Doing the right thing was all a car owner ever intended when taking action in an emergency, but it landed him on the wrong side of the law and then mired in convoluted delays and consequences.
Jack Morton’s wretched experience began two years ago when his untaxed vehicle, correctly stored on his driveway with a SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notification), had to be moved urgently on to the public pavement just outside his home.
This was because of a leak that posed a fire risk to electric cables and the repair took a couple of days. Jack’s mistake, due to the pressures, was to leave the car untaxed and so potentially uninsured during that time.
A month later he received a fine from the authority in charge – the DVLA. The law does allow for mitigating circumstances and Jack appealed using a DVLA envelope with the details, but heard nothing.
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“I received a court summons and a fine so took the offer to explain my reasons again,” Jack, an NHS surgeon, told Crusader. Things looked up for a while, with the DVLA confirming first they had not received the letter, but then they had and “being very reassuring and saying they would try to reopen the case with my paying £33.34 arrears which I agreed to”, he added.
Ten months went by before Jack says he learned reopening the matter had not been possible. “I am so confused now,” he declared. While the sum involved is small, Jack remained deeply dissatisfied with the process timings and the ruling so far. A fine only for a SORN offence is spent after a year, but Jack wants to have a clean record if possible and remains concerned about any professional impact especially involving his humanitarian medical work overseas.
There is now a new magistrates court hearing date set for this month. When contacted for comment the DVLA said: “The law is clear that all vehicles being used or kept on a public road must be taxed. Motorists who do not tax their vehicle can face financial penalties, court action and the risk of having their vehicles clamped or impounded.”
SORNs and genuine mitigating circumstances are an integral part of road safety and fairness in a system that the public contributes to. In the case here whatever the outcome the timeline appears inexplicably long and counterproductive for all.
Sending an appeal by recorded delivery is not a requirement, “but it might have ensured mine did not disappear for a while in the system. That’s where everything came unstuck for me,” reflects Jack. Many official things are taking longer these days so keep records, think what delays could mean and how to avoid them, then chase. [names have been changed]
