Hi all,
I traded my old car in in April which was on it's last legs. I just got through a letter from DVLA stating that I owed them £19 + a £40 admin fee for the car's tax disk as I am still the legal owner, even though I got a form from the VW dealership at the time stating the opposite.
Where do I stand, does anyone know? If the fine isn't paid within 2 weeks it goes up to £80.
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You need to phone up the DVLA who seem to think you still have the car, why - possibly because of an admin error or they have not received the details from the dealer.
Tell them when and to whome you sold the car to.
Furthermore you may offer to fax them evidence that the car is sold. They're actually very reasonable if you have these problems.
H
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Thanks for your reply - if the dealership that took my car couldn't sell it or something (the engine was properly knackered), is there a chance that they never re-registered it in anyone elses name?
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And am I likely to get away without paying the fine in your view?????
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What does it say in the documentation ?
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Don't know.
What you have to consider is that DVLA seem to be very efficient in acting with the (mis)information they may have.
If this information is incorrect you are surely best served in putting them in the picture.
That is all I can say on the subject.
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Contact the DVLA imediatly in writing and send a photocopy of all documentation you received when you sold the vehicle. As stated they are likely to be helpfull if all is as it seems.
Paul
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And send it at least Recorded Delivery!
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It took me year to sort out a similar problem ,it even got as far as bailiffs and a court summonse ,all letters registered ,all calls log time and who you talked to make copies of all docs .If everything is in order they will eventually back off ,you can also claim compensation but thats another story.The dealer probably sold your car on as a job lot ,this is where the long term problems arise if the new owner does not bother to tax it everthing falls back on you speeding tickets, parkimg tickets etc
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So I take it you didn't send off the slip from the V5 form that is for notification if you sell of transfer to a motor trader? If you have sent it off then did you receive a letter confirming receipt from the DVLA? That would be all the proof you need.
Unfortunately the VW dealership will not have informed the DVLA about their purchase of the car, it isn't their job to do it, it's your's.
The people who you want to approach here is the garage and ask them to pay your fine out of goodwill if they genuinely didn't tell you that you needed to send off the slip. Even if they didn't tell you they have no legal obligation to pay your fine as it youself who didn't comply with the rules not them.
Sorry, I know it's harsh to hear, but there are loads of adverts on TV and radio telling people what will happen if they fail to tell the DVLA that they have sold their car. I would contact the DVLA of course and inform them now, better late than never, but I don't know how far you'll get in them dropping the fine.
One of my customers once didn't send off their red slip from the V5 and got a fine, they tried to blame me, saying that I told them just to hang on to it and not bother sending it off! Anyway, my employers decided to pay their fine out of pure goodwill, despite having no legal obligation and the customer producing the red slip that I had signed! Why would I sign it and tell them not to send it? A phonecall to the DVLA did not result in the fine being dropped. Sorry, but it's still a touchy area for me and I end up going on a rant about it to this day... I'll go and wash the car now and calm down a bit.... :-)
Blue
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I had a similar issue in the Spring. My car was involved in an accident last autumn and it took forever to get things finalised. It was eventually written off.
I never saw the car after November although technically it was still my car up until March. The DVLA sent me through a nice little bill explaining that if I didn't pay up they'd see me in court.
I sent it all off to my insurance company who took care of everything for me. I've never heard from DVLA about it since.
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Hells bells the V5C registration certificate makes it abundantly clear that if you do not notify the DVLA that you have sold or transferred the car you will be liable. It's in big bold print at the top of the back page. No wonder the DVLA sometimes seem reticent to help plonkers.
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Get the VW dealer to pay you the loss.
Schoolboy
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What School boy means is ask them nicely if they will. Remember, this isn't their legal problem, it's your's, they aren't the ones who are supposed to tell the DVLA. The only way you might get them to help is if you can show them that they didn't tell you to send the slip off, even then it's down to their goodwill if they choose to do it.
Blue
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Perleman,
These are the new rules, the onus is on you to sign and send off the part saying you sold it to the dealer or you will be liable for the tax for ever. You also need to tell them if you scrap it or keep it off road.
However Royal Mail is less than reliable these days and you could try explaining that to the DVLA .....
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Thanks everyone for your help on this, it's great to be able to draw on previous experience - and as we all know, there are often best ways of dealing with this sort of problem that aren't apparant from simply reading forms & official letters.
Cheers all
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