Propsed fees for failure to notify a change of circumstances to a Local Authorities (LA) in regards to Council tax and possibly Housing benefit too! My local LA (Southend on sea Borough Council) SBC)) has recently had a full Council meeting and are propsing charging people for failing to notify a change of circumstances. This could be between £70-£280! (please see my attacments (1) (2). 2 for the quick version and 1 for the full document. Or see section 6 page 67 all... This was previously just £50 now the new rates could cause more financial issues for many people. 2 RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 That the Executive agree that consultation takes place on the implementation of a fixed penalty of £70 to Council tax charge payers, permitted under the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, who intentionally or knowingly fail to notify the Council of any change affecting Council Tax Liability or Local Council Tax Benefit Scheme (LCTBS) without reasonable excuse. 3 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 The Council has powers under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Schedule 3) to impose civil penalties to those charge payers who wilfully neglect to inform the Council of changes which affect their Council Tax liability. There are at least 6 areas that could affect the claimant/bill payer this could be on top of what DWP already charge. It could pay to ask your LA if they also intend on doing the same as mine. Given that most LAs now have to find new inovative ways to get more money in their coffers then this one surely is a way to make money from failure to notiy a change of circumstances in a reasonable time frame (normally 28 days) sometimes less.... Info here and other places >> https://www.gov.uk/civil-penalty-changes-affect-benefits Your thoughts.... Benefit failure fees.pdf Public reports pack 14th-Feb-2017 14.00 Cabinet[556].pdf

I hope I've posted this in the right section. Long story short. Friend had a barny with his misses and cops were called. He was bailed on a condition that he does not speak with her or go near their shared house. He had no key or documents for the car, which was left at the house. Car runs out of tax/insurance and the DVLA take the car away. Car is subject to a finance agreement. He assumes the DVLA would have notified him as the registered keeper but obviously his ex never passed it on. (He never notified the DVLA of a change of address as he was living out of a black bin bag at various friends houses). So fast forward six months and the Finance Company coming looking for the car which was lifted. Would the DVLA have to carry out a HPI check on the car, and also notify the Finance Company, before crushing? He is convinced it has been crushed.

Hi folks, On 9th January I received a letter from the DVLA accusing me of failing to notify them that I had sold my motorbike and demanding a £55 out of court settlement. I replied stating that I had notified them on the day of sale and completed the attached statement. I have now received a second letter demanding £35 before 20/02/15 or the cost will go up to £55. If I haven't paid by 27/02/15 they say they will take me to court. I know I am in the right and I'm perfectly happy to argue this in court as the law is on my side. I'm a police officer so giving evidence in court is nothing new to me I would like to stop this before it reaches court if possible and if not then I want to be as prepared as possible to beat this DVLA issue. I get the feeling that DVLA will send increasingly threatening letters and then drop the case at the doors of the courtroom. Would people advise just ignoring the DVLAs letter and waiting for the court summons or has anyone been successful in stopping this before it gets that far?

I just arrived back from holiday today for over a month and noticed that I received a letter saying that I had failed to notify the dvla about the disposal of my vehicle and that I incurred a fine of £55. I arrived back after their payment date. I am wondering if I will be compelled to court or whether, because of my being away when the letter arrived and for the duration if the payment window, might I be able to pay the original fine? The closure date was yesterday (Friday). I arrived today (Saturday).

Hi, im looking for some advice. Approx 15 years ago I sold my motorbike to a guy through a newspaper advert and sent off the green slip. I hadnt heard anything since then until I received a Failure to Notify letter a month or so ago. I wrote back saying i did return the slip (which I would have done) and that i didnt have the person I sold it to's details but they wrote again saying I had to pay £55 to avoid court action (or £35 if I pay promptly). I filled in the dispute form and wrote a letter explaining I couldnt provide the persons details as i dont keep my records that long and that I thought that given the timescale involved i thought it was unreasonable to continue action against me but they have written again and advised that as its my responsibility to pursue the acknowledgement letter confirming they have updated their records and I didnt, they intend to take me to court if I dont pay. Whats peoples views and experiences - given the 15 year timescale involved if I push it all the way and go to court i s the case likely to be dropped or am i likely to have to pay a bigger amount and court costs? Any thoughts appreciated! I dont want to go to court but im willing to if theres a good chance action would be dropped. Thanks in advance Nick

Hiya.....please help. Received a court summons this morning. Part ex'd our car in December at a skoda dealers and was asked to leave signed logbook with them to sort out... ..3 months later received first letter from dvla.. .wrote back saying the above. Heard nothing back until today. ..phoned up dealer to find out what happened and was told they lost the logbook so needed to reapply for a new one.. the dealers have let me down. ...I have 3 weeks until my court date - any advice? Thank you X

Hi All Hoping someone here can help. I sold a van around 6 months ago. Logbook was signed by the new owner and myself etc and it was posted out the next day. Couple months later I receive the normal letter with a fine failing to notify them. I did not respond to the letter but did ring them explaining the logbook was sent out already. 2 Weeks ago I received a "No ASL Required" Requisition from DVLA/Court stating I had to go to the court on the Wednesday. To be completely honest, I misplaced the letter and did not enter a plea and did not show up at court. My stupid fault yes. I phoned the court today to get the results and I've been fined £200 + £20 (surcharge) + £90 (court costs). This is all because they are claiming they never received the logbook. Is there a letter I can send the court or do I just pay the fine? Thanks, Mike

Hi to everyone on the forum i am looking for a bit of help with a letter i am writing to the dvla in response to a letter i got for them asking for an out of court settlement for failure to notify disposal of vehicle. Back in December of last year i sold a motorbike and sent of the v5c and never thought anything more of it, then about 3 months ago i got a letter stating that someone else had applied for a log book for the bike and that if i do not respond within 14 days (i think that was the time frame) the log book will be issued. i did nothing and thought that would be the end of it. Today i received another letter for the failure to notify disposal of vehicle asking that i pay an out of court settlement or they will take me to court. I have been reading through the forums about this matter and have found some great advice and fully intend to fight this ,i have found a letter written by the troublemaker (thank you and i hope you dont mind me using one of your letters as a template). I have used this as a template changing some things to make it more relevant to my case and was hoping that some of the members that have dealt with this could please have look over it and tell me what they think and if anything needs changing thanks. Here is the letter: Dear sir/madam I am writing in regards to the demand from you the DVLA that i pay an out of court settlement of £55 by the 25 of May 2014 reduced to £35 if paid by the 18 of May 2014 for the "failure to notify disposal of vehicle xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. I am informing you the DVLA that I surrendered the vehicle’s V5C document to the DVLA as required by law. The V5 was returned to the DVLA by Royal Mail First Class post. On the date of 18th of December 2013 via the post box at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The sale was of a "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx", VRM "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" from myself to the new keeper ,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,and the data of sale was the 17 of December 2013 as entered on the V5C that was sent to yourselves on the date of 18th of December 2013. With regards to this my responsibility ends as soon as I relinquished control of delivery to the UK Postal Service, Royal Mail as stated in Section 07 of the Interpretations Act 1978. Section 07 of the Interpretations Act 1978. References to service by post Where an Act authorises or requires any document to be served by post (whether the expression "serve" or the expression " give " or " send " or any other expression is used) then, unless the contrary intention appears, the service is deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting a letter containing the document and, unless the contrary is proved, to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. I would like to bring your attention to the wording 'whether the expression "serve" or the expression " give " or " send " or any other expression is used' clearly also covers 'deliver'. Therefore, by correctly addressing the envelope, affixing a stamp to cover the necessary charge (as is required), and by placing the item in a Royal Mail Mailbox, I have fulfilled my responsibility to notify the DLVA as required by statute legislation, and furthermore as the DVLA are an Executive Agency for the Department for Transport, by me sending the V5C by post to DVLA , it was therefore delivered to the Secretary of State as required by this legislation. As the DVLA place their postal address on the V5C and do not offer an alternative delivery method for this communication, nor do they request I communicate this via means other than posting I have followed the DVLA’s own instruction with regard to this matter. This is also covered within the Human Rights Act 1998, Schedule 1, Article 6, section 2 whereby it states‘Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. ‘ I have no proof of posting the V5 document because the DVLA does not require me to obtain this. I also believe that I should not have to prove that I posted the V5C and if this matter does indeed go to court it is the requirement of the DVLA to prove that I did not. I would also like to bring your attention to FOIR 1396/09, Sent to Collins, whereby Richard Batchelor clearly states that “..if an item of mail does happen to be mislaid within the Agency, the responsible area would be unaware of the loss until notified (normally by the sender of the mail). There is no automatic process alerting the Agency to a previously received item of mail that had not been processed.” Therefore we cannot rule out the possibility that my notification was received by the DVLA at the address required, and was subsequently misplaced internally after delivery. I will now move onto more details on my responsibilities as to the V5 document. Details on the V5 state - 'Once we know about the changes, you should receive an acknowledgement letter to confirm that you are no longer responsible for the vehicle. If you do not receive the letter within 4 weeks, please phone 0300 790 6802. Can you please advise under what Statute Legislation I am lawfully obliged to contact DVLA if I do not receive any such acknowledgement or correspondence from DVLA. The question of the legislation on contacting DVLA and statute legislation has already been judged in various county courts and has been found in the defendants favour. This matter has been discussed in great lengths on BBC TV Watchdog. I should like to bring your attention to DVLA vs. Peck. Mr Peck (Claim 9BR0829 at Horsham county court. The Judge found in Mr Pecks's favour stating the DVLA has no statutory power requiring anyone to contact them should they not receive an acknowledgment letter. I must also inform you The DVLA that I am fully aware of the DVLA vs Kennedy case whereby Mr Kennedy claimed he was wrongfully convicted of the same offence I am being charged with. Mr Kennedy then appealed his case to Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday 9th September 2011. DVLA prosecutors at Swansea withdrew and offered no evidence to the crown court. No doubt this was to stop a precedence being set as case law being it was a Court of Appeal and binding on all equal and lower Courts. Considering the information contained in this letter, I hope you will see that proceeding with this prosecution is in no means justified, and the matter can now hopefully be considered closed. However, if you do continue with this prosecution then I must advise you I will be seeking my costs back from the DVLA if I am found to be not guilty on the charges. I trust this letter is explanatory in its context and reserve the right to show this letter in court if needed. Yours faithfully

Hi - I wonder if anyone of you could help. I relocated to the UK about two years ago and my brother moved back to Italy from UK leaving me his van and my details on that small green DVLA paper. I did not transfer that van into my name and a year and half later sold it to someone. Now i received summon from DVLA that I failed to notify them of change of name with potential £1000 + £90 fine. What to do?????? please help.

TWO months ago i sold my car and sent off the V5 to DVLA as instructed. After receiving no response i have just telephoned DVLA. They are saying that they still have me as the Registerd keeper and that it is still SORN. They state that they have not received any notification that the vehicle has been sold. The internet is awash with people in similar circumstances as mine and end up receiving an £80 penalty for failure to notify the secretary of state. Talking to the DVLA is like pulling teeth. Their attitude is just send in another letter, great until that gets lost and i still end up with a possible ticket. This is a racket by DVLA and borders on criminality So my question is how do i get DVLA to acknowledge receipt that i have sold the vehicle and that i am no longer the owner of that vehicle. You really cannot make this up

My OH has a car which was in the garage for some considerable time (actually about 2 years). Eventually he and the owner got it sorted out at the end of last year. My OH was then critically ill and he was unable to collect the vehicle. The garage owner then attempted to sell the vehicle - first we knew about it was a letter from the DVLA saying that someone else had applied for registration. We called the DVLA and explained and they said that we should involve the police. We didnt because within a few hours it was sorted with the garage. We paid for the vehicle, taxed it and collected it. The garage said that they had notified the DVLA that there were not to proceed with the new registered keeper. Now we have received a Failure to Notify Disposal of Vehicle. 1. The vehicle was never disposed of - indeed it is still on the drive and 2. Does this mean that the DVLA have registered it in the name of someone else?! TIA

Hi all, Last year I had sold my car privately on 01/07/2013. This was due to the fact that my father had died and my mother had sold me his car. Therefore I had to sell my car. I sold it on this date and sent the v5c form within a two week period of it being sold. I knew it was within two weeks as I was back at work at the end of July and I had also met with the new owners of the car 3 weeks later when they found some CDs under the seat. They asked me if I had sent it and of course I said that yes I had. That was that. (Again unfortunate that I did not have exact date of posting but I had dad's funeral to worry about). I did not ring DVLA after 4 weeks of it being sold , as we know it is not statutory in law and because I was dealing with everything else at the time - helping with dads funeral, sorting out my mum and dealing with family matters. I receive a requsition on Thursday evening saying that I had to answer the charge that on 31/07/2013 I failed to deliver notification to the Secretary of State the registration document. It is asking me to make my plea. The witness statement says that no proof was given that I had given them necessary details for them to believe that I had informed them. I did indeed send it off, my partner is witness to me putting it in an envelope and posting it. At the time I unfortunately did not use recorded delivery but I had other things on my mind and didn't realise that I would need to use any recorded delivery. (I know better for the future to use recorded!) What are my next steps in order to try and resolve this? I'm am in no way a criminal and have been very upset and stressed by this letter. I am worried that it will effect my job as a teacher and basically ruin my career.

Hi all, been reading a lot about these lately as my partner has just received her requestion through the post. I've written 2 letters, one to the court as we are unable to attend due to been out of the country and one to the dvla as they seem to enjoy losing our post as you will see from the information in the letter. Anything you would change or advise? She plans on pleading not guilty. Letter to the DVLA Letter to Court; Going to court is a massive hassle and is going to cost enough in fuel as it's not local (45miles away) and time off work to attend, just need it sorted and forgotten about. Hiring a solicitor is also out the question due to cost. Thanks

Hello! So I sold my motorbike a couple of months back, didn't have the V5 etc. So the new owner contacted the DVLA and asked for one. They then contacted me saying the new owner had requested it and that I need to send off some info (like the green slip) or something (which I didn't have). So anyway, few months later I get a letter through at my dads, whos house I use as a postal address. The letter says I owe them £55! reduced to £35 if I pay by the 22nd March. What the bloody hell? It never said anything about a fine in the previous letter, it literally just said If i ignore it they'll do the rest. Any help? Could I just tell them I never got the letter?!

Like so many others it seems I am getting letters from various agencies requesting my £80 fine. Each time I contact the DC and explain my situation I am told that the matter will be returned to the DVLA, which it is but then is passed to another agency. I sent all the paperwork back as requested when my car as scrapped, but the DVLA "didn't receive it" I must have sent it at least three time. As this was over six years ago, can I send them the statute barred letter?

I would like some advice about a situation my nephew is currently in. This week in our local paper under the Magistrates named & shamed bit my nephews name appeared for the following offence: Failed to deliver notification of transfer of a vehicle to a person who was not a vehicle trader. Fined £200, costs £110. T he address given for my nephew was his mother's address which he left in difficult circumstances 18 months ago. This was the first he had heard of any court proceedings as he obviously hasn't received any letters about it as they would have gone to his mothers address, plus he has never owned a vehicle, in fact he only has a provisional licence. We suspect his mother has something to do with this. She is no stranger to fraud and dishonest behaviour. I have spent the last 2 years clearing my mums name for unpaid mobile phone accounts and pay day loans she took out using my mums name so no love lost there. As soon as my nephew was old enough she used hs name to get catalogue credit etc so he has no credit rating now either! I have also been told that she posted on FB that " after 18 months what goes around has finally come around" so she is obviously feeling pleased with herself. My nephew has phoned the Magistrates, they said the only thing they could tell him was it related to a "large" vehicle like a van, people carrier or a 4 x4 but he needs to write to DVLA to explain the circumstances & ask them to write to the court to have the conviction set aside. As I said he has never owned a vehicle so it is definitely not his. Has anyone come across this situation before and can give advice on what will happen next? He obviously has no court paperwork or any documentation whatsoever. Also is there anything I can do to find out more about the vehicle this relates to with a view to finding out who has done this?. Any help would be appreciated

Hi all! I've received a letter today from the DVLA (which the "Enforcement officer" hasn't even bothered to sign) stating that I have failed to notify them of the disposal of a vehicle. But I haven't disposed of it, I sold the vehicle back in 19/10/2013 filled out the V5c, sent it to them 2 days later. The new keeper obviously hasn't received the v5c back and has applied for a new one (I have done this before in a similar situation). So they want to charge me £55 to settle out of court, or £35 if paid early. I don't think I should pay this as I don't think I haven't done anything wrong. I filled out their form as usual, sent it to them as usual, but now its my fault?? I have bought and sold over 50 vehicles in the last 6yrs and have never had a problem, I always send the paperwork off within a few days and all has been well. My question is, what should I do? Shall I bend over and take one off the DVLA, or try to fight it and not pay and risk end up paying more. I know its only £35 which normally I wouldn't have a problem paying a fine for something that I've done wrong but in this case I believe I haven't! Thanks, Marc.

Hi I am yet another unfairly treated by the DVLA regarding change of keepers. I have read up on the subject and am preparing my defence. The purpose of this thread is to ask if anyone who won their case is willing to provide me details that I can submit in defence of my position. I will not bow down. Layla

Hello guys, I am looking for a bit of advice. I have read quite a few threads here and my problem seems to be quite a frequent one, however I think I have a unique circumstance which may change the outcome so I felt I needed to make my own thread. today I received a letter in the post from a company called 'Collectica enforcement services' stating that they have been instructed by 'South East London' to execute the warrant with immediate effect, the amount due is almost £400 for the offence of 'Vehicle - Fail to Notify of alteration to particul' (I assume it means particular and was cut off). There is no other information on this letter, no registration number, no date of the offence, nothing. I have contacted the company and they informed me that it was the DVLA for the reason stated. I asked for more information on this matter such as time and registration number and she told me that she would email the client and get back to me at some point today. (I assume it was my last vehicle which was a motorbike and sold over 7 months ago) I was living with my parents at Address A, I had the bike at this point, then they split and I moved to my Mums address B and lived there with the bike for about 6 months, then moved to my girlfriends house at address C and was there for around another 8 months but I sold the bike around 6 months into living there. I am now at address D with my father. I completely forgot to tell the DVLA my new address and its still set as Address A (all my insurance for the bike etc was changed over). this is where all of the fine letters have gone to and obviously I have not seen them. Apparently it was taken to court on the 2nd Sept and I was found guilty obviously because I didn't attend. When I sold the bike it was put into my friends name by myself and then he sold it for me. He definitely sent off all of the log books because I was with him when he did it. do I have a leg to stand on at all guys? I know I'm in the wrong for not changing my address is there anything I can do. As a student this £400 is going to kill me. Thanks for any help guys I really appreciate it. Any more information you need please let me know.

Hi my daughter had a letter from the bank saying they were going to close all her accounts as there is too much money going through the account. My daughter is worried as the bank have asked for copies of her ebay and paypal accounts so they can see where the money is coming from. My daughter is worried as she hasnt paid tax on any of the items she has sold on ebay and is concerned the bank will contact the inland revenue.

I would like to ask for advice relating to a DVLA requisition to appear at magistrates' court that I have just received. I should start by stating that I've researched extensively so far, read everything I could find, and require further direction to my circumstances that seem to be quite different. Pretty much all queries on the failure to notify disposal/transfer offences seem to end up involving Section 7 of the Interpretations Act, which unfortunately doesn't apply to my situation. It's become a bit of a long story, so I'll break it down into dates & events: -28th January: Just moved house, sent away V5 to change RK's address of the vehicle to which the alleged offence relates. -2nd March: Part exchanged the vehicle through an independent dealer. I had not received the V5 for the vehicle by this time. The independent dealer stated that they would be able to apply for a replacement V5 for it anyway and were therefore able to complete the transaction for the vehicle I was purchasing, but asked if I could forward the replacement V5 for the part exchanged vehicle when/if it arrived. -8th May: Received a 'Failure to notify disposal of vehicle' from DVLA offering a £35 out of court settlement, increasing to £55 if not paid within a prescribed period of time. -14th May: Sent a letter to the DVLA explaining what had occurred, that I could not complete the V5 as I had not by that time received it, and had assumed afterwards that I wasn't going to receive it since the independent dealer had applied for a replacement V5. Enclosed a copy of the sales invoice, and made clear that I had full details of the trader so would have been able to account for the vehicle in the event of it being subject to police inquiry. -22nd May: Received a very much template looking letter rejecting my correspondence from 14th May, providing new dates in which to pay the £35/£55. -29th May: Received an identical letter to 22nd of May, but with payment dates pushed forward, and this was sent to my correct address (See note on addresses below). -12th June: Sent a letter to the DVLA stating my disappointed that they had not accepted my proposed resolution, reiterating that I had still not received a replacement V5 for the vehicle and dispute the offence they allege, and stating that they must therefore commence legal proceedings. -20th June: Received a letter from Mrs P Woolley (DVLA) stating that after careful consideration, it had been decided that the case should be settled by prosecution and that I will receive a court summons in due course. -Recently: Received a requisition from the DVLA to appear at magistrates' court. Includes a 'statement of witness' by a 'Rachel Loftus', that incorrectly states (incorrect in bold): "On 08/05/2013 a notice was sent to the defendant requesting information under S46 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 and offering the oppertunity to pay an out of court settlement. A written reply has not been received nor has the notice been returned undelivered by the postal authorities" The paperwork contains a 'Guilty Plea' addressed to the designated officer of the magistrates' court, and overleaf a 'Not Guilty Plea' addressed to the DVLA; which seems strangely like an attempt to seek information relating to my defence if I intend to plead not guilty. Note on addresses: All DVLA correspondence up to and including 22nd May was sent to the wrong address (incorrect house number) but I assume had been delivered by a neighbour. I did not know or realise this until inspecting the paperwork now. I also now realise that it's possible that the replacement V5 was sent to this address but not subsequently forwarded to me by the neighbour. I suspect that the correspondence from the 29th May was in response to the DVLA updating my address due to my recent correspondence. So I suppose that's everything in full. To explain my actions (or lack thereof) between 2nd March & 8th May; I wasn't aware of the legislation down to it's full detail relating to notifying the secretary of state for transport when you transfer a vehicle. Although I had misjudged the appropriateness of relying on the independent dealer to notify the DVLA of change of ownership instead of myself, I felt at the time that I had taken all due diligence to be able to account for the vehicle in the event of a police enquiry by retaining full details of the person I had transferred the vehicle to, and providing them with my full details. Since I had not received any correspondence from either the DVLA or independent dealer, I assumed that the situation was resolved and no longer expected to receive a replacement V5. You could say I'm guilty of having too much faith in the system! I'm torn between angrily wanting to beat the DVLA in court and pursue costs, or taking the best course of action to convince the DVLA to drop the case. I'd particularly appreciate advice in relation to the following queries: -Is it worth contacting the DVLA in light of my realisation as to the possible original error (wrong address) of the replacement V5? They've generally just been pretty unpleasant so far. Should I make further correspondence by post or would it be worth calling them? -Where does one stand in terms of being required to send a V5 but not having received it, and never receiving it? -What period of time must elapse after transferring a vehicle before the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 is contravened? -If this goes to court and I win the case, can I pursue costs and how much? Can I include inconvenience/stress?

Hi everybody, I'm hoping someone can help me because I'm terrified. I receive DLA. My award ends in Jan 2014. When I was assessed by one of their doctors in March 2012 I was working part time. I started a full time job in November 2012. Not to make excuses, but I was just out of surgery and I had just moved house and broken up with my long term partner all within the same couple of months as starting my job. I thought I phoned to inform the DWP of my change of circumstances. I hadn't. I only realised this about a month ago when I was sorting out some Working Tax Credit stuff and they advised that I hadn't changed my employer. I thought I had done both at the same time. I wrote to the DWP as soon as I realised this, and told them that my circumstances had changed and requested they stop my DLA immediately, and now they are sending out a change of circumstances pack. I just dont want this benefit anymore. I know this amounts to benefit fraud and I am petrified about what is going to happen to me. I will lose my job if I have a criminal record and my doctor has put me on anti depressants and diazepam because I am having panic attacks and have started to think about killing myself because if I lose my job I wont have anything. Nothing has actually happened yet with the DWP, I haven't had an interview under caution or anything but I am so scared that something is going to happen I just dont know what to do. If I have to pay back money I'll pay it back, I just cant have a criminal record or I'll have lost everything I have worked for. Can someone please give me some advice on what to do, I am completely terrified right now. Thank you.

Hi Guys - first time poster long time reader etc........ Anyway I got the DVLA summons a little while ago, and have sent the DVLA a letter back, which basically reads as follows: REQUISITION TO ATTEND xxxxxxxxxxx MAGISTRATES COURT ON xxxxxxxxx Vehicle registration ******** Dear sir/madam I am writing in regards to the requisition sent to me to attend xxxxxxxxx Magistrates Court on xxxxxxxx to answer the charge of Failing upon the Change of Keeper of the Vehicle, to Notify the Secretary of State forthwith. I will be pleading NOT GUILTY on all charges as I consider I have no charges to answer. I am now informing the DVLA that I surrendered the vehicle’s V5C document to the DVLA as required by law. The V5 was returned to the DVLA by Royal Mail First Class post. The date of posting was the same date as the sale of the vehicle, the 12th December (12th) 2011. The Sale was of a nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, VRM nnnnnnnnnnnn from Myself to a new keeper,nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, and this data was entered on the V5C that was sent to yourselves on that date. My responsibility ends as soon as I relinquished control of delivery to the UK Postal Service, Royal Mail. With regard to Section 07 of the Interpretations Act 1978 Cont.. Section 7. References to service by post Where an Act authorises or requires any document to be served by post (whether the expression "serve" or the expression " give " or " send " or any other expression is used) then, unless the contrary intention appears, the service is deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting a letter containing the document and, unless the contrary is proved, to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. I would like to bring your attention to the wording 'whether the expression "serve" or the expression " give " or " send " or any other expression is used' clearly also covers 'deliver'. Therefore, by correctly addressing the envelope, affixing a stamp to cover the necessary charge (as is required), and by placing the item in a Royal Mail Mailbox, I have fulfilled my responsibility to notify the DLVA as required by statute legislation, and furthermore as the DVLA are an Executive Agency for the Department for Transport, by me sending the V5C by post to DVLA, it was therefore delivered to the Secretary of State as required by this legislation. As the DVLA place their postal address on the V5C and do not offer an alternative delivery method for this communication, nor do they request I communicate this via means other than posting I have followed the DVLA’s own instruction with regard to this matter. This is also covered within the Human Rights Act 1998, Schedule 1, Article 6, section 2 whereby it states‘Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. ‘ I have no proof of posting the V5 document because the DVLA does not require me to obtain this. I also believe that I should not have to prove that I posted the V5C and if this matter does indeed go to court it is the requirement of the DVLA to prove that I did not. I would also like to bring your attention to FOIR 1396/09, Sent to Collins, whereby Richard Batchelor clearly states that “..if an item of mail does happen to be mislaid within the Agency, the responsible area would be unaware of the loss until notified (normally by the sender of the mail). There is no automatic process alerting the Agency to a previously received item of mail that had not been processed.” Therefore we cannot rule out the possibility that my notification was received by the DVLA at the address required, and was subsequently misplaced internally after delivery. I will now move onto more details on my responsibilities as to the V5 document. Details on the V5 state - 'Once we know about the changes, you should receive an acknowledgement letter to confirm that you are no longer responsible for the vehicle. If you do not receive the letter within 4 weeks, please phone 0300 790 6802. Cont.. Can you please advise under what Statute Legislation I am lawfully obliged to contact DVLA if I do not receive any such acknowledgement or correspondence from DVLA. The question of the legislation on contacting DVLA and statute legislation has already been judged in various county courts and has been found in the defendants favour. This matter has been discussed in great lengths on BBC TV Watchdog. I should like to bring your attention to DVLA vs. Peck. Mr Peck (Claim 9BR0829 at Horsham County Court. The Judge found in Mr Pecks's favour stating the DVLA has no statutory power requiring anyone to contact them should they not receive an acknowledgment letter. I must also inform the prosecutor that I am fully aware of the DVLA vs Kennedy case whereby Mr Kennedy claimed he was wrongfully convicted of the same offence I am being charged with. Mr Kennedy then appealed his case to Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday 9th September 2011. DVLA prosecutors at Swansea withdrew and offered no evidence to the crown court. No doubt this was to stop a precedence being set as case law being it was a Court of Appeal and binding on all equal and lower Courts. I can assure DVLA that if I am summoned before the magistrates and convicted, I will be seeking leave to appeal to the crown court myself being that magistrates are normally lay magistrates and not familiar with statute legislation. Lastly, today by writing this letter, I have additionally followed the DVLA’s own advice as found on the direct.gov.uk website at: LINK REMOVED DUE TO NOT HAVING 10 POSTS This clearly states that I should contact yourself directly at the local office quoting the VRM, Make and Model, the Date of Sale or Transfer and the Name and Address of the person I sold the vehicle to. This has been done in paragraph 4 of this letter, and therefore as you are acting for the Department of Transport I have further notified you of the change of keeper as per your own advice, and in adherence with the legislation. Considering the information contained in this letter, I hope you will see that proceeding with this prosecution is in no means justified, and the matter can now hopefully be considered closed. However, if you do continue with this prosecution then I must advise you I will be seeking my costs back from the DVLA if I am found to be not guilty on the charges. I trust this letter is explanatory in its context and reserve the right to show this letter in court if needed. --------------------------------- So, now I have had what is best described as a "Scare" letter back from the prosecutor - which i will paraphrase from...... "I have received your plea of not guilty concerning an offence under the above act. It is th usual practice at nnnnnnnnnnn Magistrates court that when a not guilty plea is entered the case will be adjourned for trial at a later date to enable you to attend, therefore you are free to attend but there is no requirement for you to do so. " It may help to clarify the case to be presented against you that you failed to notify disposal of this vehicle. To assist..............regulation 22(2) (b) of Part 4 of the Road Vehicles (registration and licencing) regulations 2002 (as amended) the agency issues an acknowledgement letter on receipt of disposal notifications., Information pertaining to is....on V5c......The disposing keeper is advised that should they not receive the acknowledgement letter within 4 weeks of sending they should contact the agency......... I note from your letter that you state you notified the DLVA and therefore carried our your responsibilities and there are no legal requirementrs for you to chase the acknowledgement letter. There is no legal requirement for you to ensure you have received the acknowledgement letter but knowing you did not receive one must have alerted you to the fact that the DVLA had not updated the records. Indeed the....letter is issued to aid the registered keeper. In this instance your case will be adjourned to allow you to attend court and failing proof of notification you will be required to swear on oath that you notified the DVLA. The opportunity to pay the Out of Court settlement of £55.00 is still available to you.........if you have any querues please contact me on the above number. ---------- Now as far as i can see from this 1- The DVLA has assumed that i KNEW i did not recieve the letter. 2 - There is no legal requirement for me to ensure i have received the letter or chase it, therefore if i was unaware i had received it then its a null point 3 - If I attend and swear on oath that i posted the letter then i assume that should be case closed. Does anyone have any advise on how to progress?

Hi there, I do apologise as i know this has been covered many times, but I have a couple of specific questions also. I've just got home from court, entered a not guilty plea... I was very polite, soft spoken, respectful, and stuck exclusively to the facts. I quoted the human rights act in reference to the "statement of facts" which presumed heavily that I was guilty before even entering into discussion. The magistrate told me it was my responsibility to prove that I have delivered the V5. To which I quoted the vehicle registration and licensing guidelines 2002 where it says about the document must be delivered to the secretary of state, and began quoting the interpretations act. The prosecutor interrupted and said that this wasn't admissible, and didn't apply as it only applies to postal deliveries. I didn't argue the toss any further as the magistrate throughout had become very angry and red and had immediately started shouting at me that I "must" bring a solicitor if I wish to present evidence to "his" court. The matter was adjourned to trial despite the prosecutor submitting that there is no hard evidence to support, just that on their records, I haven't done it. So my questions are... what can I say to really hammer home the fact that the interpretations act IS relevant and the deciding factor... because obviously requiring me to hand deliver to the secretary of state is frankly ridiculous. and secondly, the reason I didn't say the above and use the word ridiculous in front of this magistrate is that I appeared before him in March, at a fines court, for a road tax issue... the prosecutor at this hearing also stated that they had actually no evidence just that I "must be wrong" as the system says.... xyz. When I was asked to respond, I began to present my evidence calmly and respectfully, and I again was shouted at by this same magistrate that I "should have brought a solicitor" if I wanted to present evidence. When I stated that there was no requirement to have a solicitor and that I didn't feel I needed one especially as the prosecution has submitted no evidence... he told me that if I said another word I would be arrested for contempt of court. So my question here is, how can I ensure that he is not on the panel at any future hearing or trial? I don't feel able to be given a fair hearing when I'm being prevented from providing evidence without the use of a solicitor. Please help, I really don't know what to do because I am clearly being ignored and treated unfairly.

Hi I have today received a letter to go court , for apparently not sending off v5 change of ownership, which I did and have argued till blue in the face .... Today have received a date for 7th august in Swansea....... Does anybody know if I can change the magistrate court at all to have one closer to home or is there a way for me to do that? As I have stated before in previous posts the DVLA told me in writing that apparently " the govt has given us special powers to act in the way we do" this was a reply to me asking them why they felt they could breach mine and others right to fair trial blah blah blah ....... Anyway if anyone knows first hand on weather I can ask for different court then please let me know , many thanks in advance ....