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AIBU?

AIBU to think the DVLA should take responsibility for this?

48 replies

MrsBobDylan · 20/04/2021 18:34

We bought our home via probate two years ago. Previous owner's adult granddaughter still has her driving license registered to our address.

Six months ago she bought a new car. I know this because the new keeper papers arrived at our house.

She has subsequently got two PCN's and the DVLA have told me that they can't do anything because only the license holder can make address changes.

I have an email for this woman's uncle and have emailed him twice and the DVLA four times. I have also been in touch with the Council who issued the PCNs who advised me to contact the DVLA.

I am really worried and stressed. We have a lot going on at the moment and now I'm concerned these PCNs will eventually cause bailiffs to come knocking.

What do I do? Why isn't there some kind of means for dealing with someone who knowingly and fraudulently uses an address which isn't theirs?

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MrsBobDylan · 20/04/2021 19:01

The car is registered to our address. I did a return to sender on the new keeper papers and have emailed proof of who lives at our address to the Council who issued the PCN.

I am reassured that debts are on people rather than addresses.

I still think that the DVLA should be more bothered though. I mean what's the point in having a system if they don't actually look after it?

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MrsBobDylan · 20/04/2021 19:03

Also, the PCN is issued via her number plate, so they send the letter to where the car is registered. I assume anyway...

We definitely received the new keeper papers.

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BrieAndChilli · 20/04/2021 19:03

We had bailiffs turn up once as we kept getting electricity bills addressed to a business and our address. We had at one point our residential electricity with the same utility company and had rung them many times to say it was nothing to do with us nor our 3 bed semi!
Anyway a bailiff came and immediately said he could see we weren’t a business but he had to make the visit. He was very nice and after we contacted the electric company again we got several hundred pounds compensation! Then we received another bill so they compensated us again! I did say I was happy for them to keep sending us bills if we were going to get money each time

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CarmelBeach · 20/04/2021 19:04

@MrsBobDylan

The car is registered to our address. I did a return to sender on the new keeper papers and have emailed proof of who lives at our address to the Council who issued the PCN.

I am reassured that debts are on people rather than addresses.

I still think that the DVLA should be more bothered though. I mean what's the point in having a system if they don't actually look after it?

I agree, the DVLA should at least check if they've got conflicting info on their systems. They could stay within data laws by just saying "thank you for flagging this up, we will ensure no one else is registered at your address".

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skeggycaggy · 20/04/2021 19:06

But you can have multiple people living at one address. It becomes a bit torturous for the DVLA to be responsible for policing that?

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Soubriquet · 20/04/2021 19:07

Return all letters to sender

And if a bailiff comes to do the door, let them know that she is not at this address, prove it and if you have a known address, provide it

(I’ve had bailiffs at the door before for a previous tenant)

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EvilPea · 20/04/2021 19:07

Just keep your council tax bill somewhere accessible and if the bailiffs turn up just show them that and they will go away

Don’t panic anymore. It won’t affect you.
I would just return to sender everything you get.

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CarmelBeach · 20/04/2021 19:08

@skeggycaggy

But you can have multiple people living at one address. It becomes a bit torturous for the DVLA to be responsible for policing that?

They can cross check easily with council tax though?

If a licence holder is going around with the wrong address, surely they have to sort that?

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UhtredRagnarson · 20/04/2021 19:11

The car is registered to our address.

It’s very strange that she would have done this. Unless the person she bought the car off filled in the slip using her driving license.

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malmi · 20/04/2021 19:12

This is rubbish. It's been delivered.

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youshallnotpass9 · 20/04/2021 19:14

I had exactly this problem in my last place. Bailiffs did turn up, council tax bill and my driving licence, sorted it for one lot. A simple phonecall with the proof sent to their email address to the other one.

DVLA couldn't do anything

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skeggycaggy · 20/04/2021 19:14

Do all adults living at address have their name on the council tax register though? And council and DVLA are different organisations, would assume GDPR would mean the databases can’t be passed between them. But I may be wrong!

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Barton10 · 20/04/2021 19:14

It is illegal to do this and if she gets pulled over she can be charged with driving without a licence. A friend of mine did and was fined £1k and banned for six months. Her insurance will also be invalid if she has given the wrong address. Report her to the police and give them the registration plate. Hopefully she will get pulled over and forced to do something.

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Moondust001 · 20/04/2021 19:14

I can see your point of view but...DVLA can't change information they have been given by a person on the say so of another one. Can you imagine the potential chaos if they did? That car over there is mine. That really really expensive one. Because I said so. However, it's a criminal offence to not update your details. So in addition to other suggestions, I might contact the police and report it all, keeping a copy of what you've told them and who you told etc. The police might do nothing, but you have a record of the report.

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MrsBobDylan · 20/04/2021 19:15

I am going to stop worrying, thank you to everyone who has helped me lower my panic stations reaction

I do worry about what happens if she has an accident (which at her current rate of PCNs could be anytime soon). Presumably she has insurance registered at her actual address, which makes me wonder why she hasn't managed to register her car and her driving license there too?

Anyway, am off to worry excessively about other things...

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youshallnotpass9 · 20/04/2021 19:16

@youshallnotpass9

I had exactly this problem in my last place. Bailiffs did turn up, council tax bill and my driving licence, sorted it for one lot. A simple phonecall with the proof sent to their email address to the other one.

DVLA couldn't do anything

Should say one of the reasons we thought they might still be using their old address is because car insurance was much cheaper, so keep an eye out for any insurance letters and let them know

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Blindstupid · 20/04/2021 19:18

Agree you’re making a problem where there isn’t one. Just return every single letter you get, marked not at this address.

If bailiffs ever turned up (which they won’t) it’s easy to prove they don’t live there. They check their own records anyway, electoral register etc so they’ll have a pretty good idea before hand.

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Ladybigbeach · 20/04/2021 19:18

The previous owners of our current house have multiple debts and bailiffs have visited three times. They are lovely and really understanding, just showed them our council tax Bill both times and they left.

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MrsBobDylan · 20/04/2021 19:21

Hmmmm...cheaper insurance might be the thing. She could have bought insurance at our address too but had her insurance papers emailed to her. I usually do that for mine.

She is in London which I imagine is pretty steep for insurance for a youngish driver?

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Whoopsies · 20/04/2021 19:25

Just to reassure you, we had a similar situation, the old owner's daughter hadn't updated her address with her company car and a driving fine came through the post to us, I sent all the letters back as 'not at this address' but eventually a balif did turn up. He was absolutely lovely though and just took my word for it that she no longer lived here and I never heard about it again.

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Whammyyammy · 20/04/2021 19:32

We had 2 bailiffs call at our house for a someone we never heard of. I explained this and they asked for a Council tax bill to prove, don't see why I needed to, buy went to get it to make them go away.

As I left the door to get the bill, they just walked in! My husband and his mate(both big guys) were working in the garden and told them to get out, they refused. So they picked them up and 'placed' them on the drive.
I Showed them the bill and they were happy with that, but called police on my husband for msn handling the poor darlings. Police turned up and weren't interested.

So keep your council tax bill to hand.

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MrsBobDylan · 20/04/2021 19:33

Thanks @Whoopsies that sounds exactly like our situation. We can easily prove she doesn't live here, mind you we have nothing of value so I should never have bloody worried in the first place

Still annoyed that this woman is driving around having invalidated her insurance.

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MrsBobDylan · 20/04/2021 19:36

@Whammyyammy I lived in a rental many years ago and bailiffs called while I was out to collect a debt from a previous tennant. My neighbour told me later they were asking which was my car as they were ready to put it onto a truck to take away.

However, as a viewer of crap tv I have seen that bailiffs do generally ask to see proof you are who you say you are. Can't believe the cheek of those bailiffs walking straight in!

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