Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[MaxV6]

james take it to court and bounce the buggers! we have well over 600 members on the site now, and  im sure most will chip in to help you if the tw%ts stiff you in court. i'll start it off with a fiver- after all we are here to help each other!!  tone.

ditto

[Kevin Wood]

You've written to them once and told them the situation. Now ignore them. Organisations these days rely on what is shown on a computer as gospel. IME there's no way you'll be able to talk them round. The computer says you owe money so that's it. You can't speak to anyone who has authority to override the computer so it's a waste of time. As for their intimidating tactics of doubling the fine when you dispute it, it's all designed to make the punter bend over and take it rather than force them to actually do the job they are paid for and investigate it.

I have exactly the same problem with a water company chasing me for a water bill at a house I moved out of 2 1/2 years ago. Every 12 months the "debt" seems to be flagged up and a debt collection company threaten to take me to court for 45 quid (they don't even do their own dirty work). I tried writing nice letters to them, explaining their mistake, asking for a written response and got nothing by way of a reply. So now every time they phone me asking for the money they are told to poke off and refer to my previous correspondence. They threaten me with court, I explain I'd be quite happy to turn up and prove I'm not responsible for the debt and it goes quiet for another 12 months.

Out of interest, did you get a letter from the DVLA after selling the car absolving you of any responsibility for it? I think I did when I sold my last one.

Kevin

[sounds2k]

as an aside, I DID get a letter from the DVLA acknowledging the transfer of responsibility each time after I sold my cars, took a few weeks though ...

[Ronald_McBurger]

I agree with both the above.

BT are currently taking a non existent company of mine to court for an unpaid bill for broadband (that I don't have) on a business line I do have.

Over the last 9 months I have spoken with them and on every occasion they have assured me that it has been removed and was an error. Last Thursday I had an assurance that I would hear no more and they paid me £50 by way of an aoplogy. Today the solicitors letter, dated 2nd March arrived.

So, I phoned the solicitor and said that I am refusing to pay, so do you worst you fat money grabbing barstewards. See if I care. I'll never pay....

That should get things moving along.

Of course, as the letters are all to a non existent company I suppose I will have to ignore them all in future as a limited company is a person in law. So, when the non existent company fails to turn up in court all hell breaks loose.

Useless, incompetent, moronic, numb-nutted idiots that have absolutely no incling of what they are doing. And that is just the judges!

[Taxi_Driver]

Talking of tax....

I taxed one of my vectras yesterday.....it had ran out....not by a few days either  

It ran out end of Jan   I should have sorn'd the bloody thing....as it was offroad but i hadnt realised the tax was due on it  

No probs i thought.....i'll just ask in the post office to back date to 1st Feb and pay the back tax....nothing wrong there....im going to pay the tax i owe.

However PO wouldnt go back further that 1st of March   and said i would have to call DVLA and offer to pay the month missed....

Now im in two minds here......if i do call them.....will it be 'What you didnt tax your car on time.....naughty naughty.....heres a fine first and right lets have the tax you owe us' or will they just say ' thats ok sir you can pay the month missed'

Now if i dont call them......as i have bought another tax disc.....it may get missed/etc and nothing will happen??   :-/ :-/

Im leaning towards......give em a call at the mo  :-/

[Elite Pete]

Talking of tax....

I taxed one of my vectras yesterday.....it had ran out....not by a few days either  

It ran out end of Jan   I should have sorn'd the bloody thing....as it was offroad but i hadnt realised the tax was due on it  

No probs i thought.....i'll just ask in the post office to back date to 1st Feb and pay the back tax....nothing wrong there....im going to pay the tax i owe.

However PO wouldnt go back further that 1st of March   and said i would have to call DVLA and offer to pay the month missed....

Now im in two minds here......if i do call them.....will it be 'What you didnt tax your car on time.....naughty naughty.....heres a fine first and right lets have the tax you owe us' or will they just say ' thats ok sir you can pay the month missed'

Now if i dont call them......as i have bought another tax disc.....it may get missed/etc and nothing will happen??   :-/ :-/

Im leaning towards......give em a call at the mo  :-/

Difficult one TD its normally the honest ones that get shafted the most

[Admin]

James.

If you have proof that you had sold before the alleged offence took place (as you state you have), then why are you worrying?

As others have said already, the people who work there have, in my experience, no ability to communicate between departments (like all of the civil service and 95% of companies in general!) and no interest in "doing the job right", so basically you have to do things that they should do.

Next time you call do the following:

When you finally speak to a human, get their FULL name and the department they work in before you even say anything more.
When you get transferred (entire Government departments are created for this purpose!) do the same again.
Explain in a calm and determined manner the whole situation and that you have absolute proof that the car was sold by you prior to the alleged offence.

If they state it will be sorted, say thank you and you want that in writing in the next 7 days (they work in geological time so you have to expect this).

If they say "sorry, computer says no" then calmly tell then that you now wish to resolve this matter in front of a magistrate and tell them that as part of this process you are requesting copies of ALL documentation held by them about this matter under the freedom of information act. You will need to follow this up in writing, ask them for the FULL address (ie actual department).

They are legally obligated to provide you with this information (although they could charge a small administration fee).

Let us know what they say after that.

[jonny2112]

Talking of tax....

I taxed one of my vectras yesterday.....it had ran out....not by a few days either  

It ran out end of Jan   I should have sorn'd the bloody thing....as it was offroad but i hadnt realised the tax was due on it  

No probs i thought.....i'll just ask in the post office to back date to 1st Feb and pay the back tax....nothing wrong there....im going to pay the tax i owe.

However PO wouldnt go back further that 1st of March   and said i would have to call DVLA and offer to pay the month missed....

Now im in two minds here......if i do call them.....will it be 'What you didnt tax your car on time.....naughty naughty.....heres a fine first and right lets have the tax you owe us' or will they just say ' thats ok sir you can pay the month missed'

Now if i dont call them......as i have bought another tax disc.....it may get missed/etc and nothing will happen??   :-/ :-/

Im leaning towards......give em a call at the mo  :-/

My tax was up at the end of November, but I didnt get round to doing it until the start of January. TBH I couldn't really afford it over Christmas, but fully intended to pay asap using the written notification. When I went to the DVLA they wouldn't allow me use the form, stating it was only valid for the month of issue. Fair enough. Also wouldn't allow me to 'back tax' the car, which I thought might have been ok as it was only a month and I still had their form. Instead they made me pay a fine for the missed month and then tax it as normal from the date I attended. Seemed like a lof of faffing about, but really there was no hassle from them and I dont think I came out of it any worse off.

[Chopsdad]

James.

If you have proof that you had sold before the alleged offence took place (as you state you have), then why are you worrying?

As others have said already, the people who work there have, in my experience, no ability to communicate between departments (like all of the civil service and 95% of companies in general!) and no interest in "doing the job right", so basically you have to do things that they should do.

Next time you call do the following:

When you finally speak to a human, get their FULL name and the department they work in before you even say anything more.
When you get transferred (entire Government departments are created for this purpose!) do the same again.
Explain in a calm and determined manner the whole situation and that you have absolute proof that the car was sold by you prior to the alleged offence.

If they state it will be sorted, say thank you and you want that in writing in the next 7 days (they work in geological time so you have to expect this).

If they say "sorry, computer says no" then calmly tell then that you now wish to resolve this matter in front of a magistrate and tell them that as part of this process you are requesting copies of ALL documentation held by them about this matter under the freedom of information act. You will need to follow this up in writing, ask them for the FULL address (ie actual department).

They are legally obligated to provide you with this information (although they could charge a small administration fee).

Let us know what they say after that.

James, I think Dave's advice sums up what most people have said.  The only extra I can add is for you to ring your Home Insurance Company for advice.  This may sound daft but most include free legal advice and an impartial review in line with the law may prove useful. Also worth asking DVLA how much extra it may cost if it carries on, just in case.  :-/

[Kevin Wood]

Also worth asking DVLA how much extra it may cost if it carries on, just in case.

I wouldn't. That implies you're thinking about paying. Stick to the line that it's nothing to do with you, that you owe them nothing and that you'll happily take the evidence along to court to prove it if need be.

Kevin

[Chopsdad]

Also worth asking DVLA how much extra it may cost if it carries on, just in case.

I wouldn't. That implies you're thinking about paying. Stick to the line that it's nothing to do with you, that you owe them nothing and that you'll happily take the evidence along to court to prove it if need be.

Kevin

No names, no details, just ask for confirmation of the charging tariff  

[Ronald_McBurger]

Some people might be tempted to send them a turd. Or a plain brown parcel with an old wind up TICKING alarm clock, with the senders name as 'a discgruntled motorist'.

We promise to visit anyone being tempted to do so, at one of her Maj's hotels.