[Izzy]

Many of you will know that if you have a vehicle off the public road and untaxed you have to tell the DVLA. What you are less likely to know is that if you have a taxed, uninsured vehicle off the road you are also required to SORN it. I have a friend who has just been fined £100 for this.

[lachlanandmarcus]

This is a fairly recent development and seems to be part money making scheme and part trying to crack down on uninsured vehicles generally. The latter part I would agree with but it does make it very stressful for the law abiding trying to keep up when you have a number of vehicles. Of course the criminals just switch to cloning plates of legal vehicles and using 'pool' vehicles anyway.....

[Berkshire Boy]

I think you will find this has been law for quite a few years now.

[colliewobbles]

Yes - it has been the law for a few years now.  The other thing you should know if that you have to renew the SORN annually - I got caught out by that one!!  In fairness to the DVLA though, I called them and just said I was busy and I had forgotten - all they asked me to do was pay the tax for the missing months which was about £13 and they didn't fine me because I had called them rather than being caught.

Donna

[Raine]

 


They have reduced the time for the fines to go out to two weeks after the month ends, so if you don't tax or SORN in the month it runs out, you are more likely to get a fine now.


The continuous insurance is a scheme run between MIB and DVLA.  MIB hassle you first, about three weeks after the insurance stops (asks you to check with your insurer, SORN or re-insure), then DVLA get involved and give you a month to pay a low fine, then a month to pay a higher fine.  Only problem happens is if you haven't given your latest address.


One of the latest consultations that was run asked if this could replace the requirement to show insurance to buy a tax disc.  An added bonus to the government, but not to the people across DVLA who have been and are being made redundant (1200 but December).

[mab]

MIB - men in black?? 


I had a bit of a scare when I bought an old SORN'ed landy - I just assumed that the SORN would transfer (luckily, I checked the small print on a logbook the day after and discovered I had to reSORN it).


Phoned DVLA; According to DVLA you should send in a SORN request form with the logbook when you send the logbook in with your 'new owner details (even though it's the old owner who sends the logbook in).


So I asked DVLA what to do; they said to wait 'til I got he logbook back and sort it then; having got the logbook, I logged on to DVLA online to SORN but it would only let me SORN from the 1st of the month (and I'd bought the landy on the 28th of the previous month), so phoned them again and was advised to write a letter to the enforcement dept explaining the 2 days between buying and SORNing.


anyway, managed to get the enforcement dept on the phone and they said they wouldn't fine for those 2 days (phew!).


didn't relax until I received the SORN confirmation in the post (and no fine) a few weeks later.


I swear they design these systems to induce maximum stress / make the most money.


m

[xnbacon]

What is supposed to happen if you are obliged to park your car on a public road (because, for example, you don't have a driveway) and have MOT/tax/insurance issues? or even just wish to sorn a vehicle?

[doganjo]

SORN stands for Statutory Off Road Notification - the vehicle CANNOT be on the road.. not even with it's tyres deflated!       You may be obliged to have your car on the road but you are also obliged to have it taxed and insured.

[colliewobbles]

What is supposed to happen if you are obliged to park your car on a public road (because, for example, you don't have a driveway) and have MOT/tax/insurance issues? or even just wish to sorn a vehicle?

If it's on the road then  you can't SORN it - it stands of 'Off Road Notification'.

[xnbacon]

What this legislation appears to have done in practice, if nothing else, is to make it illegal for someone who does not have off-road parking to have a car fail an MOT and take it home to work on.  Because no MOT, no tax.  Can't SORN cos not off road.  Probably most people could find a way around it but it is very ill thought out legislation.

[happygolucky]

Think it was to get all the ropey cars on bricks etc off the road.......I suppose thats a good thing, you just have to find a smallholder with some spare land, then you can dump your car there

[Anke]

What this legislation appears to have done in practice, if nothing else, is to make it illegal for someone who does not have off-road parking to have a car fail an MOT and take it home to work on.  Because no MOT, no tax.  Can't SORN cos not off road.  Probably most people could find a way around it but it is very ill thought out legislation.

No you just have to make sure you have enough time to get your MOT sorted before it runs out.... simple. We lived in a flat for years, no driveway, and that was even before you could get it all done over the internet.

[xnbacon]

Round here there are many, many residences without off road parking and I can't believe all of them maintain your admirable level of organisation.  I'd go along with the comment that it is almost purely a money making scheme.

[happygolucky]

I had my VW off the road and SORN for a long while, I did not have the money to get it MOT'ed, luckily I had a drive but at our previouse house, it would have to have been sold as we had no parking.....I can see the reasoning behind getting un safe cars off the road, although like anything, the dodgy criminal types will get dodgy MOT's etc, so again, its the honest people that it effects!!

[Plantoid]

Like has been said it is much more to do with people driving uninsured and having unroad worthy vehicles  It's not a cash raising exercise despite it looking like it.
With freedom to drive goes the responsibllity to have the correct paperwork at the right time , if you can't be bothered doing that why shouldn't you get punished .