DVLA; a bunch of ######s

[SoundsDigital]

I recently bought a Surf, intending to put it on the road for the 1st June when my other cars Mot runs up so I can put a new Mot on that ready to sell.

Horror of horrors, the head gasket blew on the car on the weekend. No problem I thought, Transfer the insurance to the Surf and tax that.

How wrong could I be. The DVLA will not tax the Surf until the previous owner tells them the truck has been sold. He has lost his half of the log book so cannot send it back to the DVLA. I spoke to the DVLA and they as good as accused me of stealing the vehicle, told me I was breaking the law by buying it and the seller was breaking the law by selling it by not passing the relevent documentation to the relevent people. The also tell me I need to rent a garage to keep the Surf in or they will impound it and that despite my other car being legal to drive despite being broken down I have to and I quote "hire a car" untill the DVLA can sort things out!

They wonder why there are unlicenced vehicles on the road?

I spoke to the police about this and asked what would be the outcome of driving it without tax. They were quite happy for me to do this, but advised against it as if I stop then the DVLA could clamp and remove the vehicle. They advised me road tax is a civil matter not a criminal one and that they were not interested. OK, I thought as far as they are conserned then I am in the clear, I just need to ensure it is not parked on the public highway.

I then call the DVLA back and ask them what the penalties are for driving without road tax until they can sort their act out. They tell me they will be around to my house to pick the vehicle up (despite the fact I am not the registered keeper so how they know where I live is beyond me, this is the reason they won't let me tax it) They also tell me that the Police will prosecute and that they cannot comment on the penalty (despite the Police telling me they were not interested) It's like banging your head against a wall with these people.

Now I have my car parked in a garage broken down, my Surf on my parents drive 15 miles away and I have borrowed a van from work to get home. All this and I have booked to go away at the weekend with a caravan!

I am considering taking the plates off my car and putting them on the Surf as I am running out of options quickly.

[nero279]

if you've got no tax your insurance is not valid, the police will prosecute for driving without insurance rather than no tax.

All you need is a reciept from the previous owner stating that the vehicle has been sold to you, and then you should be able to just write a letter to DVLA explaining the logbook has been lost, send a copy of the receipt with it and they will issue a new logbook.

[SoundsDigital]

They say this will take 6 to 8 weeks though. It's reaching the point where I am going to have to buy (and tax) a third vehicle!

[Sancho]

Just go in your locaal DVLA office with your half of the logbook and they'll sort you out. I've done it before.

[TonyN]

You must have rubbed someone up the wrong way. I recently brought a Surf, fixed it up and sold it to some one else.

The orginal owner lost his half of the log book before sending it off.

I rang the DVLA, explaned to situation, and they said, as long as the small green slip I got off the previous owner was blank, the guy I sold the truck to could fill that in and he would get a new log book in his name.

They said as long as they get either half of the old log book, you will get a new one, but it might take 3-4 weeks. YOu can also hand the small part over at a post office.

Odd :shrug:

[plumb bob]

The registered keeper (on the V5) is not poof of ownership, and you do not have to be the owner but can be the registered keeper, although possesion is 9/10ths of the law.

[da SLUG man]

it's the same if you have a car on finance...

although you may be the registered keeper, the finance comany OWN the vehicle until it is paid for.

[SoundsDigital]

I have a friend at work who had a similar problem when he changed his car. It's ridiculous when we are told that there are so many unlicenced vehicles around that the dvla will not take my money. They are now telling me to give the car back to the seller as according to their records, it is not mine. I suspect this is so they know where they can find it with their wheel clamping unit. I've sent them the £25 and application for a new log book, so it's sods law now I've parted with my money the missing paperwork will turn up.

[darkdezigns]

just apply for log book,they always say 6/8 weeks,and normally done in 2 at most,don't ask why but ive done this lots of times

[JUDWAK]

this happend to me when i got my surf 5 years ago
go and get a v10 form from the post office
fill it in send it to the DVLA

and then wait about 6 weeks

but not sure if you can do it on line?

[SoundsDigital]

Sent the form off last night. I'm going away in a caravan at the weekend and the Surf is all I have to tow it with. Once the form has been received, then I am hoping that they will only be able to hold me responsible for the duty from the 1st of May rather than last September when the tax ran out. I am going to take a chance on it for the weekend. The car won't be stopped on the public highway long enough for them to get a clamp on. So the worst they can do is issue me with a fine and back date the tax (I hope) I wanted to pay the tax from 1st May anyway so that's not an issue. Frankly, I suspect the fine will be less than hiring a suitable car for the weekend. The police were very sympathetic when I spoke to them and I would expect a magistrate to be sympathetic under the circumstances, unlike the DVLA who were frankly ridiculous and seem to go out of their way to be obstructive. How can it be so difficult to give someone £215?