Lapsed Sorn, best way to re-declare it off road?

[HBR]

The new must be insured or SORN'd rules have brought to my attention that I have a car on which the SORN lapsed ages ago, like a few years! Now I've never had a reminder or any other word from the DVLA about it but I'd rather it was sorted so it's all above board. I think I thought at the time you only had to declare it SORN once & not renew it every year, but I now know that is'nt the case.

So, what's the best way to go about it? Just redeclare it? "Sell" it to a mate, he declares it SORN & I "buy" it back sometime later? Call/write to the DVLA & explain it all (cos I've always found them dead helpful & fair minded*)?

Anyone else had or have a similar problem?

 

 

 

*this may not be true

[M'coli]

Sorn it ASAP by internetz. If there's any comeback, just say you were having a troll through various motors on http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/, thought you'd have a gander at your own and realised you'd forgotten to SORN it.

[HBR]

Yeah I was thinking I'll just declae it SORN again & hope it goes through the system ok without triggering some fine for the time not SORN'd or taxed but thought I'd get your opinions on here!

They really aint all that joined up thinking-wise at the DVLA, stuff gets lost & vehicles "fall" out of the system all the time. I claimed the tax back on another motor recently & it was taking ages to come back so I called them, they said they had no record of it in the system & would send me a form to sort it out. No form came but about 10 days later I got the refund cheque!

[Des]

I think there's a good chance any activity will prompt a fine, I have a few that I never bothered sorn-ing, when the time comes I'll reg them in the missus name / work address, sort the paperwork and carry on.

Many people will just pay the fine, this is morally wrong, think of the suffering of those who fought to maintain our freedom, we shouldn't allow the offspring of cowards that spent wartime hiding under their mothers skirts clutching white feathers to get away with this stealth tax shit.

[HillmanImp]

I only SORN'd the Imp for the first time a couple of years ago. They were okay about it. They would have been in touch if they had any fines against it. Just give them a call.

 

You will have to maintain SORN going forward though and not let it lapse again.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

If it ever had PORN and it lapsed, they would be banging on your door with Bailiffs. Has it ever been sorned, or just lapsed tax? How long ago?

If it's never actually been sorned, bollocks to it. Just tax it as and when it goes back on the road.

[flat4alfa]

Old Lancia had been SORNed but I lapsed, just plain forgot. Near a year later I reminded myself, popped it onto SORN online, half expecting it to be blocked as they do, but it went through. Got standard letter back. No fine.

[dieselnutjob]

I read in the paper yesterday that if they detect that a car is not either sorned or insured that they will send a letter to the registered owner.

If the registered owner ignores the letter then they get fined.

From that article it isn't an instant fine without warning.

 

You should probably check if that's really the truth but if so then you might be able to do nothing for a bit longer and see if the letter arrives.

[HBR]

I'm fairly sure I registered it in my name & SORN'd it at the time. It's a donor for akit car & I've not actually got the car itself any more, just all the mechanical & electrical components, wheels, number plates, chassis tags, & I even cut the stamped in numbers out of the shell & kept them. I've photos of it all somewhere if I can find them to help back up if they ask for evedence of it not being on the road.

[Lankytim]

If you transfer it to your mates name it will suddenly come to the DVLAs attention that it hasn't been SORNed for a while and they will deffo issue a fine, if you just SORN it now online a nasty little message will pop up saying that although the car is now SORNed they may fine you, but haven't decided yet. I have done this a few times, but never had a fine- although the SORN has only been a few months out of date.

[HBR]

OK I'll give it a go, I'll post back up to let you know what happens!

[messerschmitt owner]

have a similar issue with a car, which is still registered to my address three back - last on road 1999, but it is insured on an off road policy, even though the address it is registered to is 370 miles away. Have never bothered to sorn it, may just do it at the same time as notification of new address.

[HBR]

Er, nowt happens because it wont let me!

I get this:

SORRY

 

Unable to Use Service

 

 

 

Unfortunately, because of the tax class of the vehicle or recent changes to the vehicle record, you are currently unable to apply for a tax disc or declare SORN using this service.

 

You will need to apply for the tax disc or declare SORN at a licence-issuing Post Office® or DVLA Local Office (as applicable for the vehicle) using the reminder (Vehicle Licence Application/SORN Declaration) or the Registration Document/Certificate together with the Insurance Certificate or Cover Note, MOT Test Certificate/GVT Test Certificate (if applicable) and fee.

 

 

I also did an enquiry on it, it's been off the road 6 years, certainly dont fancy paying the back tax on this!

 

 

Date of Liability 01 09 2005

Date of First Registration 21 09 1990

Year of Manufacture 1990

Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1998CC

CO2 Emissions Not Available

Fuel Type Petrol

Export Marker Not Applicable

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Colour SILVER

Vehicle Type Approval

[gtd2000]

I've got a couple of bikes that are both off-road in a locked up shed - one since 1994 and the other when it was imported to the UK in 2001...

 

Neither were taken off the road after SORN came into effect - does any of this stuff affect me?

 

Or do I just apply to tax the UK registered one when the time comes?

 

In mitigation. I've been mostly living abroad during this time period.

[HBR]

If SORN was'nt around when you took them off the road then I dont think you have anything to worry about at all, I'm pretty sure you did'nt have to declare a vehicle SORN if it was untaxed at the time SORN came in. Sure others on here will know for sure.

 

Gonna need to call about mine or fill a form it & do it by post.

[flat4alfa]

I've got a couple of bikes that are both off-road in a locked up shed - one since 1994 and the other when it was imported to the UK in 2001... Neither were taken off the road after SORN came into effect - does any of this stuff affect me?

The cut-off year for death by firing squad if non-SORNed is 1998

 

But if you didn't declare an import I don't know what happens.

[HBR]

Cant do it by phone either, I get the same thing as before about the vehicle tax class etc may have changed.

 

Got a form to send off now.

Do you think a letter expalining the situation would be any good? I'm thinking these forms may be machine-read anyway so it'll be largely ingnored? Or that may possibly just draw attention to it when it may just go through go through unoticed?

[nigel bickle]

Personally -I think you're probably screwed.

 

I'd just send it in -without explanation -then sit back & see.

 

If they come for you (you MIGHT get away with it) -PM me with the depth of the problem -there MIGHT be a way out....

[gtd2000]

I've got a couple of bikes that are both off-road in a locked up shed - one since 1994 and the other when it was imported to the UK in 2001... Neither were taken off the road after SORN came into effect - does any of this stuff affect me?

The cut-off year for death by firing squad if non-SORNed is 1998

 

But if you didn't declare an import I don't know what happens.

 

It's never been registered in the UK so I'm pretty sure it won't really matter - then again I could be completely wrong.

 

It would have been registered long before now but I normally only came back to Scotland during the winter time and that's not the best time of year to have a bike on the road

[HBR]

So, I had a look at the form (I just got my brother to pick it up from the post office) & it's just a form for claiming the tax back more than declaring SORN. Of course this makes sense, really from their point of view there is no need for a from that declares it SORN without claiming the tax back!

 

Mabye better to actually Phone the DVLA & talk to an actual person? I know we slate the system for various reasons but the folk that work there are actual people with a brain & mind of their own (though I'm sure the training program does its best to alter that!)

[jonathan_dyane]

That's the wrong form alas, you need a V890.

 

You can download and print: http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg ... 065269.pdf

[HBR]

Ah, cheers for that. I just told him to pick up a form for declaring SORN when he was near a post office & the tax reclaim formwas what he fetched back.