Just a quick update on this... I wrote twice to DVLA and they eventually sent me a dispute form asking me to tell them why I didn't think I should be paying the fine, even though I'd sent two letters describing the situation. The day after I got the form I was sent another letter telling me my dispute had been rejected so I had to pay the extra £40. It also said on the form to call a number if I had any questions. So I called it to ask why they'd rejected my claim even though I hadn't even filled the form in yet! I spoke to a total idiot who had all my details up on the system and told me my reason for not paying the fine wasn't a valid one. It was TOTALLY the wrong information and he wouldn't accept that they had put the wrong details into their system. He said I had to pay it and that was that. I might still make a complaint about him actually, it was worrying that he had just judged me on what was on front of him on a screen. So I sent the dispute form off anyway, detailing all this, and got a reply back yesterday saying I don't have to pay it!

Hi all I'm new here so apologies if this is in the wrong forum... I was late paying my car tax a while ago, by quite a long way. I set up reminders on my phone/laptop for all this stuff, insurance, tax, mot etc, so I'm never late. I had an issue where I lost all that data and had to put it back in manually, only I forgot the car tax reminder. As soon as I realised I bought new tax immediately, but it was two months before I realised it was out of date, a genuine mistake. About two months later I received a letter from Collectica saying I owed them £80; £40 for a 'Late Payment Penalty' and another £40 for not paying the Late Payment fine, if that makes sense. I contacted DVLA and they tell me I was sent the Late Payment notice, but I never received it. I live about a mile away from an address which is very similar to mine, and we occasionally get each other's mail, so I can only asssume this happened as I never got that letter. So I tried to contact Collectica and they are almost impossible to speak to, unless you want to pay. I don't agree that I should pay the £80 but I have paid £40 as it was my mistake in the first place. Collectica keep sending me threatening letters, they really are quite horrendous and I'm pretty thick-skinned. The latest one threatens bankruptcy, CCJs, etc. In the meantime I have written to both them and DVLA. I wrote to DVLA 3 weeks ago asking them to intervene and suspend Collectica's activity. I called DVLA today to chase this as I am still getting letters from Collectica. DVLA tell me they never received my letter. I have written to Collectica and they did not acknowledge the content of my letter, just my payment. I have written again today to both, the DVLA letter has gone by registered post this time. I think it's ironic that this all started with a lost letter, and mine to them has also been 'lost'. Their postal system maybe doesn't work as well as it should? My question is this... What can Collectica actually do regarding this £40 even though I'm doing my best to contact both agencies involved. The possible outcomes are quite scary according to their letters and I'm cacking myself that I might come home one day to find my car clamped, or have people turning up at my door demanding payment. Has anyone had this situation before? I searched on Collectica and while there are many posts about them I can't find anything that fits my scenario. Thanks in advance.