DVLA : Failure to notify change of keeper.........case adjourned,what do i do now???

[joeylove6540]

First of all I received a court summons by the DVLA to attend my local magistrates court for not notifying them of a change of keeper with a date and time for the court hearing etc.....it asked do i plea guilty or not guilty etc......i put not guilty it was x2 days away from the court hearing and i rung the dvla asking what happens now,they told me the case will be adjourned.....which apparently now it seems true........now the magistrates court themselves have sent me a letter stating that the case has been adjourned and give me a new date and time etc.........im a little lost, i suppose I will tell the court that I will be attending? but shouldnt dvla come back to me with something????

 

Not sure where I stand here and what I should be doing.I must say that I did write a letter along with the not guilty plea,basicly outlining that i have done everything that was asked of me by law i.e sent the logbook off in good faith, and that i have a witness to prove.who can provide a statement etc.....

 

 

what should i do now? or what should i expect?

 

 

 

any help will be gratefully received!!!!!!! THANK YOU.

[joeylove6540]

first of all i received a court summons by the dvla to attend my local magistrates court for not notifying them of a change of keeper with a date and time for the court hearing etc.....it asked do i plea guilty or not guilty etc......i put not guilty it was x2 days away from the court hearing and i rung the dvla asking what happens now,they told me the case will be adjourned.....which apparently now it seems true........now the magistrates court themselves have sent me a letter stating that the case has been adjourned and give me a new date and time etc.........im a little lost, i suppose i will tell the court that i will be attending? But shouldnt dvla come back to me with something????

 

Not sure where i stand here and what i should be doing.i must say that i did write a letter along with the not guilty plea,basicly outlining that i have done everything that was asked of me by law i.e sent the logbook off in good faith, and that i have a witness to prove.who can provide a statement etc.....

 

 

What should i do now? Or what should i expect?

 

 

 

Any help will be gratefully received!!!!!!! Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

bump

[patdavies]

As the case is now with the Court, any notification as to date, time and venue will come from the Court and not the DVLA.

 

Likewise, the DVLA should be communicating with the Court if they wish to make any changes to their case - like dropping it.

[joeylove6540]

Thanks for that!! So all I do is just wait to hear from DVLA or something like that?

 

I guess the ball is now in DVLA's court once I tell the court that I will be attending.

 

 

Thanks for your advice!

[Big Bill]

Make certain that you do turn up on time at the court because in these cases the court automatically finds you guilty if you do not turn up. The DVLA might be using misinformation to cause you to be found guilty in your absence.

[joeylove6540]

Thanks for that!!

 

Yes I will definitely turn up!!!

 

Is there any chance that between times they will offer me an out of court settlement?

 

What im worried about is I have 9 points on my licence,im worried that if i lose they will put 3 points on my licence! in which case I will be banned.....and also lose my licence,as well as my job......which I need a licence for!!! Theres alot riding on this!!

 

Also when the DVLA originally contacted my by post they asked when I got rid of the vehicle....I gave them a date Which I believe was Novemeber.....however it was actually October (a month before) that I got rid of it....I got it wrong....I buy and sell cars alot......however i have no proof whom i sold it too......however i sold the vehicle on Autotrader and I can get some proof from them of when it was advertised and when it was taken off to show that i did sell it in october etc........?????

[crem]

What im worried about is I have 9 points on my licence,im worried that if i lose they will put 3 points on my licence! in which case I will be banned.....and also lose my licence,as well as my job......which I need a licence for!!! Theres alot riding on this!!

 

It's not a "pointable" offence

[The One and Only]

Stick by your guns. It seems after a couple of adjournments they will go away.

Have you already sent them a letter alluding to the fact that you know you'll win in court, because they cannot prove you didn't send the paper work in?

Do you have a defense in case it gets that far?

[joeylove6540]

Hi,yes I sent a letter with my not guilty section.....basicly in the letter I stated as you have said above and that I do have a witness to me posting it my partner,who is more than willing to write a statement....I have also contacted Autotrader who have emailed me with the date I advertised the car on and the date it was removed.....might not be that good a defense but hey ho....i will of course in court state the all important interpretations act....i will also state that it is not my legal obligation to chase up the acknowledgement letter etc......as im sure they will say that.....but i will also say that the v5 section of the logbook was sent off via normal post, and that i know for a fact that the acknowledgement letters the dvla send out are sent out via normal post too,so could easily be as lost in the post as the v5 i sent....with no record of either being sent.

 

im extremely nervous,im seriously hoping they will give me an out of court settlement.......but i doubt they will.......i havent heard nothing yet,but the court case isnt til 20th June....i just cant afford to get another 3 points on my licence,as my licence will go and so will my job!!

 

I also didnt request for them to bring their witness,should i have done this?can i do this still?should i?

 

 

thanks for your input!!!!

[The One and Only]

So did you get the original letters asking for £40 and so on?

Did the letter from the DVLA state is was a 'Late Licensing Penalty'?

If so, you cannot get points for it, it's a civil case not a criminal case. Relax.

 

Did they get debt collectors onto you too? I'm interested in what's happened to other as it might happen to me next...

 

The worst you could get I believe is a CCJ, and you won't get that if you simply state the facts... You posted it, they lost it.

 

They brought the case to court so the onus is on them to prove you didn't send the form in.

Unless you told them you didn't send it to them, they have no evidence at all.

 

You win.

[postggj]

I think you are geting confused the one and only

 

i can assure you that failure to notify change of keeper is a magistrates court situation

 

a late licence penalty is a civil not magistrate and gets delt with in the county court

[Raykay]

it's a civil case not a criminal case. Relax.

 

Did they get debt collectors onto you too? I'm interested in what's happened to other as it might happen to me next...

 

The worst you could get I believe is a CCJ, and you won't get that if you simply state the facts... You posted it, they lost it.

 

They brought the case to court so the onus is on them to prove you didn't send the form in.

Unless you told them you didn't send it to them, they have no evidence at all.

 

You win.

 

 

Failure to notify is a criminal matter - being dealt with at Magistrates court, it's the Late Licensing Penalty that is a civil matter.

 

The defence is the same in both cases - they have to prove that you didn't send the relevant document.

[joeylove6540]

No i didnt get any £40 fine debt collectors........

 

 

its just a magistrates court,it has been adjourned once, because i have plead not guilty..........im worried about proving that i have sent it off.........i originally gave them a date that is actually 1 month after i sold it (done on a letter that the DVLA wrote to me with)........i got the wrong month down.......im sure i have.....i can prove it by my autotrader ad etc......with the relevant dates on that if that will help....i do sell alot of cars privately.....however i do know that i have sent it....on the date that i deleted the ad........ do you think all this will help in my defence??? i think the fact that i have given them the wrong date will look bad on my part?

 

Do you think there is any chance that they will give me an out of court settlement?

 

will i be liable for the legal costs etc if i lose?

 

also i when ticking plea not guilty i didnt tick the box for them to bring their witness, i believe i can change my mind to do this? should i do this does anyone think?would it help or hinder?

 

just need to know the best way of playing it with the scenario im in above!!!

 

 

any help im grateful for!

[The One and Only]

It sounds like you sent the forms off in good faith, that is all you are required by law to do.

 

Why are you hoping for an out of court settlement, when you are not guilty of anything?

If you got confused over the dates, it shouldn't matter. You must have sent the form off as soon as you sold the car, like most of us do.

 

We don't have any need to keep the sodding forms, but the DVLA assumes we are all guilty until proven innocent. Once they have handed a case off to their enforcement offices they won't easily give up harassing you without it going to court it seems.

[joeylove6540]

Thanks for that the one and only!!

 

 

I certainly have sent the forms off...........im only after the out of court settlement because i will lose my licence if they add 3 more points on it if they find me guilty etc...i will also lose my job,i have 9 points anyway..........im not guilty,just nervous because of the date mix up......i would imagine to them it would look a bit guilty......changing the date you say you sold the vehicle etc....

 

would i be liable for any legal costs when i go to court do you know?

 

 

thanks for the advice...

[The One and Only]

If your job and license are on the line, you need proper legal assistance.

[Raykay]

No points for Vehicle Excise & Registration Act offences.

[crem]

As has pointed out several times in the thread, guilty or not, you cannot have points added to your licence for this "offence" so stop worrying about loosing your licence over this.

[joeylove6540]

Many thanks guys!! are you 100% sure that i would not get 3 points for not sendiong off logbook? its just im sure i have read somewhere that you get 3 points for failing to notify change of keeper? i guess the worse case scenario would be £££? would i be liable for the legal costs if i lost etc?

 

 

many thanks!

[Raykay]

Failing to notify a driver, contrary to s.172 Road Traffic Act 1980 - would get you 6 points.

 

Nothing in the Vehicles Excise & Registration Act 1994, which covers your case, carries points.

[joeylove6540]

thanks for that!! thats more than helpful advice.

 

my case isnt until June - but im really nervous! havent been to court, i expect there will be other people with cases there tho.

 

hope i can get out of this.........

[ihateyes]

i sold my car 30th march, tax due to run out 31march, i sent the form off to advie change of ownership and recieved a letter today advising tax expired!!!

[WeAllNeedHelp]

I have a similar case on here ref failure to notify. I attended court on first date, it got adjourned for trial on 5th may. So to assist my case I sat in court recently on a Dvla day and to be honest the court found most people guilty because the magistrates said that the onus is on the owner to chase up the acknowledgement letter. The clerk of the court who should know the law also agreed. I suspect that I will have the same problem when I go to court.

[The One and Only]

Blimey, did these people tell the court that they don't legally have to chase up the acknowledgement letter.

They can appeal I suppose, hoe does that work?

[Raykay]

I have a similar case on here ref failure to notify. I attended court on first date, it got adjourned for trial on 5th may. So to assist my case I sat in court recently on a Dvla day and to be honest the court found most people guilty because the magistrates said that the onus is on the owner to chase up the acknowledgement letter. The clerk of the court who should know the law also agreed. I suspect that I will have the same problem when I go to court.

 

If it happens to you, ask the prosecutor what act and section requires DVLA to send an acknowledgment letter, and what act and section requires the keeper to contact DVLA if they don't receive one.