dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

[Frazer macfadyen]

I received a letter from dvla
Saying my vehicle was parked illegally
And being kept on a road whilst a active sorn was in place.. And a fine of 453-00
Is being enforced
On 1/06/10
My vehicle was parked on a grass verge adjacent to a main road
The car had been parked there for 11 months
The council removed the vehicle and impounded it
I attended their office and was informed that it was removed as parked illegally on a public highway.
I was unaware that the grass verge opposite my house was deemed apart of the highways act.
I would have disposed of the vehicle sooner
If I knew the law.
I spoke to a member of staff at Manchester
Parking in longsight
And allowed the vehicle to be scrapped
I asked if I need to do anything else
And informed the matter was closed as the vehicle was being scrapped
I was not told that I needed to inform the dvla of its disposal..
I am at my wits end and unsure of the next course of action
I certainly have not the means to pay 453-00.
But according to the dvla, they will not take instalments.
I am certain this law has caught many people out..
I for one assume that the vehicle was physically off the road..
Please help

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry date was 01/06/2016
Not 2010

[wales01man]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

If it is confirmed as public highway an offence has occurred and you have been fined and probably ordered to pay back duty .

[R0b]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

Hello,

As I have understood it, verges can be a grey area but sometimes the local authority can own the land of the grass verge and therefore forms part of the public highway.

You could search the land registry and see if that gives an indication of who owns the land, but you might also want to check out this article -> http://www.titleandcovenant.co.uk/pd...Newsletter.pdf

Unfortunately, you can't just park on land that is not yours and plead ignorance of not knowing the law or who the land belongs to. If the verge is in fact private land, the DVLA is unlikely to have any authority and the Council may have impounded your car illegally but if it is not private land, then you might need to cough up somehow and let it be a lesson learnt.

You could try again with the DVLA and if you can't afford it provide them with an income/expenditure list and make a reasonable monthly repayment (not £5 unless you really can't afford it). If they insist on taking you to court over this, the court might look unfavourably on the DVLA for wasting time and resources when they unreasonably refused your offer to repay.

[Openlaw15]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

I received a letter from dvla
Saying my vehicle was parked illegally
And being kept on a road whilst a active sorn was in place.. And a fine of 453-00
Is being enforced
On 1/06/10
My vehicle was parked on a grass verge adjacent to a main road
The car had been parked there for 11 months
The council removed the vehicle and impounded it
I attended their office and was informed that it was removed as parked illegally on a public highway.
I was unaware that the grass verge opposite my house was deemed apart of the highways act.
I would have disposed of the vehicle sooner
If I knew the law.
I spoke to a member of staff at Manchester
Parking in longsight
And allowed the vehicle to be scrapped
I asked if I need to do anything else
And informed the matter was closed as the vehicle was being scrapped
I was not told that I needed to inform the dvla of its disposal..
I am at my wits end and unsure of the next course of action
I certainly have not the means to pay 453-00.
But according to the dvla, they will not take instalments.
I am certain this law has caught many people out..
I for one assume that the vehicle was physically off the road..
Please help

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry date was 01/06/2016
Not 2010

You say the car was parked on a grass verge outside your property. Was there pavement between your property and the grass verge. A picture of the grass verge in proximity to your property would help. Land in general is very broad and is not just surface but in fact below surface, so yes it wouldn't surprise me if the local authority claim it's parked illegally if there were a grass verge, in the technical sense of the law. You say it was SORN as per the law. Was the car an obstruction is the next question, but you answer that by saying the car has been parked there for 11 months, without incident I presume. I also presume you were not warned previously about the car being parked apparently illegally?

Has this gone to the Magistrate's. Do you have the opportunity to appeal the decision yet?

You may have a claim with the Local Government Ombudsman as there is an issue where with the council's apparent consent to end matters by scrapping the car, then changing their mind as this is clearly abuse of discretion or related other, which could lead to a judicial review hearing to see whether the council's decision was not illegal in the civil sense. The LGO has the powers to hear all matters that a High Court could including what would be judicial review matters. You will need to complain first of all to the relevant council before the LGO.

[wales01man]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

The OP needs to find out if this was public land if so the offence has occurred the council cannot be liable for anything here until the facts are known difficult for anyone to give real advice and to say contact this and that authority.

[Frazer macfadyen]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

Hello and thank you all for your replies
The current situation is. No magistrate involved only the letter from the dvla.
..
And the is a pavement between my house and the grass verge and kerb
By the look of it I have fallen fowl of my stupidly and not known the law,properly

[Openlaw15]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

Hello and thank you all for your replies
The current situation is. No magistrate involved only the letter from the dvla.
..
And the is a pavement between my house and the grass verge and kerb
By the look of it I have fallen fowl of my stupidly and not known the law,properly

Complain to the Council first. Then you can Appeal to the Parking Adjudicator, who is a lawyer independent of the council apparently. Here's the process, ie stages you have to go through, from Coventry Council. Your Council should have the same process.
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/117/..._enforcement/8

[wales01man]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

What can the council do? its a penalty from the DVLA for having an untaxed car on the public highway OL what do you think the council can do if it is the public highway, The OP admits to ignorance of the law needs to appeal to the DVLA if that fails pay up or chance it in court from what is reported in our local press they will lose and be subjected to more costs.

[Openlaw15]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

What can the council do? its a penalty from the DVLA for having an untaxed car on the public highway OL what do you think the council can do if it is the public highway, The OP admits to ignorance of the law needs to appeal to the DVLA if that fails pay up or chance it in court from what is reported in our local press they will lose and be subjected to more costs.

The law is not black or white, it's grey.. meaning it's possible to argue on a technicality where possible. If that were me I'd find out the relevant law and examine the wording to see if there are any loopholes. Law always has exceptions it's trying to find them, is the hard part.

[des8]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

As OL says it ain't all black and white.
GENERALLY the highway is hedge to hedge, but the highways authority interest is only in the surface.
The freeholder up to the centre point of the highway is often the frontager.
So if the frontager owns the freehold of the verge, and it has not been made up there is a possibility (note I say "possibility") that the vehicle was not on the highway.

However cf: Griffiths (Contractors)Ltd v Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency –

[wales01man]

Re: dvla unlicensed vehicle fine whilst on sorn

Where I live we have a verge 14 feet wide between public path and my boundary that is public land definenetly been proven same may apply here for OP then can challenge the DVLA pay up or end in court