VED fine advice

[flemke]

terry237 said:

Cyberprog said:

Did you update your address at that point also?

Yes I updated my address and V5 at the same time but they still sent all letters to my old address for some reason.

I have looked back through my bank statement and it appears they never took the £80 even though I authorized them to do so over the phone at the same time as taxing the car and paying the outstanding tax. I am an idiot for not checking they took the money at the time I know but is there anything I can do now?

I will happily pay the £80 that is owed and i would have at the time if they sent the letters to the correct address. But because I was unaware of all of the letters is there some way I can get the extra costs written off?

A lesson has definitely been learnt here.

A tricky one, as there is probably no way for you to prove that you instructed them to take the £80.

You might be able to argue that it would have made no sense for them to take the tax without at the same time taking the fine, but there are probably circumstances under which one could appeal a fine, and therefore not everyone pays the fine at the same time as paying the tax.

Many call centre systems retain notes of the conversations between their operatives and their account-holding customers. I don't know if DVLA do that, but it might be worth it to ask them if they do.

[terry237]

Thanks all for the advice so far.

A bit of an update:

I rang the DVLA and they were utter useless. The only repeated response I got was to send a letter to one of their departments and it will take 4 to 6 weeks to get a reply!

I have spoken to the general Magistrate Court enforcement enquires. They have advised I should complete a Stat. Dec. from since I received no correspondence and was unaware of the court case. This will set a new court date which I can attend to defend my case.

Is it worth it? Will end up paying more in costs than the sum they say I owe? If I lose the case (even though I shouldn't) will I end up owing even more?

They also said to do this I need to speak to my local Magistrate Court (Brighton) I have attempted to call them over 20 times, either getting a message saying no one available to take the call or left ringing with no answer (for a number of minutes!!!!). They also close at 4:30pm so I can't call them/go talk to them after work. Useless!

I also (maybe stupidly?) rang up the original debt collector for the DVLA. The guy from the company was trying to get me to pay the original £80 fine. He was stating that the company do not go through the court/bailiff route (despite threatening removal of goods in the final letter). I didn't pay.

Is he just trying to get money out of me or will I have to end up paying that company too?

He goes on to say that the DVLA also do not go down the court/bailiff route as they use his company to collect all debts. And if I pay the bailiff I will still owe his company/DVLA money. So why does the letter from the Magistrates say the fine is for Late Vehicle Licence Penalty?

I am in a bit of mess at the moment with this on top of some personal and work related stuff and unsure what to do. I really do not need the additional stress of a court appearance on top of it all.

I know the next step is to speak to my local Magistrate and find out exactly what is going on and I will keep trying to contact them. But what would you guys do?

[Cyberprog]

Make a stat. dec. and get the fine (which will be in the magistrates court I believe) reset. Then pay it, if possible, without incurring any further fees!

[Vaud]

terry237 said:

They also said to do this I need to speak to my local Magistrate Court (Brighton) I have attempted to call them over 20 times, either getting a message saying no one available to take the call or left ringing with no answer (for a number of minutes!!!!). They also close at 4:30pm so I can't call them/go talk to them after work.

Ask your boss for a few hours off... most bosses would be reasonable... make the hours up later in week?

[terry237]

I feel I would be fighting a losing battle and may end up worse off than I am now. I will wait until I have spoken to the local Magistrates but if I were to pay the bailiff that would surely settle all payment, no?

It's just that the debt collectors seemed adamant that even if I pay the bailiff I would still owe them money. That can't be right can it?

Unfortunately I can't get any time off. I am going on holiday next week and have a lot of client project work I need to finish before I go. Let's hope they answer the phone to me tomorrow