dvla fining me for not taxing a car i dont own

[IneedAsockamnesty]

in feb i sold 2 cars to a dealer all paperwork was filled out and posted, the bits i sent i obtained proof of posting from post office.

in june i recived a tax renewel form, i phoned them and told them i had posted the bit on the reg doc and gave them the date of posting, i was told to fill out a form and i did i also obtained proof of posting cert when i posted that.

i then recived a letter saying i was being fined. i appealed against this providing the info they required and stating i posted it and enclosing proof of postage cert.

i them recive a response saying that as i had relyed on a third party to do it i was liable.

i phoned them and told them they had obviously sent me someone elses letter as that was not what i had written in my appeal. only to recive a form for a extended appeal.

i filled that out and posted also obtaining proof of posting. and got no reply and forgot about it.

untill i recived a debt collectors letter, so i phoned them and informed them that i was awaiting an appeal response to be told "not our problem you need to pay it,obviously they have turned down your appeal"

so i go back to dvla who claim they didnt recive my extended appeal form.

so i put it all in writing photocopied all proof of posting recept things and posted it recorded delivery.

the only response i get to that was a letter today saying basicly

we will not respond to any issues you raised in your letter.we informed you we had to recive your extended appeal form by 21/09 and we didnt so please arange payment with debt collection agency.we will not enter into further discussion with you about this.

im rather cross about it. i can prove i sent everything in good time,its not my problem if there post room is shocking.and i think they are just saying they didnt get it as its an easy way to raise revenue.

incidently the car in question has been sold twice since then and has been taxed by its newest owner.

apparently because its dvla i cant even make them take me to court so i could show a judge the postal proof ect. any ideas how i can deal with this other than just giving in and paying?

fwiw i buy cars lots and mess around with them for fun then sell them on average i go through about 10 a year and several times they have claimed they didnt recive docs hence why i allways get proof of posting.

[LFCisTarkaDahl]

If you have proof of posting for all you've said I wouldn't pay - they do have to take you to court at some point.

I'd ignore the debt collectors entirely and wait til they took me to court - I've done that before (not with dvla) but over a catalogue debt for unsolicited goods - judge threw it out and awarded me £50 for my time.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

im usually pretty good with debt collectors ect but im not quite sure as to the different rules due to it being a road traffic thing.

my understanding is that they have greater powers but im not entirely sure what they are.

one part of me just says pay it to make them go away but i know i did everything i am required to do so it bugs me a bit. and given how rude the woman from the debt collection agency was i would rather eat my own foot than pay via them.

the other half of me thinks i shouldnt pay it because im wondering how many people a year they get away with doing this to.