daughter not knowing driving 4 months with no tax

McKneff

Just tell her to tell the truth. Best way

lewishardwick

If she says it was *ahem* SORN, what will she do when they show a n ANPR snap with her merrily driving along.

Tell them it was on the road. Expect a fine and to pay for the untaxed period. It'll be an expensive lesson.

While she's in the spooked frame of mind, perhaps checking her MOT and Insurance might be very wise. They are much more costly to be caught without!

Joe_Horner

sexymax wrote: »

The thing is she`s scared to say the words, I`ve been using it since Dec with no tax ? she feels its better to say its been off road (lie)

She has three choices:

(1) Admit the mistake and take the penalty or, if she's VERY lucky and approaches them before they contact her again, possibly get away with just the back tax.

(2) Lie, get the same penalty for failing to declare SORN, still pay the back tax because it wasn't declared SORN so that's still due, and run the (probably very small) risk of them being able (and bothered) to prove the lie - which could get a whole lot more serious for her.

(3) Lie completely and say that it was off road AND that she submitted a postal SORN at the end of December. Then stick to that rigidly through seemingly endless debt collection letters, threats of court action and - potentially in the end - a summons where she'll have to repeat the same lies on oath to a Judge.



Out of those, (2) makes no sense at all because it's extra risk for no benefit - if she's going to lie then (3) is the only logical choice but will be a hell of a lot more stressful for he by the time it's over than just coming clean.

AndyMc.....

Joe_Horner wrote: »

She has three choices:

(1) Admit the mistake and take the penalty or, if she's VERY lucky and approaches them before they contact her again, possibly get away with just the back tax.

(2) Lie, get the same penalty for failing to declare SORN, still pay the back tax because it wasn't declared SORN so that's still due, and run the (probably very small) risk of them being able (and bothered) to prove the lie - which could get a whole lot more serious for her.

(3) Lie completely and say that it was off road AND that she submitted a postal SORN at the end of December. Then stick to that rigidly through seemingly endless debt collection letters, threats of court action and - potentially in the end - a summons where she'll have to repeat the same lies on oath to a Judge.



Out of those, (2) makes no sense at all because it's extra risk for no benefit - if she's going to lie then (3) is the only logical choice but will be a hell of a lot more stressful for he by the time it's over than just coming clean.

(1) appears the only option, why risk a criminal record over a minor fine.

Joe_Horner

AndyMc..... wrote: »

(1) appears the only option, why risk a criminal record over a minor fine.

Oh, I totally agree. I was trying to make the point that the idea of "half lying" and saying it was off-road but forgot to declare it is the worst possible choice

If she wants to lie then she really should be prepared to carry that lie right the way through to possible perjury in 6 months (or more) time, all the way carrying the risk (and worry) that you'll get found out.

Whereas: put your hand up to the mistake, accept whatever minor slap on the wrist happens, and the whole thing's forgotten by next week.

rich13348

If she says it was sorn but didn't declare it then she will be liable for back tax that she is already liable for.

Tell her to be proactive phone dvla and tell the truth, pay the fine, move on and don't rely on them sending a piece of paper next time. Write on calendar or put a reminder in her phone.

Also you can set up a monthly or yearly direct debit which takes the forgetting out of the equation.

Marvel1

I would never rely on reminders by post, I use a calender.

My Dad tried to tax his car last week for May and didn't work, tried phone said about MOT, checked and it expired a month before! Don't get postal reminders for this another good reason for calender.

onomatopoeia99

Tell her to set up a direct debit for the road tax so it gets paid automatically. You can pay annually so there's no surcharge like on monthly tax.

Don't understand why people fail to pay tax now that DD is an option, it gets rid of the need for reminders.

macman

And in many cases the MOT and insurance will be due at the same time...how do you manage to forget all 3?

kmb500

Can I ask why it matters? If she wasn't caught and she can tax it from now onwards, then what is the issue? They will either notice it wasn't taxed once she taxes it again, and send her a letter, or they won't.


If she doesn't want to forget then she should set a reminder on her phone, or write it down somewhere, or stick a note in the car somewhere? Or just pay by direct debit
Also it is not their responsibility to send reminders, yes they send them as a courtesy but it is still your responsibility to tax/MOT/insure your vehicle regardless of whether DVLA reminds you. For instance they don't remind you about your MOT and yet you still do that every year.