Fined for tax exempt vehicle?!!

15_MILLION

Hello,

I hope someone can help?

My partner and I own a low emissions tax exempt car (one of those vw's!) which we bought secondhand in april.. After sending the change of ownership forms to the DVLA my partner called the DVLA and asked about the road tax - since it is a tax exempt vehicle and this was the first such vehicle we had ever owned. The DVLA told my partner that they would send documents to our new home address (we had recently moved home). That call must have been recorded..

We never received any documents thereafter so we assumed it had been resolved at their end.. we were not concerned as it was - after all - a tax exempt car..

However :mad: a few weeks back my partner had parked next to a forest that she visited with our small daughter and some friends. When she returned there was a sticker on the car stating:
'THIS VEHICLE IS UNTAXED!' as well as a road clamp??

There was a telephone number, which I called and I was told I would have to pay £260 in order to have the clamp taken off. I told them that there must have been a mistake, as how could there even be any road tax owed for a TAX EXEMPT vehicle? The lady said she could lower the fine down to £100 (?!!) which I would still have to pay to the road clamp company, and she explained I would be able to appeal that £100 once paid / vehicle had been unclamped.

So, I had no choice, I had to pay £100. It then took about 3 hours to unclamp the car.

My partner wrote an appeal thereafter to which she has received a reply from a 'road clamp / enforcement officer' and that officer has stated that we cannot get back our £100?!!

Please could anyone advise what we should do? We are really struggling for cash at the moment and need to get that £100 back.

Also, it strikes me that if the DVLA had retained the car tax disc system none of this could possibly have happened? Are we therefore also able to be compensated for the administrative errors caused by the change in the road tax system by the DVLA themselves?

Or, are the DVLA simply allowed to do whatever they like?

Many thanks in advance!

verityboo

Looking at the government web site it seems clear (The first google result I got)

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-exempt-from-vehicle-tax

"You still need to apply for vehicle tax even if you don’t need to pay vehicle tax."

nigelbb

verityboo wrote: »

Looking at the government web site it seems clear (The first google result I got)

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-exempt-from-vehicle-tax

"You still need to apply for vehicle tax even if you don’t need to pay vehicle tax."

Which is sensible if you think about it as it ensures that the car has an MOT & is insured. It is inaccurate to describe the vehicle as 'tax exempt' when in fact the tax rate is £0.

15_MILLION

Thanks for your replies..

verityboo - she did call that number, they said they'd send some documents. Since there was no tax to pay / it is a (relatively) new tax system (ie: no tax discs anymore) we thought it had been sorted at their end.

nigelbb - I take your point. As I understood it the car was / is exempt from / free from tax - as the tax is £0.00, but after your post I now recognise 'truly tax exempt cars are vehicles like mobility scooters, historic vehicles, electric vehicles. Thank you.

enfield_freddy

historic vehicles are not "truly tax exempt" , I have to apply for my "free" tax" every year on my 1955 bsa bantam , and upto last year was given a tax tisk to display saying "historic £0" , I think the only "truly exempt" vehicle on the ROAD , not a motobility thing is the queens car

Rover_Driver

It is Vehicle Excise Duty exempt, the same as mobility scooters, historic vehicles etc. but is still required to be licensed, as they are.

enfield_freddy

no its different from historic vehicles!!!


the car in question is rated a £0 payable (on emissions etc) from day one


a historic vehicle the day previous paid full whack , eg: a 1975 MGB paid almost £200 in duty , however a act of parliament said that once it was "x" yrs old it was tax excempt




and YES you must apply and ( previously be given a piece of paper , but not now ) for your VED

Rover_Driver

enfield_freddy wrote: »

no its different from historic vehicles!!!


the car in question is rated a £0 payable (on emissions etc) from day one


a historic vehicle the day previous paid full whack , eg: a 1975 MGB paid almost £200 in duty , however a act of parliament said that once it was "x" yrs old it was tax excempt




and YES you must apply and ( previously be given a piece of paper , but not now ) for your VED

They are both the same as far as vehicle licensing is concerned, they are both exempt from paying any Vehicle Excise Duty for their vehicle licence. Which used to be a disc that was required to be displayed on the vehicle, and is now held centrally on computer.

15_MILLION

enfield_freddy wrote: »

historic vehicles are not "truly tax exempt" , I have to apply for my "free" tax" every year on my 1955 bsa bantam , and upto last year was given a tax tisk to display saying "historic £0" , I think the only "truly exempt" vehicle on the ROAD , not a motobility thing is the queens car

Thanks Enfield Freddy


What a crazy system!

15_MILLION

On the following DVLA link:

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax

it clearly mentions applying for road tax - after getting a reminder letter... and then a 'last chance' reminder letter - as well as the telephone number that we called (upon ownership of the vehicle).

So - it is clear to me, that since the DVLA said they'd send the documents out - and then failed to do so (they also failed to send any vehicle tax reminder letter - and failed to send a 'last chance' reminder letter') then we cannot and should not be held responsible for their own administrative errors!

Therefore, we should not have been clamped in the first place.. and should never have had to pay a fine.


Does anyone know how to appeal to the DVLA for the fine to be refunded and compensation granted for their own mal-administration? I do not consider that we are in any way at fault.

Thank you

Johno100

Did you receive a V5 (AKA Log Book) in your name when you purchased the car?