£300 because one of my cars was lifted with no tax

[John D]

Anyone from the UK here know much about car tax?

One of my cars was lifted for no tax on Friday for having no tax (I was away in Dublin and wasn't even told about it), I didn't get any notices, phone calls or letters, nothing to tell me what happened to the car.

I only found out it was lifted for having no tax because I phoned the local police station and they told it was stolen first then that it was towed for not having tax.

I know its 100% my fault for not having a SORN (I bought the car a while back but just haven't been using it, its just a second car really) but shouldn't I have been notified in some way about it?

The total bill is over £300

That’s a hell of a bill for the car being away for one business day (I couldn’t contact them at the weekend).

I was just listening to something on TalkSport which was about this last night and about how excessive the bills are, on top of this I still have to pay for the tax anyway

Does anyone know the legal side of things here? I really doubt someone can just tow your car away without even letting me know who took it, when, why and how to get it back.

I can't get the car today and everyday another £15 is added to the bill

 

[Marc]

not meaning to be harsh.. but you do know about the car having to be SORN'd and it was on the public road if it got lifted.

Id either payup or if the car is a worthless runabout then let them scrap it.

its not like they can leave a little sign on the road saying we took your car.. first thing you do is to call the police.. and they notify you.

Marc

 

[therock]

Didn't you receive notice from DVLNI about needing to update your tax?

If you sent away the ownership change form for the car, you should have got a notice.

 

[kylus1986]

this happened to me to, they dont have to notify you if the tax is more than 10days past its expirey date. the only reason i knew what had happened is that a neighbour seen it happening.

 

[Woodcutter]

It's harsh but it's your own fault it got lifted, sounds like you knew what the risk was and that you were waiting for a notice about renewing the tax.

Cars get lifted here constantly, for either parking illegally or for not having tax. Legalised theft in my view, hateful bunch of feckers the lot of them.

Still, you should have had your car taxed like everyone else, then you wouldn't be looking at a £300+ bill today.

 

[John D]

Tax is about a month out of date but Im selling the car so didnt bother getting it retaxed, I use my bike most of the time.

I don't know if there was a letter for updating the tax anyway, I have another address in Belfast and the car is registered there but there were no letters for them towing it.

 

[slinky2000]

hold on, where you from and where you living? the North? is the car a norther reg?

it was lifted by the guards for having no northern tax? I don't think they can do that!

 

[John D]

Nope it was lifted in Derry by a company working for the council.

They charged £120 or £160 for their removal fee and £15 everyday for storage.

Car is worth about 2k so I cant leave it there and I dont have the money to pay the f**kin bill...Dunno what I can do.

 

[Johnski]

Phone the dvlni and speak to them

 

[kylus1986]

afaik theyll let u pay it off monthly or something

 

[John D]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Motoring/O...eArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4022072&chk=JCu4Kk

Should the car not get clamped then towed?
I wont be driving the car but if I get a SORN it says it will take up to 4 weeks to come, if I dont show a tax disc before 2 weeks I dont get the surety back.

 

[John D]

Phoned DVLNI and they just put me through to the company that towed the car, asked if I could pay it off in instalments or even just half now and half next month, not a hope he said.

 

[Marc]

get it back.. tax it.. sell it with 5 months tax on it, if its only expired a month not much to worry about

 

[John D]

Do you mean tax it for 6 months Marc?

It doesn't matter how long its expired though does it? Still have to pay the same amount.

 

[Marc]

the tax will be back dated from when it run out

 

[Smick]

that'll learn ye

 

[stevieturbo]

Its outrageous that they can do it, but its just a fact of life nowadays. The government just hates anyone that owns a car, and wants to take every last penny from them...


Wonder what happens if you report it stolen ? Technically it has been stolen.

 

[toker]

they have u by the nuts!ive had a few lifted and theres no way out of it trust me i tryed and one of my moters was lifted at 3 in the morning while i was in bed (drunk!) best thing u can do is try and get the money up.because they get crushed after a certin time.!!

 

[slinky2000]

Nope it was lifted in Derry

ah right, sorry I thought it was lifted in dublin

 

[Miss 206]

cant back tax, you just have to pay arrears for the time uve missed, after 2 months you'll get an 80 quid fine reducing to 40 quid if paid within 28 days! get the car taxed asap, get the disc down to them and collect the car!

the tax will be back dated from when it run out

 

[Gareth868]

cant back tax, you just have to pay arrears for the time uve missed, after 2 months you'll get an 80 quid fine reducing to 40 quid if paid within 28 days! get the car taxed asap, get the disc down to them and collect the car!

Go ahead smart ass

 

[CapMan]

Unlucky, but it could have been worse. I got fined £1095 for a car i bought and sold to a member of this website because they never taxed it or registered it in their name.....

 

[Mel]

Poor you Capman, is there not a form you are meant to send off to the tax ofice to say you have sold the car?

 

[CapMan]

yes, i sent the wee white card away with the few details i knew about the new owner but i still got taken to court (without me knowing, they don't issue a summons like the PSNI do) and fined.

This was 18 months after the car changed hands and i won't be paying the fine since its not my fault, i'd rather do the 52 days in jail.

 

[Boksic]

yes, i sent the wee white card away with the few details i knew about the new owner but i still got taken to court (without me knowing, they don't issue a summons like the PSNI do) and fined.

This was 18 months after the car changed hands and i won't be paying the fine since its not my fault, i'd rather do the 52 days in jail.

lol, i'd do the same.
though do you get a criminal record for that?
or do you just do the time and **** the fine?