Dvla court summons

Neezac16

Hi sorry if this is posted in the wrong place im new. Advice please.
Basically on the 17th sept 16 i part exchanged an old car for a different one. I filled in logbook ect at the garage and sent it off. 2 weeks later i recieved a letter from the dvla saying on the 29th sept the car wasnt insured so they were giving me a fine. I wrote back explaining the situation and gave them the details of the garage ect.
I then recieved a another letter thanking me for the extra info but i was still liable for the fine. They also said i should have queried why i hadnt recieved an acknowledgment letter from them to say they were aware i was no longer the registered keeper. Looking on the guidelines online it takes upto 4 weeks to recieve said letter so as only 2 weeks passed i was non the wiser.
Anyway the letter said i could either pay the fine or go to court. Today iv recieved a court summons. Iv filled in the form as not guilty. Im just not prepared to back down when i know iv done nothing wrong. Bearing in mind i work as a car insurance broker so its my job to inform people who cancel policys the consequences of not having insurance!
Im actually terrified at the thought of going to court. Any thoughts/advice. Surely iv got a chance!

Quentin

If you are truly terrified then consider getting proper legal advice/representation in court rather than relying on forum advice

Neezac16

Helpful ��

Car_54

Did you ever receive an acknowledgement of the change of keeper?

AdrianC

Simply reply to the court letter, saying that the car left your keepership and responsibility on 17th September, when it was part-exchanged with XYZ Garage Ltd, that the V5C was dealt with in the proper manner at the time, and that you informed DVLA of this on <date>, copy of letter enclosed.

Neezac16

I did recieve an acknowledgment finally but it was dated after the 29th as they claimed they "never recieved the original one". Theres a box on the court letter asking why im pleading not guilty and again iv wrote down all the circumstances ect. They have the garage details too so im not sure if they can get some kind of proof from them. Its so frustrating.

DoaM

Did you send off the V5C and get proof of posting from the Post Office? If yes then you have a slam-dunk defence. (As long as you retained that PoP).

That said, why didn't you do it online?

Neezac16

No proof of postage after this scenario i now know you can do it online but iv always just done it postal with no problems. The garage just filled in their part and kept it and told me to send the rest off which i did.

Rover_Driver

What part of the V5C did you send to the DVLA, and what part did the garage keep?

dannyrst

Neezac16 wrote: »

I did recieve an acknowledgment finally but it was dated after the 29th as they claimed they "never recieved the original one". Theres a box on the court letter asking why im pleading not guilty and again iv wrote down all the circumstances ect. They have the garage details too so im not sure if they can get some kind of proof from them. Its so frustrating.

What happened for you to get the acknowledgement then? Did you send another one or complete it online?

If you show a receipt to prove trade in on 17th and you show the letter dated 29th, you should have reasonable grounds in court, given it hadn't got to the stage of being "lost in the post" according to DVLA guidelines and the car was no longer yours.