Uninsured vehicle...court summons

leyla1990

I wonder if anyone can help?

I had a car accident in Sept 2013. It was beyond economical repair so the insurance company wrote it off and I was paid out. In the letter they wrote to me they asked for copies of the log book, MOT and other information about the car. In this letter they stated the car would be in safe storage for 10 days and if no contact was made by myself the car would be disposed of. I allowed them to dispose of it.

I received a letter in March 2014 from the DVLA, it was a 'failure to insure', a fine of £100. I then rang the DVLA and explained the situation, they asked me to provide evidence to substantiate this which I did.

I have now received a court summons for the above.

I do not want to go to court as I am concerned re legal fees (I am a 22 year old student). Even though I am not guilty of said offence, would it be easier and less costly to plead guilty through the post?

Any advice would be most greatly appreciated..

Thank you in advance

Quiet_Spark

leyla1990 wrote: »

Even though I am not guilty of said offence, would it be easier and less costly to plead guilty through the post?

Why on earth are you even contemplating pleading guilty to something you haven't done?

There won't be any legal fees unless you hire a solicitor, so forget about that.
Go to court, plead not guilty, show the evidence you have to prove you disposed of the car to your insurance company, and that will be the end of the matter.

If you feel so inclined, you can ask the court to cover YOUR expenses for the day once you have been found not guilty.

Johno100

Quiet_Spark wrote: »

Aside from the vastly increased insurance premiums you will suffer as a result of an IN10 conviction, you'll also have the financial penalty that goes with it.

Surely the OP won't get a driving conviction (IN10) he/she wasn't caught driving an uninsured vehicle just failing to comply with the continuous insurance/SORN requirement.

Quiet_Spark

Johno100 wrote: »

Surely the OP won't get a driving conviction (IN10) he/she wasn't caught driving an uninsured vehicle just failing to comply with the continuous insurance/SORN requirement.

You're absolutely right, my bad on that one.

The MIB website spells out what potential penalties are available.

Even so, I can't imagine why anybody in their right mind would plead guilty to an offence if they are innocent regardless of what the penalty was.


I'll amend my original reply.

leyla1990

I'm worried that by trying to prove I'm not guilty will eventually end up in a much bigger fine to pay, which I really can't afford.

Although I did call the DVLA and send in evidence that the car had been disposed of I received no confirmation that they received the letter.

Will it stand in court that I genuinely didn't realise I should have sorned the car, I'm not guilty of an owning an uninsured vehicle but I didn't notify the DVLA when my insurance company scrapped my car (as I wasn't aware I had to do this).

I am going to speak to someone at a citizens advice bureau but I really am lost with this one.

Thanks for your replies.

OnanTheBarbarian

Did you post the V5 etc off to your insurers when you got the payout from them?

jonnyd281

When my car was written off in march, I had to send the yellow piece to the Dvla along with the tax disc, one to reclaim my tax and two to notify them that ownership had passed to the recovery firm. Op did you send the yellow bit off to the Dvla?

The rest of the v5 went to the insurance company.

leyla1990

No I didn't send any paper work off to my insurers or the DVLA as I wasn't aware I had to do this.

I thought it was now the insurers that were disposing of the car and therefore was no longer my responsibility.

Then I received the fine, I acted on this promptly and sent a letter stating my situation.

Obviously now I can see I should have completed the sorn when I received the payout for the car. the dvla said evidence in a letter would suffice as now 6 months later the log book was long lost amongst masses of paper.

And that is where I stand at the moment.

Quiet_Spark

leyla1990 wrote: »

No I didn't send any paper work off to my insurers or the DVLA as I wasn't aware I had to do this.

You must have sent the log book to the insurer at some point, they wouldn't have paid you out otherwise.

leyla1990 wrote: »

I thought it was now the insurers that were disposing of the car and therefore was no longer my responsibility.

Your insurance company became the new owner on the day they issued the cheque to you.

leyla1990 wrote: »

Obviously now I can see I should have completed the sorn when I received the payout for the car.

You would not have been able to declare SORN as the car was no longer your property.

leyla1990 wrote: »

the dvla said evidence in a letter would suffice as now 6 months later the log book was long lost amongst masses of paper.
And that is where I stand at the moment.

In that case, get a confirmation letter from your insurance company stating when they took possession and all should be well for you.

Rover_Driver

Quiet_Spark wrote: »

In that case, get a confirmation letter from your insurance company stating when they took possession and all should be well for you.

When the insurance company took possession of the vehicle is irrelevant. The case will be that the OP, as the registered keeper, failed to notify that they had disposed of the vehicle to the insurance company.

zorgman

go to court plead not guilty and explain the case to them exactly what went on with insurance.