How I won SORN court case

[titleist]

The DVLA are literally [edited] innocent citizens.

 

This is how I won my court case. Hope it works for you too.

 

Background:

 

My bike tax & mot expired. I kept the bike off road until I got a chance to get it MOT'd. Being previously unaware of precise SORN regulations, I did not declare SORN immediately because it seemed to fly in the face of common sense to SORN it, knowing that I would be taxing it soon after. Why add unnecessary bureaucracy? Besides, since SORN lasts for 12 months, this implies that you only declared SORN if your intention is to keep it off road for 12 months, not just until you get an MOT.

 

So a SORN late submission penalty duly arrived, together with a SORN declaration form. I declared SORN and sent it back, explaining that the bie had been kept off road since the last tax expired. Expected to hear nothing more but received penalty reminder. I made several phone calls and wrote several letters arguing that there was no due date printed on the V11 form, nor on any of the accompanying leaflets, not on the DVLA website for that matter. The form states that you cannot declare SORN before a certain date, but does not give a due date. The only place where a due date is actually stated is in section 9a of the 1998 road traffic act, for which there is no reference or link on any of the DVLA forms or website.

 

SORN has been cobbled onto the existing V11 tax form, and as such, much of the information and instructions apply only to taxing a vehicle, not to declaring SORN.

 

Surely common sense suggests that a submitting a free SORN form cannot be time critical, nor carry an £80 fine.

 

The DVLA were draconian, saying rules are rules and so we ended up in court.

 

The judge accepted my argument that there was no due date clearly marked, nor was there any reference to section 9a of the road traffic act. The case was dismissed, I was awarded £50 costs to be paid within 14 days, and the DVLA representative was told 'to go back and sort out his department'.

 

Postscript :

 

The DVLA dragged their heels in paying my costs. I had to phone them up twice to chase payment. Their attitude was completely dismissive and they ended up taking more than a month to pay.

 

On a matter of principle, I issued them with an £80 late payment penalty. They refused to pay of course, so I issued them with a court summons.

 

The judge has just struck the case out without a hearing, stating that I do not have grounds for a claim.

 

Surely if the DVLA can summons me for late submission of a free SORN form, then I can summons them for late payment of court costs?

 

I am sickened by the double standards, hypocracy and injustice of it all.

 

Any advice or even just words of support would be gratefully received.

 

Thank you.

Edited February 16, 2009 by jonni2bad

[titleist]

Thanks for all your comments - they are much appreciated.

 

If any of you fight the DVLA and end up in court like me, you may like to do what I did and quote Lord Davies of Oldham who proposed the current SORN legislation in November 2003. I found it in the daily Hansard (transcripts of parliamentary debates) at United Kingdom Parliament home page.

 

 

"the aim was not to impinge on the law-abiding citizen. There are law-abiding citizens who inadvertently forget that they should have licensed their vehicle. People may be away on holiday for a long time—over a month, perhaps—and there is always the possibility that people will become ill and will not be able to do the right thing."

 

The full transcript explains that it is the repeat offender tax evaders that the legislation is aimed at catching up with - not law biding citizens (like us).

 

I declared myself a law abiding citizen and the judge seemed impressed by my research. It certainly shut the DVLA representative up.

 

Keep your faith in the justice system - I'm sure you'll win if it goes to court.