Speeding ticket/road tax payments on car I sold months ago

Badger36

Basically I sold an old runabout car back in May. I couldn't get a phone signal so did the V5 the old fashioned way with a pen and paper, posted it off and thought nothing more about it until a fine came through the door (which I've ignored). I called the DVLA and was advised to send a letter stating what happened. This was in July.

I then noticed today road tax payment for this car was taken from my account week ago, so after waiting 90 minutes in a phone queue, I've given up and I've sent them this 2nd letter.

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3rd September 2024

To whom it may concern

Subject: Road Tax Payments for Vehicle [REDACTED] (Volvo C70, Silver, Manual)

I am writing to you for the second time regarding an unresolved issue. My first letter, dated 11th July 2024, has not yet received a response. Despite following the process advised by yourselves and contacting you via letter, I am still being charged for road tax on the vehicle with registration number [REDACTED]—a silver Volvo C70 (manual) that I owned from 11th August 2023 to 17th May 2024.

To clarify the situation:

- I stopped using the vehicle on 13th March 2024 due to suspension damage that I deemed uneconomical to repair. As a result, I canceled the insurance on this vehicle and transferred the policy to another vehicle I purchased that same day ([REGISTRATION REDACTED]). I can provide correspondence with my insurance company to verify this, and your records will show this as the date of purchase for the other vehicle.

- The vehicle was stored on a driveway and advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree. It was eventually sold on 17th May 2024 via Gumtree to an individual whos first name was [REDACTED], who mentioned he was from Kilbarchan. I completed the V5C form with the buyer's details and posted it to the DVLA the following day. Unfortunately, I did not retain a copy of the V5C and can only reliably recall the buyer’s first name. I have no recollection of his address except the town he lived in.

- According to your website, the vehicle has since passed an MOT, indicating that it is likely being driven. This information should assist in identifying the current owner.

In light of these details, I respectfully request that you:

1. Remove my name from the records as the owner of the vehicle.

2. Cease any further road tax payments from my account.

3. Refund any road tax payments that have been incorrectly charged since the sale of the vehicle.

I would appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

Kind Regards
‐------‐-------------------

Will the fine () be able to get dropped, and will they refund my road tax?

TooManyPoints

If they did not receive the change of owner details I doubt they will refund the fine or the tax.

More important is the other matter. You mention a "speeding ticket". What did you receive and what did you do about it? Bear in mind that the DVLA has nothing to do with speeding tickets.

Badger36

TooManyPoints said:

If they did not receive the change of owner details I doubt they will refund the fine or the tax.

More important is the other matter. You mention a "speeding ticket". What did you receive and what did you do about it? Bear in mind that the DVLA has nothing to do with speeding tickets.

Thus far I've ignored it. I have been waiting until this is resolved.

So far this has taken hours and hours of time. 

Kim_13

Badger36 said:

TooManyPoints said:

If they did not receive the change of owner details I doubt they will refund the fine or the tax.

More important is the other matter. You mention a "speeding ticket". What did you receive and what did you do about it? Bear in mind that the DVLA has nothing to do with speeding tickets.

Thus far I've ignored it. I have been waiting until this is resolved.

So far this has taken hours and hours of time.  

You can’t ignore a speeding ticket. You will receive a failing to furnish conviction if you continue with this course of action. You need to tell the police force that issued the ticket that you have sold the car and provide as much information as you can. You’ll probably need to do this with a covering letter, including copies of any Gumtree communications etc.

Overpaid road tax is a minor issue by comparison. You should stop the direct debit with your bank to prevent any more being taken in the meantime.

TooManyPoints

I take it you received a "Notice of Intended Prosecution" together with a "Request for Driver's details". If so, you can look forward to being charged with "Failing to provide driver's details". Upon conviction this carries a hefty fine, six points and an endorsement code (MS90) which will cripple your insurance premiums for up to five years.

Alongside that, the DVLA fine will be small beer.

How long ago did you receive whatever it is you've so far ignored?

Badger36

11th of July I received the speeding fine.

I don't really have a lot of details about the new owner. I remember his first name (which is probably the most common first name in the UK) and the town he came from.

We filled out the V5, I gave him the new keepers slip and put the rest of the V5 in an envelope, couple of first class stamps and sent it off to Swansea. Job done as far as I was concerned.

Did a 4 week tour offshore and forgot all about it.

I'm offshore just now - I dont have access to some things.

TooManyPoints

11th of July I received the speeding fine.

You didn't receive a speeding fine. How can you be liable for a speeding fine when you were not driving?

You would have received the two things I mentioned. It is the second of those which is important and you should have responded to it by 8tth August. You have already committed the offence I mentioned and you need to contact the police force involved, giving them the details of the person to whom you sold the car and asking them if they will accept a late nomination..

I know that's difficult in your situation, but that's how it is.  

Badger36

TooManyPoints said:

11th of July I received the speeding fine.

You didn't receive a speeding fine. How can you be liable for a speeding fine when you were not driving?

You would have received the two things I mentioned. It is the second of those which is important and you should have responded to it by 8tth August. You have already committed the offence I mentioned and you need to contact the police force involved, giving them the details of the person to whom you sold the car and asking them if they will accept a late nomination..

I know that's difficult in your situation, but that's how it is.  

Problem is, I don't know who I sold the car to. I don't even know who has it now. It might be the same person, it might be somebody else.

As said after posting the V5C, I feel I've fulfilled my obligations - everything else is a time consuming hassle.

Certainly having worked away from home most of the summer isn't helping. E.g. I got hassle today for being on the phone for 90 minutes during work time trying to sort it.

Keep_pedalling

You said you put two 1st class stamps on, these weren’t some of the old ones that are no longer valid were they? If they were the letter would never have been received because RM would not deliver them without payment from HMRC for insufficient postage. 

You are now way over the 28 days you had to respond to the notice of intended prosecution and I suggest you post over on the FTLA forum where you will get better advice than here.

https://www.ftla.uk/speeding-and-other-criminal-offences/

Kim_13

Badger36 said:

TooManyPoints said:

11th of July I received the speeding fine.

You didn't receive a speeding fine. How can you be liable for a speeding fine when you were not driving?

You would have received the two things I mentioned. It is the second of those which is important and you should have responded to it by 8tth August. You have already committed the offence I mentioned and you need to contact the police force involved, giving them the details of the person to whom you sold the car and asking them if they will accept a late nomination..

I know that's difficult in your situation, but that's how it is.  

Problem is, I don't know who I sold the car to. I don't even know who has it now. It might be the same person, it might be somebody else.

As said after posting the V5C, I feel I've fulfilled my obligations - everything else is a time consuming hassle.

Certainly having worked away from home most of the summer isn't helping. E.g. I got hassle today for being on the phone for 90 minutes during work time trying to sort it.

It would be up to the person you sold the car to to provide onward details if they had sold the car on. You’ll need to tell the police everything you know and hope they drop the prosecution. You can tell them you’ve worked away from home for most of the summer. The more evidence you can give, the more likely they believe your account, e.g. the money going into your account for the car, copies of any communications that might reveal more information about the buyer than you can recall just now.

Unfortunately, the law is on their side and the Road Traffic Act 1988 allows them to prosecute the registered keeper of the car if the NIP isn’t returned within 28 days, or if they’re not satisfied that the respondent has done everything they can to assist in identifying the person who committed the offence. 

It’s set up in that way to prevent people from trying to dodge tickets by not responding or claiming that they don’t know who was driving when they do, otherwise almost everyone would do it. Insurance companies will assume the original offence must have been one attracting more than 6 points if people would prefer a 6 point MS90 on their licence. If you do nothing, you will definitely get an MS90 so it’s worth putting the time in to try to avoid that.

You can’t prove that you sent the V5C and already being late in responding to the NIP, you’re in an incredibly vulnerable position. Don’t mention that you ignored it pending resolution from the DVLA - they will have no sympathy with that given that the issue of the NIP placed a legal obligation on you and explained how long you had to respond.

Until you get the slip from DVLA saying you’re no longer responsible for the car, you remain responsible for it and things like this can happen. If you sell a vehicle to a stranger in the future, you need to keep a copy of their details.

Putting more than one stamp on the envelope made no sense at all. Folded over, in the way that DVLA issue them, they are letter size. I once put multiple regular stamps on a large letter and the recipient never received it. 

Baldytyke88

Badger36 said:

Problem is, I don't know who I sold the car to. I don't even know who has it now. It might be the same person, it might be somebody else.

As said after posting the V5C, I feel I've fulfilled my obligations - everything else is a time consuming hassle.

Certainly having worked away from home most of the summer isn't helping. E.g. I got hassle today for being on the phone for 90 minutes during work time trying to sort it.

This is important, you need to sort it out, or the consequences could be high.