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Hi all
In November last year, I decided to sell my car to a friend. The car had been SORNED on my driveway for about two years, never going on the road.
I have another friend who’s a mechanic from a garage in central Bristol. In order to sell the car, I had the vehicle collected and MOT‘d first. The mechanic drove it to the garage, it failed its MOT test and he stored it on his private driveway while I discussed with my friend if he still wanted to buy it, considering the repair costs. He said he would be happy to pay for it.
So a week later, the mechanic drove it back to the garage to work on the vehicle. The garage was full, so he parked it on the private grounds of the garage until the next day.
That next day, the mechanic completed the works, passed its MOT, my friend bought the car, taxed it, insured himself and drove away.
A month later I received a letter from the DVLA showing the vehicle had been recorded on the road once, then a second time one week later. Both of these were by the mechanic driving it to the garage (first to fail the car, then return to work on it and pass it).
The DVLA have issued a fine of two year’s tax (£380), because they believe I’ve been driving the car on the road the entire time the SORN was in place.
I wrote back to them explaining the circumstances, and how it was booked in for MOT etc, thinking this would clear things up. Their reply was that, since the car was recorded on the road once, then a second time, and was not taxed until the day after the second recording (remember the mechanic parked it overnight at the garage, so to work on the vehicle the next day, at which point it was taxed) they are still classing it as tax evasion.
They asked for evidence of the MOT booking, and despite my best efforts, the garage are refusing to provide it as they say they would be “writing them every day, which would be a job in itself and is not something they are paid to do”. Very frustrating.
I bounced back and forth with the DVLA saying I can’t get any further evidence, despite my best efforts. The garage said they’d be happy for their information to be passed to the DVLA, and that they’d talk over the phone to confirm the booking.
I provided the DVLA with the name of the garage, contact number, the name of who was driving and why. But they said they would not attempt to call or discuss and require a written confirmation of the booking. I simply cannot get one.
Now I have received a court summons where I can plead guilty or not guilty by post. Guilty will now be around a £500 fine. Not guilty will result in court action.
My question: is this a battle worth fighting, or are my odds of winning stacked against me? If I choose to go to court, what can I do to give myself the best chances of winning the case? I can fight to get that MOT pre-booking evidence, but is it too little too late?
Your advice here would be greatly appreciated.
In November last year, I decided to sell my car to a friend. The car had been SORNED on my driveway for about two years, never going on the road.
I have another friend who’s a mechanic from a garage in central Bristol. In order to sell the car, I had the vehicle collected and MOT‘d first. The mechanic drove it to the garage, it failed its MOT test and he stored it on his private driveway while I discussed with my friend if he still wanted to buy it, considering the repair costs. He said he would be happy to pay for it.
So a week later, the mechanic drove it back to the garage to work on the vehicle. The garage was full, so he parked it on the private grounds of the garage until the next day.
That next day, the mechanic completed the works, passed its MOT, my friend bought the car, taxed it, insured himself and drove away.
A month later I received a letter from the DVLA showing the vehicle had been recorded on the road once, then a second time one week later. Both of these were by the mechanic driving it to the garage (first to fail the car, then return to work on it and pass it).
The DVLA have issued a fine of two year’s tax (£380), because they believe I’ve been driving the car on the road the entire time the SORN was in place.
I wrote back to them explaining the circumstances, and how it was booked in for MOT etc, thinking this would clear things up. Their reply was that, since the car was recorded on the road once, then a second time, and was not taxed until the day after the second recording (remember the mechanic parked it overnight at the garage, so to work on the vehicle the next day, at which point it was taxed) they are still classing it as tax evasion.
They asked for evidence of the MOT booking, and despite my best efforts, the garage are refusing to provide it as they say they would be “writing them every day, which would be a job in itself and is not something they are paid to do”. Very frustrating.
I bounced back and forth with the DVLA saying I can’t get any further evidence, despite my best efforts. The garage said they’d be happy for their information to be passed to the DVLA, and that they’d talk over the phone to confirm the booking.
I provided the DVLA with the name of the garage, contact number, the name of who was driving and why. But they said they would not attempt to call or discuss and require a written confirmation of the booking. I simply cannot get one.
Now I have received a court summons where I can plead guilty or not guilty by post. Guilty will now be around a £500 fine. Not guilty will result in court action.
My question: is this a battle worth fighting, or are my odds of winning stacked against me? If I choose to go to court, what can I do to give myself the best chances of winning the case? I can fight to get that MOT pre-booking evidence, but is it too little too late?
Your advice here would be greatly appreciated.
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