£0 vehicle tax - fined, clamped plus...

jac1970stone

Hi, would really appreciate some advice - not sure if it should be in Motoring or Parking and Fines, but here we go.

My partner owns and has registered in his name the car his son mainly drives. The car is a £0.00 vehicle tax car, and his son had said that he had renewed the tax when it came through for £0, but apparently it didn't go through on the website completely, and hadn't had a final click go through.

He didn't find that out until the vehicle was clamped and he was fined £40.00, plus £100.00 release fee, which he paid - he had no choice to get the car released. He has also just found out that they are now also charging him, as being the registered owner, for driving the vehicle whilst not having valid vehicle tax.

Unfortunately he didn't know about this as they had sent the notice to his old marital home, which he left in 2016, and wasn't forwarded on to him. The address is where the vehicle is kept (he still owns the property and pays for it, but doesn't live there). So instead of a £30.00 early payment fine, they are saying that it is going to court.

He is writing a plea of mitigation (he did one for the original fine too but they didn't accept it), but don't know if there is anything else we can do.

It just seems so crazy for a fine and all of this to be valid for not having vehicle tax for a vehicle that has a £0.00 vehicle tax. He has since of course been back on the DVLA site himself and made sure it has been renewed.

Any suggestions?

Aylesbury_Duck

jac1970stone wrote: »

Hi, would really appreciate some advice - not sure if it should be in Motoring or Parking and Fines, but here we go.

My partner owns and has registered in his name the car his son mainly drives. The car is a £0.00 vehicle tax car, and his son had said that he had renewed the tax when it came through for £0, but apparently it didn't go through on the website completely, and hadn't had a final click go through.

He didn't find that out until the vehicle was clamped and he was fined £40.00, plus £100.00 release fee, which he paid - he had no choice to get the car released. He has also just found out that they are now also charging him, as being the registered owner, for driving the vehicle whilst not having valid vehicle tax.

Unfortunately he didn't know about this as they had sent the notice to his old marital home, which he left in 2016, and wasn't forwarded on to him. The address is where the vehicle is kept (he still owns the property and pays for it, but doesn't live there). So instead of a £30.00 early payment fine, they are saying that it is going to court.

He is writing a plea of mitigation (he did one for the original fine too but they didn't accept it), but don't know if there is anything else we can do.

It just seems so crazy for a fine and all of this to be valid for not having vehicle tax for a vehicle that has a £0.00 vehicle tax. He has since of course been back on the DVLA site himself and made sure it has been renewed.

Any suggestions?

It all seems reasonable to me. Unfortunate, yes, but I think the action taken is reasonable because your partner and his son made more than one error. Not finishing the tax process to the point he got a confirmation, not realising he did not get an email confirmation, the address is old, etc. If the son is not the registered keeper, why was he renewing the tax at all? That is your partners responsibility. It does not matter that the tax is zero, it still needs to be registered.

The only other suggestion I have is to make sure everything is up to date. Is the insurer aware of the way the car is owned, used and where it is kept? Do they know that the primary user is not the same person as the registered owner? Does your partner insure the car? If so, does the insurer know that he is not the primary user? Is your partners driving licence up to date, reflecting his new address?

It all comes across as a bit messy and the tax penalties could be the least of his worries if he does not make sure all the other administration is correct and up to date.

davidwood681

Yep, tell your husband that as the car is registered to him it's his fault and he should man up and take it on the chin.

Nobody else to blame but himself

System

Pay the fine, its valid. And make sure the address for the registered keeper is one the person responsible for paying the tax can receive mail at.

EdGasketTheSecond

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

It all seems reasonable to me.

Seems totally stupid to me. Bureaucracy gone mad. Think about it; fining someone for not paying nothing; especially when gov. is supposed to be encouraging people into cleaner cars too.

Peter999_2

They are being fined for not registering, not for not paying nothing.

Quentin

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Seems totally stupid to me. Bureaucracy gone mad. Think about it; fining someone for not paying nothing; especially when gov. is supposed to be encouraging people into cleaner cars too.

Having nothing to pay doesn't make any difference


The car was untaxed (ie. no tax applied for, thus no checks on whether or not it was legal.)


Those who pay when applying would be dismayed to think those who don't pay should be let off getting their MOT status checked!

ROY47

when you renew tax on line if it's free or paid for , you get an email to confirm
sounds like he didn't get the e mail so he didn't renew tax free or paid for
Sorry it's his fault

Aylesbury_Duck

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Seems totally stupid to me. Bureaucracy gone mad. Think about it; fining someone for not paying nothing; especially when gov. is supposed to be encouraging people into cleaner cars too.

I did think about it. It is completely reasonable. The fine is for not meeting the legal obligation to register the car, not for an amount unpaid. The fine is the same whether the car attracts a VED of zero, £100, £300 or whatever. That is not bureaucracy gone mad, that is a policy fairly applied.

Carrot007

jac1970stone wrote: »

Unfortunately he didn't know about this as they had sent the notice to his old marital home, which he left in 2016, and wasn't forwarded on to him. The address is where the vehicle is kept

The address is for notices to keeper not where the car is kept. He is an idiot for not changing it and completely at fault.

motorguy

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Seems totally stupid to me. Bureaucracy gone mad. Think about it; fining someone for not paying nothing; especially when gov. is supposed to be encouraging people into cleaner cars too.

Having a £0 tax car doesnt absolve you from your legal requirement to keep it registered.

Thats what the fine is for.