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To cut a long story short I got landed with a £250 fine today.
Why?
I sold my old Rover 420 last September via fleabay but couldn't find the V5. The buyer was genuine, I double checked his ID, etc and sold him the car without the reg docs. Had no reason to doubt him, had his address, it checked out as did his landline telephone number. I knocked him the twenty odd quid off the sale price to pay for a new V5 and got positive feedback, etc.
A few weeks later I get a letter from the DVLA saying that someone else was trying to register a vehicle that I was the registered keeper of in their own name. It said to get in touch with the DVLA if there was anything amiss in this.
A few weeks after that I got my road tax demand through. No bother I thought, I'm not the registered keeper anymore so I ignored it.
A few weeks after that I got a letter through warning me to buy road tax or risk a fine. I knew I wasn't the registered keeper anymore so I wrote to them and told them. Problem solved.
Today I get a fine through the post saying that because I hadn't sent the DVLA my V5 and it had been registered by the new keeper I had collected myself a £175 fine and costs amounting to another £75. If I don't pay it by 6th April the fine will be increased by 50%.
The moral of this story folks is that even if you see other people selling vehicles without a V5 - even if you know and trust them/can verify their identity don't do it. It seems to be the case that this is a "technical offence" for want of a better description and it may well end up costing you money.
I wish I'd known this before I sold my old car...
Why?
I sold my old Rover 420 last September via fleabay but couldn't find the V5. The buyer was genuine, I double checked his ID, etc and sold him the car without the reg docs. Had no reason to doubt him, had his address, it checked out as did his landline telephone number. I knocked him the twenty odd quid off the sale price to pay for a new V5 and got positive feedback, etc.
A few weeks later I get a letter from the DVLA saying that someone else was trying to register a vehicle that I was the registered keeper of in their own name. It said to get in touch with the DVLA if there was anything amiss in this.
A few weeks after that I got my road tax demand through. No bother I thought, I'm not the registered keeper anymore so I ignored it.
A few weeks after that I got a letter through warning me to buy road tax or risk a fine. I knew I wasn't the registered keeper anymore so I wrote to them and told them. Problem solved.
Today I get a fine through the post saying that because I hadn't sent the DVLA my V5 and it had been registered by the new keeper I had collected myself a £175 fine and costs amounting to another £75. If I don't pay it by 6th April the fine will be increased by 50%.
The moral of this story folks is that even if you see other people selling vehicles without a V5 - even if you know and trust them/can verify their identity don't do it. It seems to be the case that this is a "technical offence" for want of a better description and it may well end up costing you money.
I wish I'd known this before I sold my old car...