Is the DVLA in the wrong or me?

MonaElysia

Hello, everyone. I would really like some advice because the police pulled me over and told me I was not the registered keeper and that the road tax had not been paid for 15 months. The car has been impounded pending £100 release fee and the back tax being paid plus no doubt fines as well.
I am devastated because I had set up a DD for the tax back when I purchased the car and I was unaware that the DVLA did not have me as the registered keeper. I have turned the house upside down to try to find an acknowledgement letter from the DVLA but this is harking back to December 2014 so I can't find any proof. Well the DD ran for 12 months and then no further payments out of my account. I hadn't noticed I just assumed it would keep running. Everything else is up together. Where do I stand - I am extremely concerned because I drive about 2000 miles a month and if the DVLA could not contact me I guess there could be lots of fines. Should they have stopped the DD as well because I certainly didn't.

Fruitcake

You would be better posting this on pepipoo.com as they are the experts in this sort of thing whereas we concentrate on private parking issues here on MSE.

I think you are going to have to pay the back tax and the release fee though while you sort it out. Hopefully you should still have the money in your bank account that you thought was going out each month and not spent it, so can fund at least the back tax if not the next six/twelve months.

I think you will also need to talk to your bank about who cancelled the DD.

CardinalWolsey

Even if paying by direct debit, your car tax does not auto-renew. The onus is on you to go back and renew your car tax at the appropriate time, at which point, if relevant, MOT checks etc will be carried out (you can't renew your tax if you don't have a valid MOT, if one is required).

No need to find any other information from DVLA as to whether you are the registered keeper - this information is on your V5, which you should have.

fisherjim

I think the Cardinal is spot on!

kev_min

The cardinal may be wrong on this, the line below was copied from the comfirmation email DVLA sent when I set up the tax DD for a new vehicle....

"Your vehicle tax will automatically renew unless you notify us of any changes. We will send a new payment schedule at the time of renewal."

which kind of suggests the tax will auto renew.

bazzyb

Filling the gaps here, it sounds like the following may have occurred:
- DVLA were never informed of new keeper (or at least never received the notification.
- Direct debit set up to pay the RFL but again DVLA not aware keeper had changed.
- At the end of the 12 months, they write to the registered keeper advising of the new payment schedule (registered keeper still previous owner).
- Registered keeper has contacted DVLA to say he no longer owns the vehicle and so they have cancelled the Direct Debit.

OP, did you ever receive new V5c document? You mention an acknowledgement letter, but this should have been the document which was sent to you initially. If you didn't receive this then I suspect the above is what has happened.

If you did receive a V5c and the car is in fact registered in your name, then this document can help you to evidence that a mistake has been made.