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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be so angry with him? What happens now?

84 replies

rhubarbandvanilla · 13/04/2019 15:51

My partner got pulled over today from driving without insurance. He claims he thought it had renewed automatically last April and was due at the end of this month... but it hadn't and he's been uninsured for a year.

The police then checked his tax and MOT, and he hasn't done either of those for THREE years!

The car has been taken and he needs to provide evidence of insurance, his logbook and license to get the car back. He also has to wait for further info about being called to a hearing. There's a fine for no MOT.

What on earth happens now? How can he get his car back when there's no tax or MOT? Will he lose his license? He has no other points.

OP posts:
Clutterbugsmum · 13/04/2019 16:54

winbinin I took my car in for an MOT this week and was shocked to discover my tax had run out on April 1st - apparently they no longer send out reminders.

Yes they do, in fact both mine and DH tax is due on the 1st April the reminders come in the same envelope. We received them around the 10th of March.

Any way OP, he may struggle to get road tax as they check both Insurance and MoT. So I'm not sure he can get his back to get the MoT sorted.

I wonder how many other road fines have been sent to the wrong address as he not updated his details.

notangelinajolie · 13/04/2019 16:54

@havingtochangeusernameagain
In fact I am off to check my tax disks now! I think they're ok though

Here you go

vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

KitKat1985 · 13/04/2019 16:57

Well I'd be furious. His insurance will now be astronomical as well.

Because of the length of time periods involved with no MOT / tax / insurance I suspect he will have to go a magistrates court about the offences. On a practical point it might be worth him getting a solicitor that specialises in driving offences.

DarthLipgloss · 13/04/2019 17:02

Also car will likely need a fortune spending on it to get it through the MOT...

Vegasprincess89 · 13/04/2019 17:03

I don't think he's just disorganized at all, im assuming the OP partner isn't filthy rich so he'd know if the payments were coming out of his account or not!! You wouldn't not realise for 3 years

whodafeck · 13/04/2019 17:05

How’s he going to tax it without an mot?

He knows fucking rightly that his car needed an MOT. I mean. There’s no way he can’t know that.

DGRossetti · 13/04/2019 17:06

I wonder how many parking tickets and speeding NIPs hes had too ?

HeadSpin5 · 13/04/2019 17:08

Insurers don’t all renew automatically- some do, some don’t. There are a lot of people who dislike the auto-renewal as they feel they’re not given enough option to switch. But either way the insurance co should give you plenty of notice and new quote.

OhDearGodLookAtThisMess · 13/04/2019 17:08

MOTs are also not needed for the first three years, not only for brand new cars.
Eh? What do you mean by "not only for brand new cars?"
All cars need an MOT once they reach 3 years old.

My brother recently admitted to not having renewed his house insurance for three years. He assumed it renewed automatically and only realised when he went to check something in the policy which no longer existed.

LovelyJubbly67 · 13/04/2019 17:13

A man as irresponsble to that is unlikely to make a very good husband, is he?

cuppycakey · 13/04/2019 17:14

He sounds like a total pratt. I would dump him.

TheGrapefulDread · 13/04/2019 17:20

There is an app called Vehicle Smart to help manage reminders. I find it very handy.

Faultymain5 · 13/04/2019 17:36

@Kel810 Love how many people know for sure he deliberately broke the law. You have no way of knowing his intentions

Would have thought it was strict liability offence, no intention required. Clear cut breaking the law.

Ihatehashtags · 13/04/2019 17:44

Very irresponsible,immature, tight, selfish, nothing good to describe his actions. And they were most definitely deliberate. I wouldn’t want to be with that type of guy.

PotterHead1985 · 13/04/2019 17:54

I'm hoping to the MN gods ye don't have kids and if you do that he's never driven with them in the car Angry

winbinin · 13/04/2019 17:57

I stand corrected. We didn’t get a reminder this time but as someone else suggested it may have gone astray. I was shocked when the man in Halfords told me I wasn’t taxed and it was him that told me that reminders aren’t issued as standard anymore.

Popsicle434544 · 13/04/2019 18:19

I dont get how he could be uninsured or no tax, our tax automatically renews and same with car insurance, automatically renews.
I have to say he must be pretty ok for money though cause every jan when my insurance is due im always very eager to see how much its come down by and if i have to find cheaper elsewhere.
Its either deliberate or hes incredibly stupid

Dana28 · 13/04/2019 18:31

Can't believe people telling you to ltb over an untaxed car!

TougheningUp · 13/04/2019 18:36

The police then checked his tax and MOT, and he hasn't done either of those for THREE years!

Then his car hasn't been insured for those three years. Not just one. You need tax and MOT for your insurance to be valid.

I am horrified by this. It's so irresponsible. I couldn't look my partner in the face if he'd done this.

UAEMum · 13/04/2019 18:38

Wow! You guys are so black and white about things. I think it is entirely possible that it was all an oversight. The fact that he has money and pays his way implies this.
I would be angry and show him.clearly then get over it, let him sort out his mess.
This is not a reason to end an otherwise loving relationship imo.

squeakyreptile · 13/04/2019 18:40

Utterly negligent. I would fail to see how it wasn't at least in part deliberate... nobody surely doesn't notice that they haven't taken their car for it's MOT in three years?!

I would just get minimally involved in your position. It is up to him. He created this mess. I just hope you don't end up driving him around everywhere if there are driving restrictions for him.

MrBrown · 13/04/2019 18:57

He will have been given a seizure notice that he needs to take to the police station with all his documents. He will need tax, and insurance - just a word of advice, make sure he reads the small print or checks with the insurers that they will cover him to remove the vehicle from a police compound because they will check for this specifically, this will also cost more. He then needs proof that he has an MOT appointment booked on the same day that it's being released and he can then drive from the compound directly to the MOT test ONLY.

3 years is definitely not an oversight, that's deliberate or just couldn't be arsed to sort it out...surely he realised no direct debits were coming out of his bank for his insurance? Why didn't he change his address on his log book when you moved? That could get him another fine if he uses that an his defence.

Spoddy · 13/04/2019 18:58

I think it is entirely possible that it was all an oversight

I wonder if you would be as forgiving of you are ever hit by an uninsured driver Hmm

Alfiesmom15 · 13/04/2019 19:05

In all fairness to him on our old car out MOT was due in may..... well I went to tax in the November and they wouldn't let us.... tbf we did get the MOT booked and sorted that weekend (before anyone jumps on us it was a extremely stressful year with court cases being witnesses in a extreme gbh case against travellers) , but how he forgot for 3 years on the road tax is beyond me

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 13/04/2019 19:11

Can't believe people telling you to ltb over an untaxed car!

It’s not just an untaxed car though. He has broken three laws! Four if you include not informing DVLA of his change of address. He hasn’t forgotten by a couple of days or weeks but by THREE YEARS!

How rich is he if he never looks at his bank statements to realise that he hasn't been paying for insurance?