SORN declaration and VED Disc refund

4rchibald

I have purchased a car last year and decided to declare it SORN, which was done on line.
After few months we decided to put it back on the road and then I realised that the tax was valid for about 4 months after the car was declared SORN (declaration in Nov, tax until April).
The refund form was filled, but I decided to call DVLA first and was told that since the disc has "run out" they won;t be refunding ANY money. I made a formal complaint and got a letter stating that refund is calculated from surrender of the disc and SORN has nothing to do with it. It also doesn't confirm that the car was not used on the road ("The vehicle concerned can legally be used as long as tax disc is in existence but whether it is actually used or not is irrelevant").
I always thought that SORN declaration is a statement that the car will be kept off the public road and is a proof that since date of declaration the Road Tax is NOT valid.
This is even more frustrating because I was later almost forced to purchase new tax disc where the previous one was less than a month old! To explain - I MOTed and insured (temporarily) the car in May, bought a tax disc to test it car when selling my old one. two weeks later my old car didn't sell and since the temporary insurance run out I decided to SORN new car again. About 1.5 week later I sold my old car to a friend. DVLA then told me that I can't use the tax disc I have and I had to return it and pay for a new one. It was only after discussion with a manager they agreed to reinstate the car off SORN and make disc valid again, but I was liable for "lack of insurance" between date when it run out and when I insured it (about a week).

In addition, I don't remember any information about requirement to return Tax Disc the same day when SORN is declared to avoid loosing money and I still can't find any clear instruction that money will be lost if this piece of paper is not returned (like it would be used for something).
I find this situation bit unfair, because the disc behind the windscreen is not used to confirm payment (ANPRs and Police use the database) and it will not be issued any more from October this way, therefore a notification to DVLA is for me more important than returning a piece of paper...unless this is intentional to not be able to refund money.

I can understand that for some it's a rule of thumb to return disc immediately but I don't have experience in this and I was expecting that https://www.gov.uk will be clearer.

This is not to ask how I can get a refund as I don;t believe I will, and not to moan about it (maybe a little as I feel that GOV is taking my money for something they are not entitled to) but to warn anyone wanting to declare SORN and still get a refund on their VED.

specialboy

The rules are straight forward, you must return the disc for a refund and it is calculated from the date you post it so if you posted it on the 1st of the month you will lose that month as only full months are refundable.

4rchibald

4rchibald wrote: »

...
I can understand that for some it's a rule of thumb to return disc immediately but I don't have experience in this and I was expecting that https://www.gov.uk will be clearer. .

specialboy wrote: »

The rules are straight forward, you must return the disc for a refund and it is calculated from the date you post it so if you posted it on the 1st of the month you will lose that month as only full months are refundable.

Not really, or at least they are not clear on the gov website. After reading again, I could not find anything on the direct.gov or taxdisc.direct.gov.uk to state that a refund will not be issued until the tax disc is physically returned and even when returned they will only refund from the date of postage. The only two statements I could find is that I "can" apply for a refund at the same time as SORN by filling V14 form, and that "Your vehicle must be taxed and insured unless you surrender your tax disc to make a SORN." however when I applied, there was no requirement to "surrender" the disc in order to complete the declaration and the only SORN confirmation I have received does not state this either. Funny enough DVLA are not very fussed about not receiving the tax disc back, so it looks like it's not about the disc but fools like me not knowing all legal meanders of refunds and paying tax for time when the car was exempt from it. money, money, money...

My call to DVLA was only after a friend of mine told me a story about his boss falling into the same trap, when their admin sent the V14 refund form with the "expired" disc for a car with new tax disc on. DVLA have SORNed the car without letting them know and he only found out when stopped by the Police with ANPR camera.

I still have a sense of injustice to DVLA's claim to refuse refund based on the fact the SORNed car can be used with the Tax Disc.
SORN itself is a statement that the car cannot be used on public road and therefore is excluded from VED.
Statement that such a car can be used on the road is incorrect, as even WITH the tax disc behind the windscreen, MOT and insurance it still would be impounded when noticed by the DVLA van. It's the record in the SYSTEM that matters, not a piece of paper, which will be scrapped this October anyway.

And the last thing - what happens when a disc is purchased on 30.06 and returned the next day with V14 form. Two full months worth of a tax disc for less than 48h of use!

quaz

Hi, not really a reply more a complaint of my own, i tried to return my old tax disc before 01/11/14 but the post office told me it had to be done online these days, so i went home and tried to declare my car sorn as of 01/11/14 but the web site kept defaulting to 01/10/14, so i decided, as i would still be using the car until my insurance swapped to my new car on the 1st Nov, that i would have to wait until 1st Nov to make the declaration as i was using the vehicle until 31/10/14. on 1st Nov, i visited the site just after midnight, did the business and was met with the words the refund will be sent to the registered keeper. a week or so later the cheque arrived from the DVLA for £35.00, now this was well under what i had estimated,the tax disc was valid until end Feb 15 so i did a little maths;
12 month VED £145.00
divide by 12= £12.0833, call it £12.08.
Nov-Feb incl =4 complete months
so £12.08x4=£48.32. this was what i was expecting, now i also did the calculation so as to call it 3 months refund, just because i declared on 01/11 then ok lets dismiss Nov and multiply £12.08x3=£36.24. so even allowing for the fact i might have lost November they still didled me out of £1.24
this exorcise in "digitising" VED means the DVLA will make thousands a year just by these small, but added up across the year will be quite considerable losses to the public. I personally have emailed this much to the DVLA, they responded to my email with, all complaints must be forwarded to DVLA Swansea in writing, so not having a printer i went to the library and printed off the original email, signed it and put it in the post, same words, exactly the same communication, i wonder how they will respond to the same letter mailed to them as well as emailed to them.
seems pretty silly to me that you HAVE to sort your tax refunds either online or let the automated process take its course,so why do i have to go to the expense and inconvenience of sending correspondence by mail? this might not seem such a task to many of you out there but, i suffer form anxiety and agoraphobia which has made this whole episode quite traumatic for me personally, i will keep you informed of my progress with the DVLA as and when they respond to my letter.
ok rant over. :mad:

forgotmyname

Because you posted it back on the 1st Nov you lose November also.

Maybe its x 90 days and not months? Was it a 12month disc and not a 6 month one?

£ 145/365 days * 90 days = £35.75.

Iceweasel

I think that you should have declared SORN on the 31st of October.

Declaring on the first was pointless as they would likely argue that you could have been driving on the 1st - even for 1 minute after midnight.

That's the problem with computers - no common sense - only a rigid programme.