[Closed] 100 quid DVLA tax penalty

Did you ride the bike out of the UK on public roads or has the tax just "lapsed" so to speak?

Well you could appeal and tell them your circumstances but...

From the back of your {paper counterpart} licence:
"You must tell the DVLA at once of any change of your permanent address..............etc.,

Failure to notify any changes as described above is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine up to £1000"

Think I'd just pay it, you did get the bike free after all (and maybe a load more if your sister now has the house 😉)

AFAIK without possession of a V5 in my name I couldn’t tax it

Yes you can:
"You can tax your vehicle without a V11 reminder letter using a: V5C registration certificate (logbook) in your name if you're the current keeper. V62 application for a registration certificate if you're the current keeper. green 'new keeper' slip if you've just bought the car (and do not have a V5C in your name yet)"

Was it even insured?

Pay up cheapskate, you've broken the law.

Pay up cheapskate, you’ve broken the law.

Possibly a few times. Just pay it.

I think you were supposed to wait until you had changed the name and got the V5 back before taking it out the country, how did you even insure it to drive it out the country?

how did you even insure it to drive it out the country

Given its a motor bike the van it was inside was probably insured.....

I'm confused - is the vehicle still in Spain, or have you re-imported it?

Your dad was the registered keeper and owner when the vehicle was exported, so in theory he would incur the fine for not informing them of the permanent export? Ownership was only transferred a month ago in DVLA terms?

Sorry, my OP was confusing. I said I couldn't tax it without a V5 - I meant SORN it. No need to tax, as it indeed left the UK in a van. My dad should've SORNed it but was in hospital for most of the tail end of 2020. Didn't even occur to me that it wouldn't be.

? Ownership was only transferred a month ago in DVLA terms?

I think that's what the letter is saying. Says "our records show that on 17/10/2020 this vehicle was not taxed". It had already left the country in June*, but DVLA had the V5 for months so it wasn't officially exported.

The woman at DVLA said appeals take 8 to 10 weeks at the moment (can add two weeks to that for postage to and fro).

*No proof of that other than the chunnel receipt for the van.

When transferring the V5, did you give your Spanish address, or an address in the UK? If the vehicle is still registered to a UK address, then you need to have SORNed it or taxed it as soon as you received the V5.

If this (UK address) is the case, paying up would be the sensible option, as I can't see how you get past having the V5 for a month and not taxing or SORNing it. Doesn't matter that the bike is in Spain, you have to tick one box or the other if it is associated with a UK address.

The offence of exporting it and not notifying DVLA is moot because your dad was registered keeper and owner at the time the offence was committed.

I think it’s a bit cr*p but I’d be tempted to pay up and move on.

Also belated condolences about your dad...must have been alright if he was a biker!

Aye, just pay it.

Given you've got the various bits seemingly in the wrong order/ a bit muddled I'd pay it and move on.

The slowly grinding wheels of bureaucracy may not be very accepting of what I'm sure was a well intentioned mix up.

Yes you can:
“You can tax your vehicle without a V11 reminder letter using a: V5C registration certificate (logbook) in your name if you’re the current keeper. V62 application for a registration certificate if you’re the current keeper. green ‘new keeper’ slip if you’ve just bought the car (and do not have a V5C in your name yet)”

Was it even insured?

You don't even need that, the previous owner gave me the wrong slip, if you phone them up you can just tax it over the phone without any docs.

Cheers, @timbog160 - sure he’d be happy that it didn’t just get sold back to the dealer for peanuts. Less so that I dropped it off its side stand the other day...

I’ll suck it up, sounds like a fair cop. Import duty was less than I expected, so I’m kinda not out of pocket.

Should’ve sorned it obvs but also exported it while still in Dads name. Thought I’d need the V5 in my name for the Spanish registration but in the end it made no odds.

Import duty was less than I expected

i hadn’t expected there’d be an import tax on moving a vehicle between European countries. Interesting.

Again, didn't quite word it right. You pay a registration tax based on emissions and value, not really an import tax as it'd apply to a Spanish built car on first registration too. A newish 40k Merc imported from Germany would cost about 1.5k to register.
Think I paid around 300eur all in, bit less than I'd predicted.

Is there any costs associated with appealing the fine?

If not then it is a 5 minute job to write a letter explaining the circumstances. And as long as it is honest and sets out the facts (written better than the op) I think you have a reasonable chance.

I don't know what others get paid, but 5 mins of time to save 100 quid is a worthwhile investment of time in my life.;

I agree with MSP, Even the DVLA would have to be made of stone in those circumstances.I have spoken to them about a car I scrapped then discovered it was back on the road and collecting tickets; they were pretty decent. and the appeal took about 3-4 weeks.

Tempted to ignore, as they have no idea where I live (my licence had my dad’s address on it)

Whatever you do, don't ignore it.

Failure to pay will either result in it being passed on to debt collectors (who will find your real address eventually, after racking up some fees!) or submitted to court where even if you don't ignore it you'll end up paying considerably more (unless you find a compassionate bench who accept everything you say, including the fact that you chose to ignore the prior correspondence). If you ignore the fine too - you'll ultimately end up with either a debt recovery firm chasing an order of magnitude higher cost or getting stopped at border when you come back to the UK and if you can't pay the entire sum there and then a night in the cells before appearing at court.

A letter sent from a Spanish address clearly outlining the chronological order, can surely do no harm and either results in it being cancelled or told no pay up. You'd still have an option then of taking it to court, but at higher risk if you fail.

I'd appeal it.

I'd imagine moving to Spain, and all the formalities that entails, can be stressful. On top of that, losing your father, I think it's quite reasonable that your priorities weren't the same as theirs.

Worst that can happen is, you end up paying the fine

Worst that can happen is, you end up paying the fine

Agree entirely, but as they've said it takes 8-10 weeks to appeal, wouldn't like to find out the appeal was unsuccessful and it's now tripled!

If an appeal is lodged, surely the time limit on paying the fine is paused while a decision is made, then restarted if unsuccessful.

On top of all that you have disgust this on a public forum so you have no excuse for ignoring the fine. I have that t-shirt from 15 years ago after talking about an accident on this forum.

Damn and I thought what happens on singletrackworld.com stays on singletrackworld.com 😛

I'd kinda hope it would turn into a public shaming where DVLA reprise the role of Ling... that's worth 100 quid.