No tax or MOT for several years...
Discussion
I have just made the rather shocking discovery (via the DVLA lookup thing) that one of our cars hasn't been taxed since June 2014, and has had no MOT since September 2016. My wife and I each thought the other was taking care of it, but for whatever reason neither of us was. This really is just an oversight - we are otherwise law-abiding in all respects.
Looking in the box file containing the cars paperwork it appears that the V5C was completed and signed by the dealer and I at the time of purchase in 2013, but that I failed to send it on to the DVLA. This would explain why I have never received any reminders (I evidently rely on these) as the DVLA have never been told to associate the car with me. The previous owner was Ford Motor Co; I guess they haven't responded if/when the DVLA has contacted them. I haven't ever experienced any problems when insuring the car, which slightly surprises me.
I can't be the only person this has happened to. What will I need to do to put everything right? Obviously I'm going to have to pay the tax due for the missing years, along with whatever penalties. I'll need to get an MOT done also.
But how do I set about this? Should I just send the V5C - signed and dated 5 years ago - to the DVLA and see what happens? Or is there a more sensible course of action?
Thank you in advance.
Looking in the box file containing the cars paperwork it appears that the V5C was completed and signed by the dealer and I at the time of purchase in 2013, but that I failed to send it on to the DVLA. This would explain why I have never received any reminders (I evidently rely on these) as the DVLA have never been told to associate the car with me. The previous owner was Ford Motor Co; I guess they haven't responded if/when the DVLA has contacted them. I haven't ever experienced any problems when insuring the car, which slightly surprises me.
I can't be the only person this has happened to. What will I need to do to put everything right? Obviously I'm going to have to pay the tax due for the missing years, along with whatever penalties. I'll need to get an MOT done also.
But how do I set about this? Should I just send the V5C - signed and dated 5 years ago - to the DVLA and see what happens? Or is there a more sensible course of action?
Thank you in advance.
Edited by WindyCommon on Thursday 1st November 22:38
Top DVLA tax lurking. I use an app called 'Vehicle Smart' (android, not sure if its on apple). It allows you to save multiple vehicle vrm's and it displays MOT histories, vehicle details etc. You can also set it up to give you a notification on your phone notification bar when MOTs are due to expire (think it's a week before you get a notification). Very helpful if you've got a few cars between all the family and saves going hunting drawers for multiple sets of paperwork.
Thank you for the responses.
I'm not looking to avoid the tax I should have paid. Only to minimise the chances of my failure (yes, I recognise this is my fault) propelling me into some sort of Kafka-esque bureaucratic nightmare...
I certainly don't want to do anything suspect. I'd just like to "legalise" the vehicle asap.
Should I ring the DVLA, or just send in the (very old) V5C and see what happens from there?
I'm not looking to avoid the tax I should have paid. Only to minimise the chances of my failure (yes, I recognise this is my fault) propelling me into some sort of Kafka-esque bureaucratic nightmare...
I certainly don't want to do anything suspect. I'd just like to "legalise" the vehicle asap.
Should I ring the DVLA, or just send in the (very old) V5C and see what happens from there?
Personally I'd ring up and ask DVLA themselves. There might well be a backlog of stuff and it could be very expensive, but, like you, I'd rather come clean and pay the price of my own stupidity knowing there won't be any comeback once it's been dealt with. The last time, possibly the only time, I had to call them was a few years ago. Although I was on hold for the best part of 45 minutes, the person I spoke to was very helpful, told me exactly what I needed to and it meantime could sleep without worrying. It was an ANPR camera which had picked up the car I had just bought as not being taxed but it needed an MOT and I was on the way to the pre-booked test. Much easier than your situation, but still, it was good to know I was right and what I needed to write in my letter to them.
WindyCommon said:
Last serviced in 2016. Has only done 3000 miles since then. We have other cars...
I know.
You are I hope aware that the service book states "X miles or X months, whichever comes first" and they don't do this entirely for reasons of profit....Your cars fluids, seals, parts etc, degrade with time as well as use.I know.
lyonspride said:
WindyCommon said:
Last serviced in 2016. Has only done 3000 miles since then. We have other cars...
I know.
You are I hope aware that the service book states "X miles or X months, whichever comes first" and they don't do this entirely for reasons of profit....Your cars fluids, seals, parts etc, degrade with time as well as use.I know.
lyonspride said:
WindyCommon said:
Last serviced in 2016. Has only done 3000 miles since then. We have other cars...
I know.
You are I hope aware that the service book states "X miles or X months, whichever comes first" and they don't do this entirely for reasons of profit....Your cars fluids, seals, parts etc, degrade with time as well as use.I know.
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