NIP received for car sold 180 days ago

[thomsonaj]

Title says it all - received an NIP (alleged offence of exceeding the motorway speed limit) for a car I traded in last August. Pretty sure I received the notification slip from DVLA but didn't keep it so can't prove. Have a bill of sale with the VRN of the trade in noted so not concerned about any liability.

Strange thing is when trying to enter the reason for not IDing the driver (option 3 when choosing to not name the driver), the Durham Constabulary website is saying I can't because the sale was over 180 days ago.

Any thoughts on why they'd limit it? Tried calling via 101 however the desk for speeding ticket queries is only open Mon & Wed 9-1. I did email to ask, will feedback here however queries can take up to 2 weeks to be addressed.

[kiethton]

I'd be replying the old fashioned way. Post it back to them alongside a short cover note and a copy of bill of sale. Fulfils your obligations and gets around a rigid website

[The Mad Monk]

thomsonaj said:

Title says it all - received an NIP (alleged offence of exceeding the motorway speed limit) for a car I traded in last August. Pretty sure I received the notification slip from DVLA but didn't keep it so can't prove. Have a bill of sale with the VRN of the trade in noted so not concerned about any liability.

Strange thing is when trying to enter the reason for not IDing the driver (option 3 when choosing to not name the driver), the Durham Constabulary website is saying I can't because the sale was over 180 days ago.

Any thoughts on why they'd limit it? Tried calling via 101 however the desk for speeding ticket queries is only open Mon & Wed 9-1. I did email to ask, will feedback here however queries can take up to 2 weeks to be addressed.

There's got to be one, hasn't there?

"Why didn't you keep the slip (in fact, all the paperwork) in the file"?

[Scaleybrat]

I had this happen to me about 20 years ago. Traded a BMW into the local dealership (Dundee) and a few months later I received a NIP in the post for an alleged speeding offence in Aberdeen. I knew the dealership had a garage in Aberdeen and deduced they had moved the car there for a possible sale. What really pissed me off was the fact that the car still had my personal registration plate on the car and I was driving down in Dundee with the same plate on my new car.
From recollection, I just sent a letter back stating I was no longer the owner of the vehicle and to contact the dealership if they wished to pursue further. In those days everything was done by hard copy, nothing online, but my instinct would be to reply in writing with any details you have.

[E-bmw]

The Mad Monk said:

thomsonaj said:

Title says it all - received an NIP (alleged offence of exceeding the motorway speed limit) for a car I traded in last August. Pretty sure I received the notification slip from DVLA but didn't keep it so can't prove. Have a bill of sale with the VRN of the trade in noted so not concerned about any liability.

Strange thing is when trying to enter the reason for not IDing the driver (option 3 when choosing to not name the driver), the Durham Constabulary website is saying I can't because the sale was over 180 days ago.

Any thoughts on why they'd limit it? Tried calling via 101 however the desk for speeding ticket queries is only open Mon & Wed 9-1. I did email to ask, will feedback here however queries can take up to 2 weeks to be addressed.

There's got to be one, hasn't there?

"Why didn't you keep the slip (in fact, all the paperwork) in the file"?

I have to admit, I too am in the keep it forever camp, just in case.

Signed receipt/BOS, new keeper's details, confirmation email for tax, all kept just in case.

[Sheepshanks]

thomsonaj said:

Title says it all - received an NIP (alleged offence of exceeding the motorway speed limit) for a car I traded in last August. Pretty sure I received the notification slip from DVLA but didn't keep it so can't prove. Have a bill of sale with the VRN of the trade in noted so not concerned about any liability.

Strange thing is when trying to enter the reason for not IDing the driver (option 3 when choosing to not name the driver), the Durham Constabulary website is saying I can't because the sale was over 180 days ago.

Any thoughts on why they'd limit it? Tried calling via 101 however the desk for speeding ticket queries is only open Mon & Wed 9-1. I did email to ask, will feedback here however queries can take up to 2 weeks to be addressed.

Did you get a road tax refund at the time?

It could be that there's no known current keeper in which case they go back to the last known keeper.

[Bill]

I had similar (years ago now, TBF) and just write back saying I sold it to a dealer in Manchester and didn't have the details anymore. Heard nothing more.

If the website isn't having it then just post it.

[FiF]

If their online response system prevents replying accurately because of some issue with a date, that's got to be a problem with their IT system and nothing to do with the legislation.

Therefore in my opinion don't waste time trying to have a conversation and just fulfil the requirement ad go old school and complete the form in writing. There should be a section to allow the statement that the vehicle was transferred to a dealer name, address and date. If there isn't then the form is also deficient. Post it tracked, signed for, *having kept copies of the completed forms and the postal receipt. Unfortunately that will cost £9.50 which is an utter disgrace but that is where we are today paying through the nose for official incompetence.

And next time sell a car make sure that DVLA is informed and keep any electronic or paper records securely.

[TheDrownedApe]

Another question. OP says they traded it in; why didn't the new owner buy the car without a V5 and hasn't ever chased the dealer for the V5?

[Scaleybrat]

TheDrownedApe said:

Another question. OP says they traded it in; why didn't the new owner buy the car without a V5 and hasn't ever chased the dealer for the V5?

You’re assuming the dealer has sold it on.

[Legacywr]

Surely you have an email confirming the change of owner?

[agtlaw]

thomsonaj said:

Title says it all - received an NIP (alleged offence of exceeding the motorway speed limit) for a car I traded in last August. Pretty sure I received the notification slip from DVLA but didn't keep it so can't prove. Have a bill of sale with the VRN of the trade in noted so not concerned about any liability.

Date of last V5C (logbook) issued:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

[paul_c123]

agtlaw said:

Date of last V5C (logbook) issued:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

That won't help, if its the situation we all suspect here. Either the car is still genuinely "in trade" - perhaps the trader sold it to another, or kept it back for his own use, or it just hasn't sold yet. Or its still in trade because it was sold but the registered keeper wasn't updated. The new owner won't be that bothered because 1) they might not have taxed/insured it, 2) no speeding fines will come their way.

Although not infallible, if the car's registered keeper details were updated, the speeding offence would have logically gone to them, not the OP.

At the end of the day it is the seller's responsibility to update the registered keeper details.

[agtlaw]

paul_c123 said:

That won't help, if its the situation we all suspect here.

It will be a useful piece of information and I prefer to work with facts rather than speculation.

[thomsonaj]

Thanks all, appreciate the input. Answering a handful of questions en masse:
- Tax showing as expired as of date of sale (7/8/25).
- We have the remnants of the V5, minus the motor trader transfer slip bit.
- We do not have the confirmation of transfer of ownership from DVLA. Can't remember if we ever received it or not.
- Date of last logbook issue is the date we registered it (24/4/24)

I will follow the advice re hard copy submission via registered mail and follow up via email confirming what I've done.

I'm still curious as to the 180 days restriction and tending to agree with the reply that suggests it's just a system bug.

What is the correct protocol if you sell a car and don't receive the transfer of ownership slip in the post? Contact the DVLA or the purchaser? In this case, we've incorrectly assumed the dealer has taken care of the paperwork given they did everything else (incl tax) - I imagine the correct thing to do is do all the re-registering docs yourself as the seller.

Thanks guys 👍

P.S. for those curious the driver was caught at 102 in a 70. The car is 200k mile Volvo XC70 D5.

[98elise]

paul_c123 said:

agtlaw said:

Date of last V5C (logbook) issued:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

That won't help, if its the situation we all suspect here. Either the car is still genuinely "in trade" - perhaps the trader sold it to another, or kept it back for his own use, or it just hasn't sold yet. Or its still in trade because it was sold but the registered keeper wasn't updated. The new owner won't be that bothered because 1) they might not have taxed/insured it, 2) no speeding fines will come their way.

Although not infallible, if the car's registered keeper details were updated, the speeding offence would have logically gone to them, not the OP.

At the end of the day it is the seller's responsibility to update the registered keeper details.

What situation we all suspect?

We had exactly the same situation a while back after my daughter sold her car to a dealer. We updated DVLA on line and got a confirmation letter a few days later.

6 months on and she gets a NIP. She sent it back telling them the car was sold, but they ignored that and continued to pursue her.

We the. contacted DVLA asking for the RK details (V888). The DVLA ignored multiple requests so we started the complaints process. They wrote back saying they couldn't give us the details because my daughter wasn't the RK (confirming the date they were updated).

My thread...

https://share.google/M4aynzC2okYKty7A5

Edited by 98elise on Saturday 21st February 12:03

[thomsonaj]

agtlaw said:

paul_c123 said:

That won't help, if its the situation we all suspect here.

It will be a useful piece of information and I prefer to work with facts rather than speculation.

FWIW this does help quite a bit because it avoids any suspicion that it's a DVLA system bug and confirms the car hasn't been registered to a new keeper since I sold it.

Whilst that still needs to be sorted, it's not actually the issue here - IDing the driver is the ask from DC. Onus is on me as the last keeper to do so, but all I can categorically do here is prove it wasn't me: easily done as I was 300 miles away at a car rental office in South London at the time, CCTV and witnesses to prove etc. I can also add likelihood that it wasn't me by explaining that I sold the car 7 months prior to the alleged offence.

[thomsonaj]

98elise said:

paul_c123 said:

agtlaw said:

Date of last V5C (logbook) issued:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

That won't help, if its the situation we all suspect here. Either the car is still genuinely "in trade" - perhaps the trader sold it to another, or kept it back for his own use, or it just hasn't sold yet. Or its still in trade because it was sold but the registered keeper wasn't updated. The new owner won't be that bothered because 1) they might not have taxed/insured it, 2) no speeding fines will come their way.

Although not infallible, if the car's registered keeper details were updated, the speeding offence would have logically gone to them, not the OP.

At the end of the day it is the seller's responsibility to update the registered keeper details.

What situation we all suspect?

We had exactly the same situation a while back after my daughter sold her car to a dealer. We updated DVLA on line and got a confirmation letter a few days later.

6 months on and she gets a NIP. She sent it back telling them the car was sold, but they ignored that and continued to pursue her.

We the. contacted DVLA asking for the RK details (V888). The DVLA ignored multiple requests so we started the complaints process. They wrote back saying they couldn't give us the details because my daughter wasn't the RK (confirming the date they were updated).

We passed the DVLA letter to the police and they stopped pursuing her for the offence.

I did a thread on here and multiple people confirmed that the police do go after the last RK even though they know the car has been sold to trade.

That sounds pretty stressful for your daughter - on what grounds did they pursue her? Was she not able to prove she wasn't driving at the time of the alleged offence? I'm fortunate that I was evidencably nowhere near the location but can imagine if the car was sold and then purchased locally, it might be a bit different.

[98elise]

thomsonaj said:

98elise said:

paul_c123 said:

agtlaw said:

Date of last V5C (logbook) issued:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

That won't help, if its the situation we all suspect here. Either the car is still genuinely "in trade" - perhaps the trader sold it to another, or kept it back for his own use, or it just hasn't sold yet. Or its still in trade because it was sold but the registered keeper wasn't updated. The new owner won't be that bothered because 1) they might not have taxed/insured it, 2) no speeding fines will come their way.

Although not infallible, if the car's registered keeper details were updated, the speeding offence would have logically gone to them, not the OP.

At the end of the day it is the seller's responsibility to update the registered keeper details.

What situation we all suspect?

We had exactly the same situation a while back after my daughter sold her car to a dealer. We updated DVLA on line and got a confirmation letter a few days later.

6 months on and she gets a NIP. She sent it back telling them the car was sold, but they ignored that and continued to pursue her.

We the. contacted DVLA asking for the RK details (V888). The DVLA ignored multiple requests so we started the complaints process. They wrote back saying they couldn't give us the details because my daughter wasn't the RK (confirming the date they were updated).

We passed the DVLA letter to the police and they stopped pursuing her for the offence.

I did a thread on here and multiple people confirmed that the police do go after the last RK even though they know the car has been sold to trade.

That sounds pretty stressful for your daughter - on what grounds did they pursue her? Was she not able to prove she wasn't driving at the time of the alleged offence? I'm fortunate that I was evidencably nowhere near the location but can imagine if the car was sold and then purchased locally, it might be a bit different.

They simply continued to pursue her as if she hadn't replied, so I assume they lost or ignored the first response. After the second response they didn't contact her again.

The DVLA didn't respond to two V888 requests, and ignored the first stage complaint. They only responded when we escalated the complaint.

Lots of people have had the same experience. When you sell a car to a trader/dealer the police will issue a NIP to the last RK even though they know you don't own the car any more.

Its a waste of everyone's time. You can't possibly know who was driving a car you don't own anymore.

[Legacywr]

Just to add, if you haven’t dealt with the transfer of the V5 properly, DVLA can prosecute you.