Dvla court case should I be worried

[misscarlar]

I received a next steps letter stating I owed nearly £600.
The letter had the wrong door number when I called I was advised I had missed a court date

The original charge is for having a non insured car in August, I have set up a payment plan as they won't atop proceedings

I contacted the dvla to explain that I hadn't heard anything of the case and the car had been scrapped in the may.

I have been recalled to court with a new date. The problem is I don't have proof I scrapped the car.

How much trouble am I likely to be in

[ThreeFish]

you must have proof? what did you do with the paperwork when you scrapped it?

[misscarlar]

I couldn't find the v5 and I didn't get a receipt so no I don't have any proof

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

If you haven't told delay that you no longer have the car then that is an offense I'm afraid.

Have you nothing to say you are no longer the owner?

[CotswoldStrife]

So who is taking you to court? It's not the DVLA, it is to do with the lack of insurance.

I suspect there is more to this than you are saying as no scrap dealer would do this My own car was written off recently and the procedure was quite clear (and could be done online).

[misscarlar]

It is the the Dvla
I'm not sure what you are getting at I have given all of the information that I have on here

[titchy]

Right so what were you intending to do when dvla send you notices to tax it each year, which they will if you haven't told them you've scrapped it.

[WeAllHaveWings]

You were responsible to inform the dvla promptly when the car was scrapped, if you didn't have the paperwork you should have contacted them to find out how to tell them. It's not hard, now you will be responsible for the consequences, if they do believe you you can be fined for not updating the dvla on the status of the car.

[misscarlar]

I have never had a notice to tax it. It seems they had the car registered at the wrong house number

[Floralnomad]

they didn't have the car registered at the wrong address , you did. They use whatever address you tell them .

[PotteringAlong]

I agree with all the others; you're completely in the wrong here. My car was written off not that long ago and the procedure could not have been clearer.

Can you go to the place where you had the car scrapped and ask for a copy of their records to prove that it was scrapped? You are still liable for not informing the DVLA as that's an offence.

[PebbleInTheMoonlight]

It is an offence to not continually insure your car and it is the DVLA who investigate and punish this offence (I suggest anyone not believing this check out the law so they don't fall foul...an insured car that is taxed will land you a fine even if not currently being driven).

@misscarlar I'm also unsure how you've scrapped a car without your V5, licensed scrapyards know this is needed and would mention it more than once to you.

In terms of the fine, as you've discovered there's not much you can do once it passes a certain point. I'm glad they've agreed a payment plan for you.

BUT you are still the registered keeper for a car that no longer exists that is not continually insured. They will find you guilty of this again and again. I don't think it's a custodial offence, but the fines won't be pretty.

Call the scrappy you gave your car to and ask if there is anyway they can provide a receipt for your court appearance to at least confirm that the car doesn't exist anymore. If they are willing then call the DVLA and explain the whole situation, confirm you have a receipt and ask them how to prevent this ever being an issue again.

Write a full factual statement of the circumstances, name the scrap dealer and include a copy of the receipt if you could obtain one and make clear you accept you failed to follow the letter of the law, but it was through lack of understanding rather than through means to deceive or drive illegally. Submit this to the court clerks along with proof that previous communications regarding the issue were not received which prevented you acting promptly about the issue.

They will probably fine you, but taking into account the circumstances may opt for a lower fine.

Best of luck

[SmokyMountains]

This happened to my elderly father: took the car into the garage, the mechanic had said his car wasn't worth repairing and they should scrap, said the form would follow in the post,, DF chased, they said it had gone in the post and must have got lost, DF relayed this to DVLA, they believed him but said he shouldn't have trusted the garage to send on as it was his responsibility, charged him a fine of, if my memory is correct, £400, but he did declare it at the first instance, didn't get as far as court proceedings etc

[RebootYourEngine]

Are you sure it has been scrapped or could someone else be driving around in it?

[RayofFuckingSunshine]

Contact the place where you scrapped it, they are supposed to keep records, that way you can at least avoid this again in the future by declaring it scrapped, however you (rightly) will have to pay the penalty as it was your responsibility to notify them it was scrapped and it is your responsibility to ensure they have the correct address

[CotswoldStrife]

OP, are you saying that the DVLA had the wrong address all the time so the V5, tax demands and letters would be sent to the wrong address? What about your insurance details, were they registered to the correct address?

[misscarlar]

My insurance was at the correct address
Will be contacting the scrap yard on Monday
I am well aware I'm in the wrong and a fine is likely just hoping it's less than £600 as we are a low income family

[EnormousTiger]

It's interesting. I have scrapped a few cars and the company comes to the house and all that paperwork is always dealt with - I don't let them take the car until they hand me their cheque and we deal with all the DVLA stuff, scrapping etc.

There shoud be more publicity so people know about these things.

[peukpokicuzo]

If the correspondence has been going to the wrong address that's a £1000 fine too so I am not sure you want to use that as a defence!

[misscarlar]

Update:
I am going to court again tomorrow as it's been referred for a full hearing.
The dvla responded to a letter I sent saying as they successfully prosecuted me in January ( without my knowledge or presence) it's nothing to do with them
I made the first payment on the fine - it's on a payment plan now

So we shall see what happens tomorrow

[wowfudge]

You can easily check online whether the car has actually been scrapped by checking whether it has an MOT and has been taxed.

[Mummydummy]

I had a car written off and I'd lost the V5 so I simply called up DVLA and they sent me a replacement (for a fee I think) which I had to pass to the insurance company who scrapped it. You should make sure you have now registered it as scrapped otherwise you could continue to be liable for road tax/fines.

I dont quite understand the story because it sounds as if it was never legally insured and taxed? Could you be liable for more than the one month? Make sure you tie up all the loose ends.

[Morifarty]

It's not a legal requirement to have the V5 when scrapping a car. Did you get a certificate of destruction? Chances are the place you sold it to sold it on. You don't need the V5 to transfer ownership either.

[misscarlar]

Morifarty it seems the scrap people didn't do the paperwork they have now given a notice of destruction but it's dated recently

[Morifarty]

That's a shame as if they'd done it at the time you can usually sort this stuff out with the DVLA, even if you didn't have the cert back then.

Did you scrap it direct through a scrapper or through a larger umbrella company?