Tax discs.......a warning,all may not be well

[scoobypete]

Just thought i'd let you guys know of a problem ive got at the moment,
Went to tax my vw van that i bought last August online this morning only to be told that i was liable to a fine as the van hadnt been taxed or sorned since i became the owner...
This i know to be not true as i taxed it the week after i bought it,and the tax disc is still in the window!!!
After spending 45 mins on the phone to DVLA arguing my case they still wont accept it was taxed and i have to send them a copy of said tax disc plus the reciept from the post office where i bought it from which luckily i still have.....
How i never got stopped anywhere i don't know as the guy from dvla said it would have shown up on police anpr that it wasnt taxed.....
Just goes to show........

[dbizzle]

Sorry, I don't get how this has happened. Is it possible, then, for the Post Office to dole out tax discs without them registering on the system...?

[retrowagen1234]

Mar 1, 2011 11:23:19 GMT dbizzle said:

Sorry, I don't get how this has happened. Is it possible, then, for the Post Office to dole out tax discs without them registering on the system...?

They scan them don't they?

I know when i last did the carlton they had given me all the paperwork back. Scanned the new disc and then filled it out with details on their screen. So I'm guessing DVLA linked straight away.....

[scoobypete]

I don't know either,bit miffed to be honest.....couldve been stopped at any time and had van impounded...... :/

[Autofive]

someone at the post office pocketing your money?
or the usual dvla feck-up?

either way you are in the right, stand your ground, gather information and ask questions

DO NOT SEND THE DEVILA THE ORIGINAL TAX DISC

[damageandy]

as above i wouldnt send them the original disc or reciept in the post, they would loose it then try and make you pay the fine, you may have to go to a local dvla office to get it sorted out, just make sure they originals stay in your possession.

I doubt they wont accept photocopies, but they would have no case in court anyway so nothing to fear.
From experience the police really don't care much about cars been taxed or not aslong as the other two show up, tax is more of a dvla issue now than a police one in my experience.

[scoobypete]

I shant be sending originals don't worry

[Garry]

They want a copy of the tax disc, so take a good hi-res photo of it and send that, and a photo of it on display in the car window.

[bryn]

Sorry to hear you've had problems, without boring you I had a similar problem, I had the tax disc witnessed by the post office and copied before sending them copies of everything. They threatened court, I wrote a letter back to the case officer and said I'd see them there and then receieved a letter saying no further action would be taken... Very annoying. This was seven years ago, so sorry I can't give more specific details.

Just as sometimes you forget to declare a car sold or off road, they make mistakes too. I was also stopped in a vehicle at a routine vehicle licensing check point, I had taxed it two weeks prior and had the cash receipt in my wallet. The policeman wasn't happy and insisted I must have paid by cheque and then cancelled it, but in the end realised the DVLA was at fault for not updating the system.

Meh, we all make mistakes

[waveman1500]

Interesting to hear that. I hope that it doesn't happen to me in the future as the computer will be all I have to rely on. On July 1 this year, South Australia is getting rid of rego stickers completely! My money will no longer buy me a sticker, just a receipt on paper and an electronic change to my expiry date.

Also, for some strange reason which I don't understand, they are getting rid of 6 month and 9 month registration payments. At the moment you can choose to pay your rego for 3,6,9 or 12 months. I've got my Bug's renewal in front of me here and it's $177 for 3 months, $345 for 6, $508 for 9 and $668 for 12 months. As you can see it gets slightly cheaper per month the longer you buy. As a result of this, organised people (like myself) always buy 12 months because it's the most cost effective and least hassle, and people who live from week to week (like a mate of mine) always buy it for 3 months. Taking this as some kind of weird sign, the Department of Transport have decided that the population has voted off the 6 and 9 month rego periods like this is some kind of reality show or something.

[fredtransit]

I had this once, with a van that had been on set. I thought I had swapped back the real current disc, but the 1983 disc was still in the window two weeks later. I was told by a copper it wasn't taxed, despite my forcing the genuine, valid disc into his hand for examination. He was so insistent it wasn't taxed (as not showing up on the PNC/ANPR) that I ran to the computer, where the DVLA online said it was indeed taxed. Nothing came of it though.

[retrowagen1234]

Slightly OT but same train, I had some problems before with my insurance not showing up on the police system. But showing up fine online . And also when the copper rang them it came up ok.


It all equates to the same as my opinion of touchscreen phones and computers. Untill they can get it to work reliably! They shouldnt be forcing it on us as the best thing since sliced bread.

[scoobypete]

Well ive wrote them a letter,sent them a color photocopy of the disc and the reciept recorded delivery,just a case of waiting now.

[fredtransit]

Mar 1, 2011 11:20:37 GMT scoobypete said:

Just thought i'd let you guys know of a problem ive got at the moment,
Went to tax my vw van that I bought last August online this morning only to be told that I was liable to a fine as the van hadnt been taxed or sorned since I became the owner...
This I know to be not true as I taxed it the week after I bought it,and the tax disc is still in the window!!!
After spending 45 mins on the phone to DVLA arguing my case they still wont accept it was taxed and I have to send them a copy of said tax disc plus the reciept from the post office where I bought it from which luckily I still have.....
How I never got stopped anywhere I don't know as the guy from dvla said it would have shown up on police anpr that it wasnt taxed.....
Just goes to show........

Just reading this again, could there have been a mistake as to when the last tax disc started? If you bought it in August, it would have had to have been backdated to the 1st August. Aug-Jan is six months. Therefore they might have been informed it's not been taxed for the month of Feb. If the disc started in Sept though this won't count.

[scoobypete]

No i bought the van on the 22nd of August,it was taxed for the 1st september and ran out this morning....ive already thought that lol
According to the guy at dvla they have no record of anything from the date of change of ownership....

[Llewelyn_]

Mar 1, 2011 12:17:29 GMT @retrowagen1234 said:

It all equates to the same as my opinion of touchscreen phones and computers. Untill they can get it to work reliably! They shouldnt be forcing it on us as the best thing since sliced bread.

Haha! The iPhone being the only exception to this rule!

I'll tell you what bugs me, the sh*tty self service check outs, worst invention ever.

Back to topic, what happens if you are fined for not SORN'ing a vehicle, and then you actually never bother to SORN? Can they keep fining you, or is it a one off hit?

[roscocav]

From what i understand of it when you get fined for not declaring SORN you also get charged tax to date and then you have to declare sorn or tax for 6 or 12 months

[damageandy]

i would never pay any fines from the dvla either, they give up after a few threatening letters, because they know they wont win in court.

www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/03/dvla_court/

[thetattoostudio]

Mar 1, 2011 15:38:48 GMT damageandy said:

I would never pay any fines from the dvla either, they give up after a few threatening letters, because they know they wont win in court.

www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/03/dvla_court/

I just got another letter for L500TBW from the dvla telling me to pay an £80 fine for not sorning it.

This is the forth now, they send one every 12 months on the dot.

I told them I had sent the V5C to them declaring permanantly scrapped, but they said they never recieved it.

2 years ago, I paid £28 for a replacement V5C so i could send it off to them, and I got a letter back asking to see the car as it was permanantly scrapped on their system. so one system sees it as gone, and the other sees it as illegally on the road.

I just ignore it now, I also ignore the Phillips debt collection letters too.

Oh and privatly run parking, like Pc world or maccy D'S, they also get ignored, when they send a fine for being there over 2 ours or returning with in 4 hours.

[welder]

Had the same problem with the Manta. Cops pulled me saying it was untaxed, I showed them the disc that I'd purchased three weeks earlier. They said the system mustn't have been updated in that time. Then the feckers spent half an hour pulling it to pieces looking for evidence of it having been stolen/ringered etc. And they wonder why they're unpopular.