Speeding tickets for car I no longer own

LMS123

Hi. My partner part exchanged a car 3 years ago to a garage. It was collected on behalf of the garage and my partner handed all paperwork to the driver without filling in all the correct sections of the V5. Yep. Stupid, I know. He has no paperwork to prove the sale and can't remember getting a slip from the DVLA saying he is no longer the registered keeper. TBH , he had forgotten all about the car. He's not had any car tax reminders etc from DVLA. 
Now he is getting speeding tickets on the car from various county police depts. He completes the forms, stating he is no longer the owner or driver. He can't remember the garage he sold the car to, it wasn't local and it was so long ago .
The car is taxed and MOTd.
He has suggested to the police that they check the MID as,surely, the car must be insured to be taxed. Also, who is DVLA sending the tax reminders to?
He now has a threatening reminder about  the latest speeding fine.
So, are we correct in thinking that this is a simple exercise for the police to ascertain the keeper if the car is taxed?
Many thanks.

HampshireH

3 years ago isn't "so long ago" and unless he is dealing in used cars and getting through them I really don't understand why he couldn't recall the garage he bought a car from and part exd this one to.

Surely he has the purchase paperwork for the car he bought which will have their details on 

LMS123

Hi. Thanks for your reply.  No. He hasn't the paperwork as he changed the part ex car shortly after. As you can tell, he's not good at record keeping!
But my query was why can the police not check the MID for insurance details and hence the present keeper and also, if DVLA have my partner's address as the keeper, why is he not getting the tax reminders?

MX5huggy

The police could do all sorts of things, but it’s not a police investigation it’s just an automated process. Just keep writing back that your partner is not the owner (don’t say registered keeper, because they maybe that). 

LightFlare

LMS123 said:

Hi. Thanks for your reply.  No. He hasn't the paperwork as he changed the part ex car shortly after. As you can tell, he's not good at record keeping!
But my query was why can the police not check the MID for insurance details and hence the present keeper and also, if DVLA have my partner's address as the keeper, why is he not getting the tax reminders?

By any chance did/does he pay by direct debit ?

If he didnt inform the DVLA of the change in keeper, then the direct debit mandate will continue

Time to check his bank records (assuming he keeps any)

LMS123

Thank you. He doesn't pay DD so not an issue. Yes. He'll just keep filling in the form and hope it sorts itself eventually. 

TooManyPoints

Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act empowers the police to seek the driver’s details when they suspect an offence has been committed. They issue a “request for driver’s details” to whoever they think can provide those details (usually the Registered Keeper in the first instance).

The way the request has to be treated depends on the status of the recipient.

“The person keeping the vehicle” must give “…such information as to the identity of the driver as he may be required to give by or on behalf of a chief officer of police."

“Any other person” does not have to provide the driver’s details (unless he knows them) but instead must give “…any information which it is in his power to give and may lead to identification of the driver.”

Your partner is clearly in the second category and so is subject to the less onerous requirement. The problem he faces, from what you say, is that he knows next to nothing other than he last saw the car three years ago.

It would help if he had some evidence of his P/E transaction. But if he hasn’t, he hasn’t. The police may believe him as it stands and make their own enquiries (they can easily establish who the current RK is and if and by whom it is insured). Or they might not in which case they will prosecute him under s172.  Then he will have to convince  a court he has provided all the information he has

Conviction for that offence carries a hefty fine and six points. But worst of all it results in an endorsement code (MS90) which will see his insurance premiums soar and it really needs to be avoided. So it is really in his best interests to establish, at the least, who he sold the car to.

He now has a threatening reminder about  the latest speeding fine.

What does this letter threaten?

facade

As it has been a while since he sold the car, it would be A Good Idea for him to check his driving licence for endorsements, as he may have been unknowingly convicted of an S172 offence (failing to identify the driver)

https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

As TooManyPoints says, it may be that the Police are speculatively asking for any details he has, as they cannot trace the current keeper, rather than your partner is still the registered keeper.

Mildly_Miffed

LMS123 said:

Hi. My partner part exchanged a car 3 years ago to a garage. It was collected on behalf of the garage and my partner handed all paperwork to the driver without filling in all the correct sections of the V5. Yep. Stupid, I know. He has no paperwork to prove the sale and can't remember getting a slip from the DVLA saying he is no longer the registered keeper. TBH , he had forgotten all about the car. He's not had any car tax reminders etc from DVLA. 
Now he is getting speeding tickets on the car from various county police depts. He completes the forms, stating he is no longer the owner or driver. He can't remember the garage he sold the car to, it wasn't local and it was so long ago .
The car is taxed and MOTd.
He has suggested to the police that they check the MID as,surely, the car must be insured to be taxed. Also, who is DVLA sending the tax reminders to?
He now has a threatening reminder about  the latest speeding fine.
So, are we correct in thinking that this is a simple exercise for the police to ascertain the keeper if the car is taxed?

This is not a problem for the police.
This is a problem for him.
He is clearly still registered keeper of the vehicle, thanks to his failure to do the one simple thing that would have prevented all of this.

The one organisation you haven't mentioned him contacting is the one he needs to contact - and that's DVLA. He needs to get that car OUT OF HIS NAME right now.

Job 1 - check https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ - when was the last V5C issued?
Job 2 - write to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BA - and tell them he is no longer the keeper, and sold the car to a motor trader on <date>

THEN he can deal with any more outstanding penalties that come through... But until he gets it out of his name, this is an open-ended problem.

400ixl

LMS123 said:

Thank you. He doesn't pay DD so not an issue. Yes. He'll just keep filling in the form and hope it sorts itself eventually. 

It won't sort itself out. It looks like he is still the registered keeper and unless he sorts that with the DVLA nothing will change.

Whoever owns it now has the V5 which will allow them to tax it online.

LMS123

Thank you for all your replies. He wrote to DVLA with any details he could remember, approx date of sale etc after he got the 1st speeding fine from West Midlands police and heard nothing further from the police or DVLA. 
This 2nd fine is from Lincolnshire police and ,again, he filled in the same form and enclosed a letter of explanation but this time they're chasing it up. Hence the reminder.
He has changed his bank since the car was sold so may have to try and get past statements from them to see if he can trace the transaction. 
But I still don't understand who DVLA are  sending the tax reminders to and why Lincolnshire police don't just check MID.