Are VED penalties really automatic?

[anonymous-user]

The tax on my other half's car expired at the end of last December. The reminder was put in the pile of 'things to be remembered' - and was duly forgotten about over Christmas

Finally remembered it on.... 1st February, by which time, of course the online system would only let us tax from that date. 'Oh bother' I thought, and consigned myself to paying the automatic penalty - along with paying for the missed month (January).

I've been waiting ever since! So is the automatic penalty really applied, and if not - why not? I'd have thought something computer-generated and impossible to defend would be manna from heaven from a revenue point of view. Still haven't paid for the missing January 'contribution', either.

Should I still be expecting anything unwelcome from Swansea, or has it just slipped through the cracks?

[aw51 121565]

Historically, the first letter was sent in the middle of the second month after the VED expired - this would have been mid-February in your case. In that regard, you dodged a bullet regards the 'normal' enforcement by taxing when you did .

With regard to the unpaid VED for January? I suspect you might have dodged that bullet too, but there is plenty of time yet (what with DVLA not being the most efficient of organisations) .