Unlicensed vehicle fine

mohammadb1234

Hi
i bought a car that was not roadworthy and was kept on a private drive. It was never driven and would be towed to and from the garage when needed or looked at by a mobile mechanic. I went to tax it when it was almost ready but couldn’t so rang Dvla who told me the logbook i have is an old one which explains why even though it was filled and sent to Dvla they didn’t issue a new logbook and it wasn’t the most recent logbook. 

The person I spoke to at Dvla advised me to apply for a new logbook and once o receive the new logbook I can then tax the vehicle. 

I did this and didn’t receive a logbook for 3 months. After which I called Dvla and the issued a replacement. 

I have now received a fine for failing to tax or sorn this car. 

I appealed and explained I couldn’t do anything without the logbook or tax reminder. And as soon as I had a logbook I did sorn the vehicle. 

But they’ve rejected my appeal. 

Ia there anything I can do. The car has always been off road and never driven whilst I’ve had it. 

born_again

Did you not SORN it once purchased, which is when it should have been done.

forgotmyname

Just a little side note..  Towing it on the road would have required it to be road legal also. 

Takes time to contact the previous owner to find out if they really did sell the car and make
sure it was not stolen etc.

The previous keeper gets 30 days to respond to the notice that someone applied for the V5C
without the new keeper slip/number.

mohammadb1234

born_again said:

Did you not SORN it once purchased, which is when it should have been done.

As I had an invalid log book I couldn’t. I had to wait for the new logbook to be sent. Which I assumed would come automatically as we filled the old one in together and seller sent it off. Car was off road so I didn’t take notice the logbook hadn’t arrived until it was ready for an mot. Tried to tax if then but Dvla said you need to apply for a new logbook and once it arrives you can then tax it. 

mohammadb1234

forgotmyname said:

Just a little side note..  Towing it on the road would have required it to be road legal also. 

Takes time to contact the previous owner to find out if they really did sell the car and make
sure it was not stolen etc.

The previous keeper gets 30 days to respond to the notice that someone applied for the V5C
without the new keeper slip/number.

It was on top of a tow truck so would be ok without tax and not. 

mohammadb1234

*without tax and mot. Also never kept on road. Either in my driveway or in a garage

Rover_Driver

mohammadb1234 said:

*without tax and mot. Also never kept on road. Either in my driveway or in a garage

In a driveway or garage, unless exempt or SORN, it would still need to be licensed. Which would be the reason for the DVLA's claim

mohammadb1234

Rover_Driver said:

mohammadb1234 said:

*without tax and mot. Also never kept on road. Either in my driveway or in a garage

In a driveway or garage, unless exempt or SORN, it would still need to be licensed. Which would be the reason for the DVLA's claim

I understand but I was never able to actually tax or sorn as I had the wrong documents. The seller filled in the wrong v5. He must’ve misplaced it and just used an older one. But I was not aware of this. I did try and tax it on 2 occasions but needed the new logbook. 

I’d pay the fine if it was small but they want £344

Rover_Driver

It may depend on the time between your buying the vehicle (the time you were required to license or SORN the vehicle), and when you tried tax it when it was almost ready.

sheramber

Did you try to SORN  at the time you bought.?

Had the previous owner Sorned it , if it was unroadworthy?

is the fine for the period since it was last taxed ( by the previous owner) and when you taxed it?

sevenhills

mohammadb1234 said:

I understand but I was never able to actually tax or sorn as I had the wrong documents. The seller filled in the wrong v5. He must’ve misplaced it and just used an older one. But I was not aware of this. I did try and tax it on 2 occasions but needed the new logbook. 

I’d pay the fine if it was small but they want £344

It's still possible to declare your vehicle as SORN without a V5C. If you've just bought the car, you might not have a full logbook yet. However, you can also use the reference number from your V5C/2, which is the slip the seller should have given you when you made the purchase.