Advantis and DVLA

babyblade41

Help needed if poss, I received a letter from Advantis about late payment of taxing a vehicle I no longer own. I called them up to say that the vehicle had been sold long before the date they stated the vehicle was without tax. I always pay my vehicle tax by DD every month,
The guy at Advantis was very rude and said I must pay the fine as I never informed the DVLA of the change in ownership.

I refuse to pay and then had a threatening letter a few days later.

I had the new owners details and the date of the sale as it was done on eBay, The chap who bought my vehicle left the service manual behind when he collected the car so I had to post it onto him , it's how I have his details.

I informed both Advantis and DVLA about this via email with the new owners details. I sent the V5 off at the same time the vehicle was sold and that was that.

I never heard from the new owner to say that he hadn't received a new log book for it.
The chap at Advantis has told me it is up to me to prove I sent the change on the V5 to the DVLA but I just put a stamp on it and sent it by post and not recorded delivery as it didn't state I had to.
The date they said this occurred was October 2016 and I sold the vehicle in the July .
How do I stand as I am very worried as I always pay my car tax and I simply don't owe this .

Thanks in advance

EssexHebridean

You don't have to send it by recorded delivery, however you do need to make sure that you get a confirmation that the DVLA have received it, I take it you didn't get this?

It's unusual for the DVLA not to make contact rather than just passing something like that over, however - did you not get any sort of demand for the tax when it next became due? Chaser letters from them on payment, anything like that?

babyblade41

No nothing from DVLA at all, I actually paid the tax longer than I had the vehicle as I forgot to cancel the DD

National_Debtline

Hi babyblade41,


This is a tricky one because as the seller of the vehicle it is your responsibility to prove all the paperwork was done correctly. Unfortunately, if there is no proof of postage and no confirmation letter from the DVLA to confirm the change of ownership then I am afraid you will be liable for this penalty. Did you ever receive the late payment penalty itself? If you did then there is a form that you can submit to appeal it.


A late licensing penalty is sent to the registered keeper of the car, so if your paperwork about the change of ownership went ‘missing’ this should’ve come to you unless perhaps you had changed address as well. The penalty is set at £80, but is reduced to £40 if paid within 28 days. This penalty is classed as debt owed to the crown, but it is a civil debt. If it’s left unpaid it can be recovered by civil court action or by a DCA.


The DVLA has confirmed that it does not have the facility to allow these penalties to be paid in instalments. And the DVLA does have the discretion to take prosecution action, where the minimum fine is £1,000 (plus penalties and costs). How much are Advantis asking for?


Laura


@natdebtline

babyblade41

I have received nothing from DVLA about late payment and the previous owner had got the new log book , Advantis are asking for 80.00.

National_Debtline

Hello again,


There is no time limit specified for an appeal, but the DVLA has given some guidance on what they would consider as an appeal and based on the situation I doubt you will be successful, I am afraid. I can appreciate how frustrating this must be. You can try and make a formal complaint to the DVLA following their complaints procedure, but I worry it would have a similar outcome.


You can contact Advantis to try and pay this in instalments if you cannot pay it in full. Please be aware that Advantis can use the county court to chase this penalty (as well as what I outlined above) and any further action taken could increase the penalty through costs.


Laura
@natdebtline

babyblade41

I have emailed the complaints dept but have heard nothing as yet

sourcrates

babyblade41 wrote: »

I have emailed the complaints dept but have heard nothing as yet

Formal complaints are best send by letter, not by email.

Formal procedure is always in writing, emails dont hold the same clout, and tend to get lost or ignored.

zebrarose

Have you heard anything?

patman99

I thought you could do a change of owner online these days.

Anyway, was there not a Court ruling that once posted, a letter was deemed to have been delivered after 3 days?.