SORN Help

[ayd]

I've had a browse around on t tinterweb for this but there's a few stories with conflicting info so I've come to the experts.

 

I took a car off the road 9ish years ago, it was never sorn'ed as at the time I didn't intend for it to be off the road for that long.

Anyway it did end up being off the road for longer than I thought and still is to this day.

 

Funny thing is since the tax ran out all those years ago I've not heard a thing from the DVLA regarding the car and it's untaxed / unsorn'ed state. It's still registered at the address it was when it was taxed etc. but nothing, no letters, no tax renewal reminders, nowt.

I no longer live at the address but my parents do and it's sat in their garage waiting for me to bring it down here (as soon as I get a garage to put it in).

 

Now in a rather inebriated state a few nights ago I'm sure I saw an advert saying that if your car was uninsured and no sorn was present they'd come a knocking on your door, hunt you down, send out the armed forces, no place to hide etc.....trouble is I've not seen this advert since and can't seem to find anything online about it.

 

My question is if I want to put the car back on the road or contact the dvla about the car am I going to get a couple of knuckle draggers knocking on the door demanding a large fine payment or they'll break my legs?

 

I'm genuinely concerned that if I even mention the reg of the car there will be a helicopter circling my parents house within minutes....

[ayd]

I've had a browse around on t tinterweb for this but there's a few stories with conflicting info so I've come to the experts.

 

I took a car off the road 9ish years ago, it was never sorn'ed as at the time I didn't intend for it to be off the road for that long.

Anyway it did end up being off the road for longer than I thought and still is to this day.

 

Funny thing is since the tax ran out all those years ago I've not heard a thing from the DVLA regarding the car and it's untaxed / unsorn'ed state. It's still registered at the address it was when it was taxed etc. but nothing, no letters, no tax renewal reminders, nowt.

I no longer live at the address but my parents do and it's sat in their garage waiting for me to bring it down here (as soon as I get a garage to put it in).

 

Now in a rather inebriated state a few nights ago I'm sure I saw an advert saying that if your car was uninsured and no sorn was present they'd come a knocking on your door, hunt you down, send out the armed forces, no place to hide etc.....trouble is I've not seen this advert since and can't seem to find anything online about it.

 

My question is if I want to put the car back on the road or contact the dvla about the car am I going to get a couple of knuckle draggers knocking on the door demanding a large fine payment or they'll break my legs?

 

I'm genuinely concerned that if I even mention the reg of the car there will be a helicopter circling my parents house within minutes....

[philibusmo]

You'll be fine. I taxed the Maxi in October which had been off the road for 9 years and the Toyota in March which had been off the road for 20 years. Neither had been SORN'd and both times I was told at the post office that there was a gap in the tax but nothing ever came of it.

The only time I have almost been stung was when my fiesta was SORN'd but officially owned by my dad, as I was using it and was paying for its upkeep and restoration it was moved into my name but I forgot to resorn. a month later I had taxed it the day before driving to Glasgow in it, where I was papped by PC Porkins sat in his Focus at the side of the road and promptly got a letter through the door requesting many moneys and my first born child or I would have my hands chopped off.

A quick blat down to the DVLA office and a flirt with the very attractive girl behind the counter soon sorted that issue out.

[philibusmo]

You'll be fine. I taxed the Maxi in October which had been off the road for 9 years and the Toyota in March which had been off the road for 20 years. Neither had been SORN'd and both times I was told at the post office that there was a gap in the tax but nothing ever came of it.

The only time I have almost been stung was when my fiesta was SORN'd but officially owned by my dad, as I was using it and was paying for its upkeep and restoration it was moved into my name but I forgot to resorn. a month later I had taxed it the day before driving to Glasgow in it, where I was papped by PC Porkins sat in his Focus at the side of the road and promptly got a letter through the door requesting many moneys and my first born child or I would have my hands chopped off.

A quick blat down to the DVLA office and a flirt with the very attractive girl behind the counter soon sorted that issue out.

[eddyramrod]

That must be why they're trying to close all the DVLA offices....

[eddyramrod]

That must be why they're trying to close all the DVLA offices....

[jonny69]

They send you plenty of letters notice in advance anyway. I would probably be keeping the address up to date on the V5 though, even if it does mean SORNing it each year, a trivial task now it can be done online

[jonny69]

They send you plenty of letters notice in advance anyway. I would probably be keeping the address up to date on the V5 though, even if it does mean SORNing it each year, a trivial task now it can be done online

[keef]

I'm genuinely concerned that if I even mention the reg of the car there will be a helicopter circling my parents house within minutes....

 

What's the "date of liability" on DVLA's website?

 

31 Jan 1998 seems to be the "magic" date.

 

[keef]

I'm genuinely concerned that if I even mention the reg of the car there will be a helicopter circling my parents house within minutes....

 

What's the "date of liability" on DVLA's website?

 

31 Jan 1998 seems to be the "magic" date.

 

[vulgalour]

I'd do nothing for now and just tax it when you're ready. No point drawing attention to yourself until you have to. When the Polo was off the road I had SORN'd it before the rule of having to SORN annually. They tried to sting me for I think an £80 fine for not re-SORNing when I had no idea they'd changed the rules. Didn't pay the fine because of the situation. The second time it happened I did pay a half-price fine because I had a lot going on my life (again) and had missed the re-SORN date. They don't like cars not being on the system, and the annual SORN thing just seems to be a revenue generator.

 

I'm still not even sure I should have paid the fine anyway, the car was never used illegally and I'm not sure what exactly I was being fined for beyond not ticking a box, which seems somewhat... questionable. It's not like I stamped on a puppy or something.

[vulgalour]

I'd do nothing for now and just tax it when you're ready. No point drawing attention to yourself until you have to. When the Polo was off the road I had SORN'd it before the rule of having to SORN annually. They tried to sting me for I think an £80 fine for not re-SORNing when I had no idea they'd changed the rules. Didn't pay the fine because of the situation. The second time it happened I did pay a half-price fine because I had a lot going on my life (again) and had missed the re-SORN date. They don't like cars not being on the system, and the annual SORN thing just seems to be a revenue generator.

 

I'm still not even sure I should have paid the fine anyway, the car was never used illegally and I'm not sure what exactly I was being fined for beyond not ticking a box, which seems somewhat... questionable. It's not like I stamped on a puppy or something.