can I be prosecuted, convicted and fined without being told?

SimonAH

I have received a letter telling me that if I don't cough up the 250 squid fine I've been given for failing to inform DVLA about selling a car two years ago they will attach my salary / send in the bailiff / auction my dogs.

A) I did, prats in Swansea must have mislaid the paperwork.
Although I have seen correspondence, none of it was prior to the court date because this is the first letter sent either to my correct address or with my name spelt even close to correctly.
C) I've told.them this.

Where the fcuk do I go from here? Can I demand a day in court and tell them in person that their collective intelligence rates in a low percentile for badgers?

Sirrus_Lee

Did you ever receive the confirmation letter that ownership had been transferred?

Jay dubbleU

Talk to a solicitor - CAB ?

I had a similar experience - random stop by police - didn't have insurance docs on me

I produced them at a police station a couple of days later

Got a letter saying they were going to prosecute for driving without insurance - went to court, produced the docs and got a grovelling apology from the fuzz

stuartturbo

Sirrus_Lee wrote:

Did you ever receive the confirmation letter that ownership had been transferred?

that is the get out clause for the DVLA
small print "if you don't receive this a conformation letter within 2 weeks because we are very useless please contact us again or it is you the seller is at fault"

believe that is the wording LOL

First.Aspect

Are the DVLA the same people who send you those letters about TV licenses?

I recently had a chat with a bloke from the DVLA about switching number plates. He assured me that they never make mistakes. "Never?", say I. Absolutely never. Never heard of a single mistake. I congratulated him for being employed by such a remarkable organisation. Whoosh.

dilemna

If the numbskulls haven't spelt your name correctly then the correspondence does not apply to you.

Contact Mr Loophole Nick Freeman. He will make monkeys of them which shouldn't be hard.

EKE_38BPM

I got threats of baliffs and fines for not completing the SORN for my car last year (even though I did). Whenever the DVLA first contacted me I told them that I had done it but didn't remember receiving their confirmation, so I did another one, but I told them that I would not be paying any fine.
I then received another letter saying that the new SORN had been received, but I would still be liable to a fine because of the first one. I called them and told them again that I would not be paying any fine. They then told me that it would now go to solicitors.

A few weeks later I received a letter from a firm of solicitors (Shyster and Shyster I think) saying that my file had been passed to them and I was now liable to pay a fine and costs. I emailed them and told them the situation (assuming that they didn't have my version of events AKA 'the truth') and said that I would not be paying any fine.

Another few weeks passed and Shyster and Shyster sent me another letter saying "Pay the fine and costs or we'll send the boys round" (I'm paraphrasing). I called a few times (always straight to voicemail) and wrote emails saying:
1) I did send the SORN
2) I don't remember receiving the DVLA's confirmation letter, but as I wasn't really looking for one I thought no more about it at the time
3) As soon as I was notified I completed another SORN
4) The car has always been off the road since the road tax (which hasn't existed since the 1930s anyway) expired
5) I have nothing to gain by not completing the SORN and the inconvenience of doing it is so minor that I have no good reason to not do it at the right time and any right thinking magistrate would see that
6) I won't be paying, so continuing to chase me for the money they won't be getting is a waste of my time and their money

I've heard nothing from them since and its been almost a year since my last contact with them.

Stick to your guns and, if necessary, give it to them with both barrels.

gtvlusso

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Talk to a solicitor - CAB ?

I had a similar experience - random stop by police - didn't have insurance docs on me

I produced them at a police station a couple of days later

Got a letter saying they were going to prosecute for driving without insurance - went to court, produced the docs and got a grovelling apology from the fuzz

+1 - Friend did this.

Confirmed all evidence of fcukmonkeyness, tried to reason with the DVLA, went to court, won, lots of apologies....it was a bloody headache during the procedings though, in her own words "always wondered if there was something i'd missed".....

iPete

oooo errr, can't remember if I ever received a confirmation of change of ownership for my car that I scrapped, I can't even remember who the scrap guys were, paperwork life fail :oops:

Best dig through my paperwork when I get home!

Rich158

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Talk to a solicitor - CAB ?

I had a similar experience - random stop by police - didn't have insurance docs on me

I produced them at a police station a couple of days later

Got a letter saying they were going to prosecute for driving without insurance - went to court, produced the docs and got a grovelling apology from the fuzz

had a very similar case, stopped for speeding and asked to produce docs. Duly produced docs the next day at the police station and they kept my license for endorsement. Received a summons a few weeks later for not producing my docs, went to see a solicitor who phoned the police and the courts informing them I had the receipt for producing the docs and them keeping my license, guess what, the speeding prosecution suddenly vanished

DonDaddyD

Got a parking ticket from Southwark Council. Paid the actual permit but parked on the wrong side of the road. :x

Responded contesting the ticket. Didn't hear anything back and a whole year went past (maybe close to two). Then a bailiff came round to my parents, my brother sent him packing explaining to the guy he was lucky Dad wasn't in. Got a letter asking for £200 which was now £400 and would be £1000...

Contacted the parking fine authorities who put a pause on the whole thing due to my claim that Southwark haven't contacted me to respond to the my initial letter contesting the ticket (true).

Southwark Council refused the request from the parking fine authorities (I forget the name) and said it would be going to court as they want to proceed with bailiff and extortionate fine.

Went to court - I didn't go, Mrs DDD wrote a letter. Verdict came back and I had to pay £50, which was the cost of the initial fine. Similar thing happened with Merton Council, when I parked on my own road without a permit. I didn't let that one go so far though.

OP, there is always a regulatory body of public services and/or Judge (for when it goes to court) who will often sympathise because (i) they would have heard dozens maybe hundreds of cases that are similar (ii) have concluded that said service is taking liberties, incompetent and taking the piss.

Fight the power.

Probably start here: http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/contactus/if ... wrong.aspx Then request details of the 'Body' you have to go to to complain about the DVLA/contest the fine. Do you have a record of your cars previous documents.

moonio

So this is what my tax money is being spent on? No wonder britain is broke(n)

EX DH

Its down to you as current/previous keeper to chase comformation that the vehicle is no longer your responsability. I work for the DVLA and its nuts the amount of post that goes walk about! If posting anything to swansea id always use recorded post. That way if it does go missing you can point the finger at the postie and they can pay any costs. Fair enough mistakes do happen but just think about the ammount of cars and drivers records we try to keep accurate. Were only human at the end of the day.

jds_1981

EX DH wrote:

Stuff

messing with peoples lives though under rules that the DVLA set up (relatively recently.)

When I was at University one of my house mates sent documents to the council that showed we were exempt from council tax. Think we got an angry letter some time later from the council asking us to pay council tax. He phoned them and they insisted they'd not received anything until he informed them he'd got confirmed recorded delivery. They went for one last check & voila, they had it.

neonriver

EX DH wrote:

Its down to you as current/previous keeper to chase comformation that the vehicle is no longer your responsability. I work for the DVLA and its nuts the amount of post that goes walk about! If posting anything to swansea id always use recorded post. That way if it does go missing you can point the finger at the postie and they can pay any costs. Fair enough mistakes do happen but just think about the ammount of cars and drivers records we try to keep accurate. Were only human at the end of the day.

I presume that the DVLA will accept the "only human" excuse for anyone not updating details.

! You are a huge government funded organisation you can not use "only human" as an excuse.

neiltb

EX DH wrote:

Its down to you as current/previous keeper to chase comformation that the vehicle is no longer your responsability. I work for the DVLA and its nuts the amount of post that goes walk about! If posting anything to swansea id always use recorded post. That way if it does go missing you can point the finger at the postie and they can pay any costs. Fair enough mistakes do happen but just think about the ammount of cars and drivers records we try to keep accurate. Were only human at the end of the day.

DVLA recommends registered post, then if they lose it (as happens a lot apparently) you can turn around and blame postman pat? You lost it you clowns.

EX DH

Im not waiding into the big 'government funded organisation' guff. im just saying from experiance that if it goes missing it 'might' not be our fault!

I dont work in the main site at swansea but at a local office, where we take the reception of post and counter applications very seriously!!!

EX DH

neiltb

Prove it! xxx

The Rookie

DVLA may recommend it, but don't use it themselves, there is no requirement in law for you to confirm they got the original letter, DVLA have had their own ass handed to them on a plate a few times in court on that one.

Get on the forums at www.pepipoo.com and you'll get the best advice - free!

You need to make a statutory decleration at court (any court) that you new nothing of the case against you, that will revert the case back to prior to summosn and they will either issue a new summons or not.

Simon

EX DH

Road tax is bad enough with out having to add extra costs so we could send everything recorded post.

Its easier for us to issue a duplicate letter/tax disk/reg dock than it is for you to have to replace any of them if they have been lost(not by us). xxx

cee

EX DH wrote:

Road tax is bad enough with out having to add extra costs so we could send everything recorded post.

Its easier for us to issue a duplicate letter/tax disk/reg dock than it is for you to have to replace any of them if they have been lost(not by us). xxx

Hold on....you work for the DVLA and ride a bike....and post on commuter forums....and still use the term 'Road Tax'??

you're asking for it there buddy....

EX DH

You know those times when you wished you hadnt said anything? This is one!

Im just a guy trying to do a job as well as he can to earn money to buy bikes/bits so i cant get out and forget about everything!

veronese68

EX DH wrote:

You know those times when you wished you hadnt said anything? This is one!

Im just a guy trying to do a job as well as he can to earn money to buy bikes/bits so i cant get out and forget about everything!

Well done for not just ducking back below the parapet after being shot down, most people would have done.

Specialized Needs

Proof of posting (free) may suffice.

mattv

I think (from a car forum I also use) that the dvla has onmany occasions been told in court that as they do not clearly state correspondence should be by recorded post, it is upto THEM to prove it was never posted. Good luck, the dvla at swansea are evil!

DonDaddyD

Didn't realise admitting you work for the DVLA was like admitting you're a traffic warden or, social worker, bailiff, customer service at Lloyds TSB....

Kieran_Burns

DonDaddyD wrote:

Didn't realise admitting you work for the DVLA was like admitting you're a traffic warden or, social worker, bailiff, customer service at Lloyds TSB....

or have an Alpha male online persona and be called Laurence....