Impunded car and fine from DVLA,

[jim green]

Hi everyone,

 

this is my first post here, I've searched previous threads and cant quite find the answers I'm desperate for.

 

My situation involves purchasing an old sports car with a view to refurbishing and renovating it over the summer. Whilst not being the most expensive car in the world, I have always fancied a convertible and this one seemed like a nice little project as it had a new MOT and new roof. The work to be done was mostly cosmetic and I paid £850 for it from a dealer who told me the car was SORN. I collected the car on the 8th of June and had a friend trailer the car to my local pub car park, where arrangements had been made with the landlord enabling me to store it there, until it was returned to its former glory and ready for the road again.

 

I managed to spend a little more money and time on the car before on the 24th July it vanished, I didn't notice personally and the landlord thought I had moved it so didn't think to let me know. A letter followed from DVLA giving me the good news that they had kindly seen fit to impound the car as it didn't have a valid tax disc and wasn't registered with them as SORN.

 

As the car was insured and had a valid MOT I obtained a valid tax disc and headed of to the compound via the cash point. I was nearly sick as the trip cost me the best part of £500 and I had just opened a letter from DVLA telling me I had commited an offence by not taxing the vehicle or declaring it SORN so they wanted another £87 over and above the release fee, storage fee etc. It's creeping up to £600 in costs for an £800 car that hasn't been on the road since I got it! I almost let them crush it or auction it but I wouldn't be able to live with myself. As is, the fines have just ruined my kids summer holidays.

 

From there I found this forum and got reading, and it appears DVLA and their subcontracted henchmen are happy to enter such car parks to remove vehicles, but I wonder if the pub car park classed as "curtege to private address" as the landlord lives there and a sign clearly states " private car park, patrons only, no responsibility is accepted for damage to vehicles etc". Could anyone advise?

 

I've heard the saying that " A verbal agreement is not worth the paper it's not written on" but I'm also unsure of where I stand with the dealer who sold me the car as SORN. I feel very nieve but had no reason to doubt him and when the V5 returned from DVLA there was no mention of registering the car as SORN or reminder that it was untaxed. I'm sure they were aware the vehicle was neither taxed nor SORN so why didn't I receive anything with V5? They seem to get the tax reminder out in plenty of time normally.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm stuck with an empty wallet, miserable wife and kids, and a feeling of resentment that won't go away. If I thought I was doing something wrong I would feel it was a fair cop, but the fact I even got the car trailored at an extra cost as it wasn't taxed just seems too ironic for words!

[crem]

The SORN status isn't a transferable declaration. i.e. as soon as the RK sold the car, his SORN declaration ceased. You, as the new RK were required to either tax the car immediately or declare a new status of SORN in your name.

[Kiki1]

The non-transferability of SORN is true - it should of course be the case after six months is up, to bring it into line with the other side's view of the minimum periods avilable on taxing a vehicle, but I digress...

 

This is a clear case of the DVLA getting a sniff of a vehicle that doesn't abide by their rules, and an interested party accessing a private piece of land, armed with the distorted information that a penalty is due, in order to satiate a bottomless pit caused by instigating flawed legislation in the first place