DVLA "Uninsured Keeper" - now a plead?
Discussion
Afternoon everyone,
Last July, my Mondeo blew its cylinder head gasket just before I went on holiday, and was subsequently towed by the AA back home onto my driveway. Struggling with admin due to being overworked and working on the road a fair bit, I forgot to SORN the car. I did however, not renew its insurance policy, as I was driving my 911 full time.
In December, I got a letter stating that I failed to insure the vehicle. I interpreted 3 options:
Pay a £100 fine
Insure the vehicle immediately
Make a SORN.
As such, I thought making the SORN would cancel it and all would be fine.
I made a SORN, which didn't get received. So I received a letter re-stating the fine. As such, I reposted a V890, and the vehicle is now SORNed.
To my surprise, I received a letter that I must make a plea of being guilty of the insurance requirements contrary to Section 144A(1) of the RTA.
Can someone help me if I've misinterpreted the first letter, and is this a case of suck it up for not paying the fine, or is it time to contact a motoring lawyer?
P.S - Car MOT expired approx two weeks prior to the initial offence date - not sure if that and a garage statement/motor professional statement is enough to indicate the car was off the road at the time of the 'offence'.
Last July, my Mondeo blew its cylinder head gasket just before I went on holiday, and was subsequently towed by the AA back home onto my driveway. Struggling with admin due to being overworked and working on the road a fair bit, I forgot to SORN the car. I did however, not renew its insurance policy, as I was driving my 911 full time.
In December, I got a letter stating that I failed to insure the vehicle. I interpreted 3 options:
Pay a £100 fine
Insure the vehicle immediately
Make a SORN.
As such, I thought making the SORN would cancel it and all would be fine.
I made a SORN, which didn't get received. So I received a letter re-stating the fine. As such, I reposted a V890, and the vehicle is now SORNed.
To my surprise, I received a letter that I must make a plea of being guilty of the insurance requirements contrary to Section 144A(1) of the RTA.
Can someone help me if I've misinterpreted the first letter, and is this a case of suck it up for not paying the fine, or is it time to contact a motoring lawyer?
P.S - Car MOT expired approx two weeks prior to the initial offence date - not sure if that and a garage statement/motor professional statement is enough to indicate the car was off the road at the time of the 'offence'.
geordiepingu said:
Afternoon everyone,
Last July, my Mondeo blew its cylinder head gasket just before I went on holiday, and was subsequently towed by the AA back home onto my driveway. Struggling with admin due to being overworked and working on the road a fair bit, I forgot to SORN the car. I did however, not renew its insurance policy, as I was driving my 911 full time.
In December, I got a letter stating that I failed to insure the vehicle. I interpreted 3 options:
Pay a £100 fine
Insure the vehicle immediately
Make a SORN.
As such, I thought making the SORN would cancel it and all would be fine.
I made a SORN, which didn't get received. So I received a letter re-stating the fine. As such, I reposted a V890, and the vehicle is now SORNed.
To my surprise, I received a letter that I must make a plea of being guilty of the insurance requirements contrary to Section 144A(1) of the RTA.
Can someone help me if I've misinterpreted the first letter, and is this a case of suck it up for not paying the fine, or is it time to contact a motoring lawyer?
P.S - Car MOT expired approx two weeks prior to the initial offence date - not sure if that and a garage statement/motor professional statement is enough to indicate the car was off the road at the time of the 'offence'.
I think you are misunderstanding the rules, you are not being fined for having the car on the road, you are being fined for not having it insured or sorned, it must be one or the other, no middle groundLast July, my Mondeo blew its cylinder head gasket just before I went on holiday, and was subsequently towed by the AA back home onto my driveway. Struggling with admin due to being overworked and working on the road a fair bit, I forgot to SORN the car. I did however, not renew its insurance policy, as I was driving my 911 full time.
In December, I got a letter stating that I failed to insure the vehicle. I interpreted 3 options:
Pay a £100 fine
Insure the vehicle immediately
Make a SORN.
As such, I thought making the SORN would cancel it and all would be fine.
I made a SORN, which didn't get received. So I received a letter re-stating the fine. As such, I reposted a V890, and the vehicle is now SORNed.
To my surprise, I received a letter that I must make a plea of being guilty of the insurance requirements contrary to Section 144A(1) of the RTA.
Can someone help me if I've misinterpreted the first letter, and is this a case of suck it up for not paying the fine, or is it time to contact a motoring lawyer?
P.S - Car MOT expired approx two weeks prior to the initial offence date - not sure if that and a garage statement/motor professional statement is enough to indicate the car was off the road at the time of the 'offence'.
And why on earth didn't you sorn it online, no chance of it getting lost then
Edit to say: So you were also driving it without an MOT? Not much point in engaging a lawyer, save the money for the fine
Edited by martinbiz on Tuesday 12th March 14:36
Edited by martinbiz on Tuesday 12th March 14:46
Edited by martinbiz on Tuesday 12th March 15:01
geordiepingu said:
Thanks all - expensive misinterpretation!
(P.s. no I wasn't driving it. Hasn't moved off my driveway since July last year).
I would suggest there was also an earlier initial letter that got ignored / lost warning you it was uninsured and to do something about it(P.s. no I wasn't driving it. Hasn't moved off my driveway since July last year).
https://www.mib.org.uk/reducing-uninsured-driving/...
You're on an online car forum.
You obviously have internet access.
DVLA has made it piss easy to make a SORN declaration online and it doesn't cost you a penny; you don't need to locate a form from a Post Office, you don't need to fill in the said paper form, you don't need an envelope or a stamp. It takes less time than writing out this post. It definitely would've taken less time than writing the OP.
Making a SORN declaration online means no delays, no chance of things getting lost in the post and immediate email confirmation of success.
Given all those factors, what was the reason for not doing it online?
You obviously have internet access.
DVLA has made it piss easy to make a SORN declaration online and it doesn't cost you a penny; you don't need to locate a form from a Post Office, you don't need to fill in the said paper form, you don't need an envelope or a stamp. It takes less time than writing out this post. It definitely would've taken less time than writing the OP.
Making a SORN declaration online means no delays, no chance of things getting lost in the post and immediate email confirmation of success.
Given all those factors, what was the reason for not doing it online?
QuickQuack said:
You're on an online car forum.
You obviously have internet access.
DVLA has made it piss easy to make a SORN declaration online and it doesn't cost you a penny; you don't need to locate a form from a Post Office, you don't need to fill in the said paper form, you don't need an envelope or a stamp. It takes less time than writing out this post. It definitely would've taken less time than writing the OP.
Making a SORN declaration online means no delays, no chance of things getting lost in the post and immediate email confirmation of success.
Given all those factors, what was the reason for not doing it online?
Given the amount of payment cheques that used to go missing back in the days before online payments, I think the OP chose badly.You obviously have internet access.
DVLA has made it piss easy to make a SORN declaration online and it doesn't cost you a penny; you don't need to locate a form from a Post Office, you don't need to fill in the said paper form, you don't need an envelope or a stamp. It takes less time than writing out this post. It definitely would've taken less time than writing the OP.
Making a SORN declaration online means no delays, no chance of things getting lost in the post and immediate email confirmation of success.
Given all those factors, what was the reason for not doing it online?
geordiepingu said:
I made a SORN, which didn't get received.
.
.
martinbiz said:
clive_candy said:
Best get it sorted before you get a visit from the bailiffs.
Why will that happen?If you don't pay the fixed penalty then it's prosecution and a fine which, if not paid, will be fairly quickly followed by a visit from debt enforcement agents.
A few years ago now I was slow responding to a letter telling me I'd been fined and ended up with bailiffs on the doorstep. I reckon they'd skipped a stage (or two) in the process but my wife who'd answered the door while I was at work was having none of my excuses!
Edited by clive_candy on Wednesday 13th March 16:16
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