I had this a few years ago. They sent me a court summons saying owed them £120 for not only not informing them of a change of keeper but for also not paying the original £40 fine and ignoring 2 reminders. I genuinely had no fine first time, or any reminders. I sent them several letters claiming all the above. Stated,
* there's no obligation for me to send the logbook recorded. Just as they had not sent me and fines or warnings recorded.
* legally, the onus was on them to prove I didn't send it rather than on me to prove I did, which of course they couldn't possibly do. Much the same as they couldn't provide me with any proof they sent me a fine or subsequent warnings.
* they have a well documented poor internal mail system which has been proven to loose mail.
* my obligation to deliver them the letter ended as soon as I put the letter in the care of the Royal Mail and entrusted them to deliver it.
* what they were doing was essentially extortion via blackmail as they were trying to get revenue from me in the form of a fine for something which they were saying I didn't do, even though I had.
* their 4 week notification period has no standing in law as I'm not legally obliged to chase them up.
Tried everything. Send about 5-6 letters and emails not backing down.
They lowered the fine to the original £40 as a "goodwill gesture" I told them where to stick their fucking gesture and I would have my day in court and requested the court closest to me which is 0.5 miles from my work.
Court summons came through and as they could choose the court of their choice, not mine, they picked one an 80 mile round trip from where I live! So not only did I have to have a day unpaid from work to go, I had to pay about £20-30 in fuel just to get there and back then run the risk of having to pay the original fine as well if they sided with the DVLA, which I was told if it goes to court, 90% of the time they will side with the DVLA. So I gave in and paid the £40.
Even thinking about it now makes me fucking raging! They literally are the lowest, bottom feeding, lying pricks on the planet. Not only can they pull a fine out of thin air for an error on their part, but they can then make things so awkward for you that you are forced to pay it as it more expensive for you to have your day in court!