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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be very upset we’ve been driving around in uninsured vehicle

272 replies

BlueFairiesinthesky · 05/09/2021 16:49

Just stopped by police with young children in car, very upsetting as was accused of driving an unregistered/ uninsured vehicle.

Our car was purchased new from the official dealership 3 years ago. We’ve had two official services and been insured through legit insurers since. The number plate is wrong by one letter! All documentation has the wrong license number. However the ownership paper does state a different license number, which I assume is the correct one.

Obviously we should have picked up on the discrepancy, my only excuse is we had a newborn at the time!

The police said we’ve been driving around uninsured for 3 years and If we’d had an accident would be fully liable for damage and personal injury.

We plan to visit the dealership tomorrow but just after any advice as I feel really angry about it. I don’t understand how this could have happened and feel really angry that we’ve been driving around at risk.

I don’t think we should drive the car until they can install the correct number plate. Which is an inconvenience. I’ve also paid £650 of useless insurance.

OP posts:
Clymene · 05/09/2021 18:25

Just ignore the idiot posters OP. It's completely understandable that you are freaked out and upset that your car hasn't been insured for 3 years.

Redburnett · 05/09/2021 18:25

Get photographs of everything - all documents, including the document recording the sale from the dealership and the actual car with its current numberplate.
The police may not pursue this ie may not prosecute, but if they do no insurance is a serious offence with few defence options accepted in law.

Waitingforthecowstocomehome · 05/09/2021 18:28

How on earth have you never noticed that the paperwork doesn’t match the registration. You can’t blame anyone else for being slack with your admin. Luckily you’ve not had an accident.

PrimoPiatti · 05/09/2021 18:28

It's an admin error. I wouldn't lose any sleep. Sort it tomorrow.

Original poster
BlueFairiesinthesky · 05/09/2021 18:29

My husband has just said we do get the annual road DVLA tax email, which has the correct license. So yes he is at fault for not noticing this. I have never seen it.

I’m trying not to be annoyed at him for not noticing the inconsistency.

Ultimately it is his fault yes.

OP posts:
Joystir59 · 05/09/2021 18:31

This happened to us when the insurance company recorded the registration wrong- they typed a zero instead of an O in error. My wife got pulled over by police who told her she was driving without insurance. She produced the insurance certificate and that's when the error came to light.

NotMyCat · 05/09/2021 18:33

Honestly, most people wouldn't notice
I speak to people every day that don't know what their registration is (even if it's a private plate), don't know what model their car is, have been driving without an MOT for 2.5 years... and so on

Registrations can be the same for exactly the same model of car so
KT21 ABC
KT21 ABD

I can see how it's happened, if you buy a car and the registration is on it, you of course presume that well, that is the registration and no it wouldn't flag up on insurance necessarily because the model could be exactly the same

Sparechange · 05/09/2021 18:34

This happened to me!!

ExH had a personal plate on our car, then got another car and wanted the plate on that while we kept the old car
So I got normal plates for the old car - got the paperwork from the DVLA and took it to VW dealership to get the plates changed over at the same time as a service

Unbeknownst to me, the made the correct plate for the front but the plate on the back had two letters round the wrong way

It stayed like this for a year and was only picked up when we sold the car and the new buyer spotted it when he collected it

LittleLadyCece · 05/09/2021 18:35

Something similar happened with my mums car bought from a dealership. Correct registration was on the front of the car....different registration on the back with the last two digits the wrong way around. Luckily she picked up on it!

ChateauMargaux · 05/09/2021 18:35

Just call up your insurance, ASAP, and get them to alter the details on their system. Then you will be insured in the correct licence plate, even if it's not the one that is on your car. Explain what has happened.

minionsrule · 05/09/2021 18:41

I can see how the insurance could easily not show up as pp's have said its likely the reg you typed in probably was the same make/model if just 1 digit out.
I haven't looked at my V5 since I bought my car and not sure why servicing would pick it up.
Only thing I thought might flag it is the tax renewal reminder, I thought that would show the reg from the V5, I probably would have spotted that.
Its unlikely your insurance would be invalidated unless you were insuring a mini and driving a Porsche and surprised the police threw this at you

JudgeRindersMinder · 05/09/2021 18:41

@BlueFairiesinthesky

OK I get the message! It’s my fault for not noticing. It’s one of those things, where the human eye has not picked up the difference between license numbers as they are really similar looking.

I feel quite a few people are being really harsh and lacking in empathy. There have been lots of points where computer systems and people could have picked it up, but haven’t. So it’s taken the police to notice, which was quite stressful and upsetting tbh.

I do believe it’s the dealership ultimately at fault. The majority of the paperwork is wrong and they put the wrong plates on. They’ve also continued merrily servicing our car inputting the wrong information. They actually processed our tax for us as we purchased the car. It’s on automatic renewal - we don’t get any paperwork- just a direct debit.

I will chalk it up to experience. We paid a premium to go with this garage because of their excellent reputation so I do feel really let down tbh. They are probably one of the oldest dealers in the U.K., I’m not going to name them, but they trade on their reputation and family name. They are very well known in our region. We went with them because we felt we could tryst them as we had a newborn, had no roof on our house at the time. So life was stressful enough.

We will arrange to have plates and insurance changed, then chalk it up to experience. That you can’t trust anyone and to triple check everything themselves.

You’re still not getting it are you? It doesn’t matter how many people and who they are have looked at your car, it’s YOUR responsibility , Always has been, always will be
DagenhamRoundhouse · 05/09/2021 18:41

You can enter any numberplate into this government website and it will tell you the status and make of vehicle.

vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

pudcat · 05/09/2021 18:44

Surely if you have taxed and insured the car using the number on the log book then it is just the number plate that is wrong. And all you can be summoned for is a fake number plate. The car is taxed and insured by the log book number . Just get the plate changed.

Original poster
BlueFairiesinthesky · 05/09/2021 18:44

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. It’s been helpful to hear your perspectives and experiences.

To those asking how the police noticed, they said we were being suspicious (checking out the local school where my DD is starting Rainbows next week - which is really odd in itself Confused I think they must have been really bored!)

The police looked us up on their system and couldn’t find our vehicle using the license plate. Then pulled us over. It was mortifying.

OP posts:
pudcat · 05/09/2021 18:46

It is only the wrong plate that is saying you are not insured because you did it with the right log book number. The insurance company will just tell you to change the plate

CarrotTops · 05/09/2021 18:47

Sorry I don't get this

Why did the police pull you over? Your numberplate is insured

When you put your numberplate into the insurance company it comes up with the make, model and colour of your car. If this was different how the fuck did you not notice you were insuring a back range rover when you drive a red mini? If it was the same the police would have no reason to pull you over.

If if was a completely unregistered plate you wouldn't be able to insure it surely? Or tax it?

There'd also no numberplates that look very very similar. That's the point, they specifically don't use certain characters so people don't get confused. I, 0 and Z are not used. 1 and L specifically look different on numberplates so people don't do what you have done

PheasantsNest · 05/09/2021 18:48

@BlueFairiesinthesky the registration number would also be the reference on your Direct Debit every time it is taken from your bank account.

RollaCola84 · 05/09/2021 18:49

If the car is insured under the number on the licence plate (rather than the number on the VC5) then if the police looked it up they would see the car is insured ? How would they ever know the other number ? Also chances of car in the same make, model and colour with a very similar reg that hasn't been taxed or insured by someone else ?
Nah, I call BS on this.

Poppys · 05/09/2021 18:49

This happened to me with my first car. Number plate was wrong by one number and no one picked up on it until I was stopped by the police one night who said the car was registered about 500 miles away. I was a terrified 18 year old but luckily they believed I had no idea! I had to show my documents at the police station the next day but they understood and I had new plates made. I’d taxed it at the post office with my registration document (which was right) & my insurance (which was wrong) and they didn’t notice! Slightly different but think M544 rather than M554. Good luck sorting it op!

Booknooks · 05/09/2021 18:50

If its taxed to the right numberplate it must be insured to that one too, which suggests its just the plates that are wrong- switch them out tomorrow. Job done.

Original poster
BlueFairiesinthesky · 05/09/2021 18:50

@JudgeRindersMinder Yep I DO ACCEPT ITS OUR FAULT! I’ve already said this. The dealership have still been crap though, they put the wrong plates on the car.

OP posts:
Badbadbunny · 05/09/2021 18:52

@Clymene

Just ignore the idiot posters OP. It's completely understandable that you are freaked out and upset that your car hasn't been insured for 3 years.
Not how I read it. It's just the wrong number plates. The insurance details match the registration document. So, it has been fully insured throughout. The number plates are pretty irrelevant really. Probably the garage just accidentally swapped number plates when the cars were first registered - easily done if they were registering more than one on the same day. Sounds a bit of a non event to me. Just get the garage to change the number plates to the right registration and it's sorted.
caughtinanet · 05/09/2021 18:53

@BeaucoupFish

The police don’t notice them as such, their cars are fitted with ANPR cameras which flag up no tax / insurance / MOT etc, the same as the vans that go round checking whether vehicles are taxed
But ANPR wouldn't flag anything up as the insurance matches the plates on the car. At least that's how I understand it

There must be part of the story missing Confused

Original poster
BlueFairiesinthesky · 05/09/2021 18:53

@PheasantsNest Yep I have just checked and you are right.

This is indeed a big life lesson to check admin closely and not be blind to the details. I know I’m not alone in this though, I’m usually pretty responsible but I have struggled to manage life admin along with full time job and 2 young children. Not an excuse as it’s our responsibility, but I think things have got to change in our house.

OP posts: