baxter

hi there,

i bought my xr4x4 this time last year, as a project. it was off the road as sorn'd . so when i bought it i got the logbooks a few weeks later and there was nothing came with it about it still being sorn, or needing to be re sorn'd. the car has been kept in a rented garage throughout the year and hasnt been drove illegally on the roads.

anyway ive had the car for over a year now and noticed i havent recieved a yearly sorn notice for the car so ive started googling an i came across an char forum where people where saying you can get fined for not renewing your sorn even if you havent received anything about it.

now basically i just went on the dvla site and it says the car was last sorned in 2008.

so does that mean im gonna expect a s**t load of fines even though ive only owned the car for a year? and havent receieved any letters about re sorning the sierra.

stevieturbo

It is your responsibility to ensure your documents are up to date for your car. If you buy a car, you must SORN or tax it.
Any previous SORN is void the minute you become the owner.

So you will be liable from the date you bought it. Or the date the DVLA first became aware you are the owner.

baxter

tbh i thought the sorn was still valid regardless of new keepers.

surely though i should of got some kind of tax fine on the vehicle after not having it long then?

stevieturbo

Unfortunately it is up to the cars owner to know all the legal ins and outs of ownership, no matter how stupid or trivial they might be. Ignorance is not an excuse. Mind you, they can make all sorts of fuck ups and it's our fault too.

Did you notify them on purchase that you were the new keeper ? Is it registered in your name ?

and SORN expires when a car changes hands.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

Sorn expires when the date is due for liability

What you should do is get your log book, find the numbers on it and sorn it online which is the correct way to do it

You could alternatively sell it on and on and on until you own it again and then sorn it but if you have slipped through the gaps then consider yourself lucky

I had this issue when I sold my shell to Lewis, he had he lot book but I recieved the sorn paperwork a few months later so I sornd the car and write back to the dvla saying that it had had a change of keeper and all further coredspondsncr should be directed to him

And yes, if you get a fine there is no way you will wriggle out of it

Cozziekid

I got fined for not declaring SORN on a car i had sold a year previously, but i stupidly hadnt informed the DVLA that i was no longer the owner of the car when i sold it so it all came back on me, my fault - i had to pay up, simple as that! Lesson learnt
Declare it SORN online as soon as you can, and keep your fingers crossed they dont look into it further

whizzisat114

iTrader: (2)

How much did you get fined?

baxter

yes how much did you get fined mate?

j6kyt

i had a similar problem so i wrote to them explaning the problem and they admitted there mistake.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

the first one is Ł80, reduced to Ł40 if you cough up quickly

and then it just spirals out of control, my mate had a bill for soemthing like Ł600

Cozziekid

Ł80 if i remember right, was a few years back so may be different now?

whizzisat114

iTrader: (2)

I thought that the sorn lasted till the vehicle was taxed again
Yet another loop hole so they can rinse more money out of motorists

dojj

iTrader: (3)

you have to sorn it once a year or tax it once a year

they fine the person on the log book as that's who they have as paying the bills

vaughant

iTrader: (1)

Some good advice here,but it's not as clear cut as you think.

I had this a few months back with a ka I bought.

I went to tax it at the local postie and the bird behind the counter was trying to backdate the tax three months to when I bought the car even though it was sorned,albeit via the former keeper.

I explained that was totally unnacceptable but she was insistent,so I went straight to the dvla local office.
In fact I was pretty certain you couldn't backdate tax.
She explained postie was right to say that I should have sorned it myself ASAP but it is a bit of a grey area as on their records the car is still shown as sorned hence the computer system does not pick up on an error,it would be an issue should the former keeper have written directly to the dvla to cancel the SORN but again this would trigger an error on the system and then the dvla would or SHOULD write to the new keeper to declare the car SORN.

Your best bet is to pop to the dvla office if possible or to send in a paper SORN to them renewing it around about the date the SORN is due,I'd be very confident that you'll hear nothing more ever again.

stevieturbo

I dont see how it is grey ?

SORN expires as soon as the vehicle changes hand. There is no ambiguity there. The new owner is liable, it is as simple as that.


Whether we like it or not, it is up the the vehicle owners to be on top of their documents, whether that be on selling or purchasing.

You can also back tax almost as far as you wish. But that wont counter any "offences" noted in the untaxed period.

Offences being harmless errors that they create so they can fine you.

baxter

well just heard back from the dvla after a couple of exhanged emails.

i dont have to pay anything wheyyyy

they said its a bit of a grey area as technically your ment to sorn it if you are the new owner but the system doesnt pick it up because the car was already sorned for quite some time so it just forget abouts it until you renew a sorn.

they said just aslong as i keep on top of my sorns now thats that!

rog

iTrader: (2)

Good outcome then mate!
just make sure you sorn it asap!

JFB Tech

Another thing to watch out for is that a SORN doesn't necessarily last 12 months from when you declare it. I chopped in 4 months tax and got new paperwork 4 months later. It seems to run from previous tax dates rather than declaration dates. This was a few years ago so they may have changed it by now. It did seem to be a bloody stupid waste of time, sending out needless paperwork.

Cozziekid

You jammy sod
I had hell on trying to get mine sorted but i had to pay in the end
Good result though fella, pleased for ya

baxter

cheers bud!