Hi All, just found a reply in my Spam Folder from the DVLA Customer Complaints Resolution team advising the following: I am sorry that you had to write to us about this matter. Having reviewed the details of your case, based on the available information, I have exceptionally closed the enforcement case against you, and you will hear no more about the matter. So common sense won in the end (once I got to someone with some!), thanks to everyone for your help with this - im very grateful for all your time and effort

Hi, I just checked out the complaints procedure on the DVLA website and sent a complaint off, i kept it simple and pointed out the facts I feel are relevant without any reference to the interpretation act etc, it says they can take two weeks to reply! That puts me past the date they have requested payment by so hopefully they turn it around quickly (doubt they will as im sure they must be swamped ). I have kept a full copy of the text i filled in on their online form and screenshots etc too - as pointed out before I should keep copies of everything for my own records. If that doesnt change things my next step will be to write to the CEO but at least I can say I have tried following their complaints procedure to resolve this... As and when I hear back ill update the thread! Nick

Thanks for the further comments guys, i have definitely had no tax reminder since i sold the bike and I would have expected one whether the bike was taxed or untaxed when I sold it as if the DVLA have had me as the recorded keeper all this time then they have had a contactable address for me and not used it - this may suggest they did receive the green slip and update their records but somehow this has fell off their system. I do intend to stick to my guns and fight this and just need to find time to write a complaint letter to the DVLA, highlighting the main points of contention as I see them. I do think everything hinges on whether I can convince them I really did sell the bike 15 years ago, i think if they accept this then they will agree there is no point pursuing any further. I have photos of the bike I owned after I moved out which back my argument however i appreciate owning a new bike doesnt mean i had sold the first one. If I cant convince them i sold it when i did, I think it'll boil down to the legalities like the interpretation act which i am aware they have challenged and beaten before. As mentioned before, my father is sure I sold it before I moved and im sure he would be happy to state that in court if required and i can show pictures of the bike i bought after selling the one in question which although inconclusive could help convince DVLA im genuine.. It all seems a bit of a lottery but im willing to keep pushing back as I do feel I have a chance to get action dropped, just need to think about what other "proof" I may still have... Cheers guys, will keep posting as things happen Nick

Nobody needs to apologise to me lol, im grateful for everyones help I get your point about keeping everything on the forum thread and will do so... I didnt mean any offence to anyone with my last post, just Gick seems to have a good grasp of the legal side and im really struggling there, hence my comment. Please continue to add your thoughts as I go through this, as I said a few times now im a bit lost and value all the help I can get, certainly didnt intend to get stuck in the middle of anything and **** people off

Id like to thank everyone for their help on this - appreciate there has been some conflicting information but its all being given with the same purpose in mind - to help me out in a situation where I have no knowledge or real understanding of the legalities. As everyone is trying to help im grateful to everyone whether any of the info they provided is correct or not. I had a chat with my parents last night and they are also sure I sold the bike before i left home - having since changed banks though i cant show any financial transaction that could be attributed to the sale - i think i was paid cash and cant even remember if I paid it into the bank or not. I can however show ownership of another motorbike not long after i sold the one in question, I have photos of the new bike at my new property. Again though, this proves nothing as I lived there for 10/11 years and could have been taken at any time. I have pics of the bike in question outside my parents house with my car at the time (I can remember the number plate) but again this doesnt prove anything I dont think. Ultimately I can provide no solid evidence of the date i sold the bike I think my argument hinges on the fact its taken 15 years for the issue to come to light, effectively meaning I have no chance of proving anything. I would have expected to receive some kind of communication over this long period to say the bike needed taxed/declared SORN/new reg document etc but think Gick has maybe explained above why this didnt happen, i cant remember if the bike was taxed when I sold it or not (it had been off the road for a while although was working when I sold it - this was before SORN came into effect). I am going to write a letter of complaint as advised above and see how that goes as I dont know what else to do - at the end of the day I did post off the slip so in my eyes in not guilty so dont think I should have to pay anything. I dont understand the legal side other than failure to notify is an offence and at this point in time the DVLA never received/processed any notification so I understand where they are coming from (although I dont agree with it). Thanks again to everyone for their advice, its all appreciated. Gick, if I need anything legal clarified as I go through this process I will message you in person. I will keep posting here as this happens as the moral support helps Nick

Cool, thanks for your advice, simple is good for me Nick

Fair point, ill get something put together tonight, is it worth posting it here for opinions or is that a bad idea?

Thanks for the reply unclebulgaria I think someone must recently have tried to register the bike which is whats kicked this all off. I agree, why have i heard nothing for 15 years - if they have had me down all that time im sure they would have chased me up for road tax etc etc. As i mentioned the bike was registered to my parents as I stayed there at the time and my parents still stay at the same address so I would have had any mail passed on to me (it couldnt have been binned by anyone else as I can still be reached through the same address). I think my first port of call is to give them a phone and see what they say although i think that in itself may be difficult as the letters say they only deal in writing - talk about frustrating... If that fails I will definitely look to get others involved ie media/MP etc...

Hi Boo, im still in agreement about fighting it as I too use common sense to live my life, its a shame the DVLA dont seem to (or dont care enough to apply it instead of sending standard response letters). I appreciate the points Gick has made about not thinking it'll be a walk in the park or that the outcome is in any way guaranteed as they help me not take it lightly. I know everything you have said and referred to is being given to help me and while i dont pretend to understand it, you have a much better grasp of these things than I do lol... I fully intend to continue to argue my points and as yet have not tried calling them so will maybe give that a try and see if I can register a formal complaint through actually speaking to somebody. The thought of actually going to court is a worry so im hopeful this can be resolved before that point but it doesnt sit right with me to roll over and pay so I wont be doing that...

Hi Gick, appreciate you posting your thoughts and keeping my feet on the ground I had noticed that while some people did get off, some people didnt on the interpretation act alone so was aware that wasnt a certainty based on that. I need to read through your points properly when i have a bit more time (sorry, skimmed them for now as at work!) but my immediate thoughts are that im going to struggle to provide any evidence of when I sold the bike, im pretty sure i wont have any record of when I bought the bike either so im unsure if I bought it before/after 24th March 1997. Im pretty sure my parents confirming I sold the bike before I moved will not be taken as evidence but would welcome your thoughts? I have replied to the first 2 letters giving as much information as I can (but thats virtually none) and asking they consider the fact that 15 years have passed since the event in question took place so its not reasonable to expect me to have kept records this long, I have kept everything polite and not quoted any legislation as to be honest I didnt feel I understood it well enough (im the same about the links Boo posted and a lot of the info you posted above - wish Google had an interpreter for law speak ). I would still like to think that after 20 years owning vehicles without problem and also the fact they have never written to me before to say tax was due or anything like that to suggest they hadnt received the green slip, that they would accept the fact something has went wrong somewhere but after such a long period its not worth pursuing. Im struggling to understand all the legal terms and language so hopefully I get to speak to someone who can see my point of view - I understand they havent received/processed it for whatever reason but still think its pretty bad that after 15 years they still want to pursue me for such a silly little thing... Appreciate your post Gick, thanks again, certainly food for thought although I still feel im being wronged since i did send the bloody thing

Wow, just checked out both those links Bazooka Boo, its like its written in another language I'll have to try again tomorrow as I cant figure out if it helps or not, why didnt i go to legal school lol... Haha love Private eye's response, if the DVLA person asks what my defence will be should I try that

Thanks for the link Bazooka Boo, unfortunately im in Scotland and that says its only applicable in England and Wales. I wonder if there is a Scottish version - how do you guys know where to find all this stuff, i have no idea where to even begin except to copy and paste things i find on threads like this - I'd love to know what laws and acts etc would be of use to me? Thanks for the reply anyway Nick

Thanks for checking that Ericsbrother, I have a copy of the interpretation act and think that will help along with the timescale. Im wondering at what point they will see common sense here or will i just get auto responses right up until i go to court, this is such a waste of their time and money chasing this (and mine!!), surely its common sense to see on this occasion they should let it go - fighting so desperately for £35 seems crazy when i bet its costing them more to keep chasing it...

Hi Tony, since selling the bike 15 years ago I have received no correspondence at all about anything until the failure to notify arrived... The FTN went to my parents house where i stayed when i owned the bike so if anything had came in my name to do with the bike it would have went there and obviously would have been passed on to me... Should I be calling them to register a complaint about the whole thing or should I just wait till i receive whatever comes next in the process. So far i have had 3 letters, i wrote back to the first one saying i couldnt provide details after this time, i wrote back to the second one and filled in the bit about disputing the case and they wrote back what looks like a standard letter (no specific reference to anything i mentioned just "you didnt notify us so we will take it further etc etc) saying they will continue to take action. What should i expect or do next guys, your advice is greatly appreciated as I want to push this as far as i can, i am 100% sure I wont be paying any fine that's for sure! Nick

Thanks unzippy, my searching last night led to quite a few threads on pistonheads and on one there was a template letter which looked very useful so i have copied that and saved it as i'll probably need to use it later - do you know if I could share the link here (im guessing so as you have above ) as i dont want to fall foul of any forum rules? The template was created and put on a public forum so i think it would be ok - lots of people commented afterwards that once they sent that off their cases were dropped God, 15 years of road tax, i didnt think of that lol, let them bloody try!!