VED fine advice

[terry237]

Right where to start...

I finished uni in june last year and moved out of my uni house in the September. Like n idiot I forgot to change the address on my V5 straight away. As a result I didn't receive a VED reminder (I know its my own fault for not remembering) and the tax expired. The car got clamped. I paid the fine to remove the clamp, renewed my VED and changed the address on the V5 to the correct address. This all happened in December 2014. I thought that was the end of it.

Today after work I get a message from the new tenants of my old house informing me a bailiff had been around and I owed £638.34. They were out when the bailiff called round but they opened a letter addressed to me. I got the as soon as I could after work and it turns out there were a few more letters dating back to March.

I rang the bailiff immediately and explained the situation. He was a really nice guy and informed me there was nothing he could do and i needed to talk to the Magistrates Court. He also said that this all originates from an £80 fine for the expired VED. The Court closes at 5pm so I can'tget through to them until Monday.

So I am asking for advice.

Do I have any chance of fighting this?

I received none of the letters requesting payment of the fine from the Courts but as far as I am aware I paid all fines owed. I paid the £80 fine to the DVLA for the VED expiring and I paid the fine to the clamping company to get the clamp removed. I was unaware of any other fines.

What can I do next?

I know it's my own fault for the initial fine and clamping but I don't understand how it has escalated to this level.

All advice is welcome

[bearman68]

The law of reasonableness would say that since you updated your details in December, and the first of the letters was sent to the wrong address in March, then you should not be liable for the fines. How could you have reasonably known there was (yet) more to pay? (unless you are not telling).
However, this is the DVLA - prepare to sell your worldly assets, and then bend over.

Sympathy.

[JM]

The fine you paid to remove the clamp wasn't part of the fine for not renewing the VED in time?

[terry237]

The thing is the letters I have go back to March but they refer to earlier letters (no dates), I guess the tenants just chucked them in the bin.

According to the bailiff the clamping fine was not part of the fine for late VED. But I did pay another £80 fine to the DVLA when renewing the VED. And I think it is this £80 fine which is causing the issue. They appear to think I did not pay it and costs have escalated to the £600+ level due to me being unaware of what was going on!

[herewego]

There would also be outstanding VED, maybe the additional charge relates to this.

[terry237]

I don't think it is outstanding VED as I when I sorted it out in December on the phone I asked were there anymore charges and was told no.

[terry237]

I don't think it is outstanding VED as I when I sorted it out in December on the phone I asked were there anymore charges and was told no.

[flemke]

terry237 said:

I don't think it is outstanding VED as I when I sorted it out in December on the phone I asked were there anymore charges and was told no.

If you paid the £80 "penalty" to DVLA in December by phone, you must have proof of payment, yes?

[terry237]

Yes I should have proof but I need to get a bank statement that goes back that far, I can only see the past 6 months through online banking. But I received no other written proof of the fine, should I have?

[flemke]

The bank statement will specify to whom and when the payment was made.

You then need to ascertain whether - as of the time you paid - that would have been the full penalty amount owed.

[terry237]

As far as I am/was aware that was the full amount but obviously I will check with the DVLA.

If it turns out there was an additional charge I didn't know about I guess there's nothing I can do, or should Ibe able to get the amount owed reduced due to not being aware of what was going on?

I am 100% certain that I paid all fines I knew about but I'm just trying to work out my options.

[Cyberprog]

Did you update your address at that point also?

[terry237]

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.

[Motorrad]

terry237 said:

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.

Who is claiming the extra costs from you? If it's a debt collection agency then I'd be tempted to tell them to Foxtrot Oscar.

[terry237]

I have letters from a debt collector, both referring to previous letters which I do not have (guessing the new tenant threw them away) claiming I owe £80 for 'Late Licence Penalty'

I then have a letter from the Magistrates Court dated in between the 2 letters form the debt collector, stating i now owe £328.34. All of these letters are from the end of March.

I then have a letter from a High Court Enforcement Officer dated 29th May (yesterday) that I owe the £638.34 previously mentioned.

I know it is my fault in the first place but I would have paid the fine straight away if i knew about it. Surely the extra costs are the DVLA's fault for giving them my the correct address?

[btcc123]

If it was earlier in the process you may get some joy with the DVLA but now has gone too far with debt collectors,Magistrates and High court involved so really your only option is to pay up and put it down to experience.

[Cyberprog]

You may be able to have the magistrates court fine set aside and "reset" if you did notify the DVLA at the time.

[Red Devil]

OP, there is nothing that the HCEO can do as he is ordered by the court to enforce the writ. However there is a lot you can do.

https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgments-ccj-for-...

However 'nice' the HCEO is don't let him/her into your property and move your car elsewhere or you risk it being levied against (if it hasn't been already). Your priority must be to sort out whether you can get the default judgement set aside.

If so, see here for the circumstances in which the court must agree to your application to set aside the default judgement. https://www.businessdebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pag...

Read this as well - http://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/client-resources/legal...

I have no idea how accurate the advice contained here is, but run through this online questionnaire.
http://www.dealingwithbailiffs.co.uk/hceolegal.htm...

[The Mad Monk]

terry237 said:

Right where to start...


I received none of the letters requesting payment of the fine from the Courts but as far as I am aware I paid all fines owed. I paid the £80 fine to the DVLA for the VED expiring and I paid the fine to the clamping company to get the clamp removed. I was unaware of any other fines.

What can I do next?

I know it's my own fault for the initial fine and clamping but I don't understand how it has escalated to this level.

All advice is welcome

This is advice.

Go to the Post Office and set up a "Mail Forwarding Service" thingy, so that all your mail goes from your old address to your new address.

That way, all of your mail will be, er, forwarded to your new address.

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/redirection

Edited by The Mad Monk on Sunday 31st May 07:37

[The Mad Monk]

Motorrad said:

Who is claiming the extra costs from you? If it's a debt collection agency then I'd be tempted to tell them to Foxtrot Oscar.

You find that works?