DVLA penalty - no tax

Invertigo

Good evening all,

Today I’ve received a letter from the DVLA regarding a penalty for an untaxed vehicle.

The car was dropped off to the garage on 14/01 and collected 21/01 (second car so not required during the week). The penalty relates to the date 16/01, the same date the MOT was carried out. The vehicle was declared SORN as the previous MOT had expired last year and was parked off road all winter.

I presume that, as the car was not in my possession at the time, I have grounds to appeal. I do have the mot certificate, proof I paid for tax prior to collecting the vehicle and the invoice from the garage.

Any advice on how to proceed/word my appeal?

Thanks

Fruitcake

Since we specialise in private parking charges here on MSE you would be better taking this over to our friends on Pepipoo.com as they have more expertise in this sort of thing.

You will need to sign up with an email address, but for some reason Hotmail addresses don't work.

400ixl

Failing to see why you believe you have the right to appeal. Are you saying the vehicle was taken off SORN and taxed at the time that the fine was issued? Sounds like you taxed it after that date before picking it up.

The fact it was with the garage does not remove your responsibilities to not keep a SORN'd vehicle on a public highway. You may have a claim against the garage if you explicitly told them it could not be parked on public land, but not against the DVLA

KeithP

Invertigo said:

The penalty relates to the date 16/01, the same date the MOT was carried out.

That might be useful.
You are allowed to drive an untaxed vehicle to and from an MoT test.

Mouse007

KeithP said:

Invertigo said:

The penalty relates to the date 16/01, the same date the MOT was carried out.

That might be useful.
You are allowed to drive an untaxed vehicle to and from an MoT test.

If, I believe, pre booked

KeithP

Mouse007 said:

KeithP said:

Invertigo said:

The penalty relates to the date 16/01, the same date the MOT was carried out.

That might be useful.
You are allowed to drive an untaxed vehicle to and from an MoT test.

If, I believe, pre booked

Yes, that's my understanding too. 
Should've mentioned it.

Invertigo

This was my understanding too - the vehicle was booked for an MOT and a service, it was left at the garage and presumably they moved it onto the road at some point prior to the MOT (and subsequently before I had the ability to tax the car).

This is also the first I've heard about it, would it not be typical that a reduced fine is offered in the first instance rather than the first I hear being receiving a letter offering an out of court settlement of £150 only.

B789

How did the DVLA find out that your car had been on the public highway without having been taxed? Did a police ANPR vehicle spot it parked on the road and report it? If they'd gone to the trouble of reporting it to the DVLA for further action, they would have most likely also issued a NIP for not having a valid MOT too.

400ixl

Yes, you can legally take a car to an MOT without tax, but it cannot be left on the road at either end.

Even if it was left on the road after getting a valid MOT it would still be SORN'd and not taxed. Only once you taxed it and took it off SORN would you (or the garage) be allowed to park it on a public highway.

As far as the DVLA is concerned you are responsible as the registered keeper for ensuring it is not left on a public highway whilst not taxed and on SORN.

You don't get a reduced fine offer for this offence from the DVLA. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-enforcement-policy/dvla-enforcement-of-vehicle-tax-registration-and-insurance-offences

You could appeal at https://www.gov.uk/appeal-dvla-fine trying the reason you had taxed it (provided it was actually taxed the same day as the MOT and not just before you picked it up a few days later).

You may have a claim against the garage if that fails for leaving it on the road, but you would have needed to have told them explicitly that they cannot leave it there due to being SORN's and not taxed. They wouldn't know that unless you told them.