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Fined us keepers

My son died in September 2008. In February 2008 his Mazda RX8 Reg WV 04 WG had struck a metal object on the M4 Motorway that ripped the bottom out with a loss of oil. His insurers, Norwich Union, declared the car a Class C (repairable) write-off and it was taken away. It was subsequently sold at auction. A few days ago the DVLA Area Enforcement Centre, 1st Floor Granby Avenue, Garretts Green, Birmingham B33 OSD letter was sent to his address saying that the vehicle had been seen in Hamilton Road, Birmingham being kept/used without a licence on 10 November 2008 and requesting an out of court settlement of £188. I have been in touch with the DVLA both in Birmingham and Swansea and have sent off a death certificate. Norwich Union through his insurance broker advised us of the auction. I am puzzled as to what has happened and wondered if the Insurers should have informed the DVLA that they had written off the car or should the Auctioneer done so, or does it come back to my son having done so when they came to collect the car before he gave them the Registration document. What about the buyer at the Auction? He must have been given the registration document and failed to register the car in his name?

Asked on 14 February 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
The new Continuous Registration rules state, “If you do not notify the DVLA that you have disposed of a vehicle you will continue to be held responsible for it.” So, when you dispose of a car as a private sale or to the trade, not only must you fill in section 6 or 9 of the V5 and send it to the DVLA, if you don't receive an acknowledgement from the DVLA within 4 weeks, you must phone DVLA Customer Enquiries on 0870 240 0010 and firmly establish that you are no longer the keeper. In this case, either the insurer, or the salvage company, or the auction, or the subsequent owner did not inform DVLA of the change in keepership, and the computer system is not sensitive enough to check if the previous keeper died. Obviously you do not have to pay the fine.
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