I asked the dvla the very same question and was told they need to hand in the tax disc unless they have lost it... Loophole indeed

Hi and thanks, yes I phoned him tonight - he is looking into it. I think he bought the car and sold it on. He said that he would contact the previous owner and check - I think he bought the car with the tax situation already in place. My other gripe is with the DVLA though. Can they really just clamp you, get you to pay then even when you do pay up, keep you stranded with no explanation. If I hadn't phoned them to check, i would still be waiting in good faith following them saying they would release the vehicle...

Hi, my first post and quite a long story... I purchased a car privately last month. It was taxed until 11/12 (end of Nov)... or so i thought. Whilst driving thru a small country village where i work when a DVLA van taps on the window. They inform me my car is not taxed. I tell them it is and show them the tax disc which says end nov 12. They inform me that when i purchased the car, the tax disc had been refunded in may - I had the receipt from the car purchase on me and tried to use it as proof. as i had to return to work, they followed me and clamped my car, tellin