DVLA help with court summons

[gemqtpie]

Hi

My partner had a car declared as SORN on our driveway for 2 years one day he arranged for local scrapper to come remove it. The car was undrivable had no battery, flat tyres coming off the rim and immobilser key was lost. My partner managed to push car out onto the road night before so scrapper could get it easily whilst he was at work (not thinking i know).

 

Our street and drive is very narrow and hed never have got it on truck from drive. Anyways the day the scrapper comes for it we discover its clamped by DVLA. We explained and called DVLA and said it was genuine mistake it hasnt been driven and it was being scrapped anyway we didnt want the car.

 

The DVLA response to my partner in two seperate calls was dont worry leave it for us to pick up and dont pay for it to be released and we will scrap it. In the second call they said the same and said you wont hear anymore or have to pay anything more it will be settled.

 

We then got a letter requesting my partners details and requesting permission to scrap vehicle and hand over all ownership to DVLA. We sent this off asap.

Next we recieve letter asking for partners details to when car was purchased and when it left him and what happened to the car. This we sent in.

 

yesterday we recieved a court summons for sept for unlicensed car with no tax or mot.

 

Now we never recieved any documents requesting a fine etc from the DVLA and we got a straight court summons. Also we changed address even though car was still off road in a driveway it was at new address i just realised the SORN was at old address could this be the problem?

I guess we thought if it was SORN and off public road we waitited till next renewal but figured it would have been scrapped by then and didnt change it.

 

Now my partner just want rid of the situation now we have new baby due oct and we just dont need DVLA hassles and is willing to pay fines, if we knew what they were.

Ive seen that DVLA does accept out of court settlements? Would be entiled to do this?

We have no idea what the fine even is as they never gave us any documents with a chance to pay one.

Should we call DVLA and explain that we havent recieved anything to pay fine just a straight court summons? And ask if they are willing to settle out of court fine?

 

We can afford the fine but an in court fine we cannot with the extra cost takes it well over £1300 we need to reduce this.

 

Its a unfortunate situation and was a genuine mistake that same day we arranged for it to be scrapped it got clamped a simple mistake that we can do nothing about but we need to rid this problem before baby arrives so we know we can spend on baby equipment etc.

 

Any advice at all will be apprieciated in how we should handle this situation or if you have been in the same situation to us and know an outcome please let me know.

 

Many thanks xxx

[Raykay]

It sounds like two different matters, the clamping and removal by the DVLA contractors, and as you let them keep the car, they did not charge you, and now the summons from DVLA themselves for having an unlicensed car on a public road.

DVLA usually start out with an out of court settlement offer which may have gone to your old address, and as it was not replied to, a sumons was issued. You could contact them and ask if it was, under the circumstances, could they offer it again.

[gemqtpie]

yeah thats what I thought but the old address is my partners fathers address and his father still lives there and always passes on post and we never recieved a out of court settlement at all to old address only documents to request details and that was all that was in envalope along with a tax your vehicle leaflet. No fine requests.

 

maybe we call them or write a letter explaining everything and see if they will repost a out of court settlement as we have never ever recieved one. Just thought this was weird as we havent even been given a chance to pay anything at all. Just from the clampers which was settled as they kept car.

Mind you looking at the court summons it is the same dept the car was scrapped at in lincoln and i have the ladys name who has signed the summons from DVLA.

Do you think i should write direct to her?

 

 

as you wil know DVLA calling them its like impossible to get through to a person its mostly automated or maybe i cover both areas.

[madsam]

The crooked DVLA are simply despicable.

[gemqtpie]

Tell me about it ive written a letter to the woman who signed the court summons from the DVLA in Lincoln and ive sent a copy to DVLA swansea suggesting a out of court settlement and discussing that the people who clamped the car and took it left us with nothing regarding a fine payment so we recieved straight court summons.

 

I re-read the charges and they are trying to charge my partner from when the cars last tax ran out in 2009!! Even though the car has been decleared SORN from that date to 2011!! So ive requested we are not charged prior to the car being clamped as we were in legal rights then.

Cheeky monkeys!! (or another more offensive word id rather call them).

 

Ive put that it is on there records as I had SORN certificate which now i kick myself was in on display of the car itself but now its been taken and scrapped it should still be on computer hence sending copy of letter to DVLA swansea aswell as the prosecutor.

 

Hopefully a out of court settlement will be sent seens as though I put in letter we never had anything on paying a fine which we would have happily paid if it was sent to us but we got nothing at all.

As holding our hands up the car was on the front on a public road for that one and only day to be picked up. And it took dvla 5 days to take the car as they couldnt do it sooner as were not in ara till then so we compromised that we will pay from date it was clamped to being impounded for having no tax as prior to this date it was SORN'd and off road.

 

Fingers crossed they settle out of the courts im sure they will if they see we have had no chance to pay any fine at all as this is going in the evidence for us if they continue with court.