licence, to also notify DVLA who then take action if the vehicle is not licensed.

Rover_Driver

Joe_Horner wrote: »

In this case, the last one expired when the car was declared SORN so the grace period doesn't apply. It's unreasonable for the law to make that distinction (especially since there won't be any requirement to display anything in another few months) but that's how it is.

The 14 days grace also applies from when the application for a licence has been received for a vehicle that is subject to a SORN declaration.

Joe_Horner

Only if the tax is paid while the SORN is in force.

Only, if you buy tax part way through the month (backdated to the start) then the SORN becomes invalid from the date the tax started on (the beginning of the month) and the tax then wasn't paid before the SORN expired - even though it was still in force until you paid.

It's nuts, but it's how it is because the whole VED / SORN system won''t deal in part months and won't allow overlap between SORN and tax - which is also a problem for "occasional use" owners who might want to SORN for insurance without sending the tax back and just get day insurance when needed.

srisport

Rover_Driver wrote: »

The 14 days grace also applies from when the application for a licence has been received for a vehicle that is subject to a SORN declaration.

Thankyou to everyone who has replied

Rover Driver - have you a source I can quote from regarding the SORN - new tax application. Sorry to be a pain but I'm trying to get as much ammo as possible when fighting this case.

Kind Regards

Mike

Rover_Driver

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Only if the tax is paid while the SORN is in force.

Only, if you buy tax part way through the month (backdated to the start) then the SORN becomes invalid from the date the tax started on (the beginning of the month) and the tax then wasn't paid before the SORN expired - even though it was still in force until you paid.

Taking out a licence at any time when a vehicle is SORN cancels the declaration, and the 14 days grace starts when the application for the licence has been received.