SORN - implications of not declaring

What has the car been doing since you purchased it?

Sean ( snipped-for-privacy@home.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I think you'll find that isn't a good enough excuse.

They are indeed having a crackdown at the mo.

Yes.

Are you planning on coming back to the UK?

No, it isn't. Fill in the "Guilty, m'lud, but..." section of the form they've sent you, put it in the envelope provided, and post it. You may need a stamp.

If the car is permanently exported, then you should have told DVLA, and the registration rules of the car it's now in would apply.

If the car is only temporarily exported, then it has to be legal in the UK to be legal in whatever country it's being used in. That means taxed. Not SORNed, taxed. If you SORN it, you're liable to being nicked when you return it to the UK at the very least, unless you trailer it back or are taking it to a pre-booked MOT only.

Oh, and get your post forwarded more often.

Sitting on blocks outside my house, rusting away quietly while waiting for a gearbox.

Bugger.

Been away several years now and not missing too much (return occasionally for a pint of ale and a handful of pork scratchings).

Caught slightly then, I am. I purchased the car here in Ireland even though it was on UK plates. I can't register the car here in Ireland until it is running (currently on blocks). When it is running I have to drive it to the registration centre, they assess its value and charge me a significant % of their estimate of its value as a "registration tax". There's no talking to the thieving gits. I'm not planning on returning it to the UK, though anything's possible. Of course, I have to get the car mobile first, and the gearbox I want to put in it is currently residing in sunny Luton (still!).

Self inflicted hardship, this is.

Paying the fine then I guess, in the same way that you pay the bills related to the house.

If you complete the SORN and send it off with a covering letter explaining you're abroad they may waive the fine. Worth asking.

Sean ( snipped-for-privacy@home.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Hmmm. I would suggest writing to 'em, and telling 'em that it's not in the UK, and that you bought it in Eire. Ask 'em nicely to consider it exported.

HOWEVER....

I assume you registered it with DVLA in your name/"address"? Sort of puts the kybosh on that 'un.

Hmmm. If you tell 'em you exported it, you still failed to SORN it when you bought it. So, guilty. What they asking for? I guess you've missed the £25, so it's £45? Or are they asking you to go and apologise to a man in a wig yet?

Heh. £25 to register an import here...

Guilty - we're up to 45 quid at the moment. Not got to the man in a wig stage yet. I'd better write to them.

Over here they charge ~30% of the "market value", as determined by them! They reckon the car's worth about 2500 Euro.... an '84 XJ6 with a bust autobox and, I reckon, some welding needed to pass an NCT (MOT to you).

You think you have it bad for motorists in the UK. Try Ireland.

Ah, I thought you meant a UK house. You bought a UK registered car outside the UK, notified DVLA of your UK address, but it is still outside the UK, having never been used?

I think you could make a case for a permanent export, but I don't know whether it will save you anything.

Yep. Used the address of a relation; I wasn't aware of SORN.

Between the SORN and the charges for registering its import into Ireland it's gonna cost me. I've half considered scrapping it and possibly making a few quid by selling its parts, but I can't bring myself to do it; it's a lovely old XJ6.

Pay the fine. SORN has caught a few people out, but really there is no defence as ignorance is not accepted.

You could try and write explaining the situation but that is probably more hassle than the cost of the fine.

Sean waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

I've had plenty of them, never paid one, don't worry about it!

As mentioned, they are quite "easy" in relation to SORN. I presume this is because they have human beings at the DVLA rather than scamera-droids and give people who can be bothered to write a letter the benefit of the doubt.

Gareth

-- Gareth '85 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z (305 V8) '92 B&W Chevy Caprice 9C1 (350 V8)

While on the subject of SORNs apparently if you buy a vehicle that has been SORNed you need to reSORN it in the new keepers name. Don't ask me why but apparently that's the way it is (I know a collector of old bikes and he had this problem)

I renewed my SORN last year for a car that has been off the road for years. Round Christmas time I got a letter from the DVLA and a notice to pay a fine of £25. Turns out the form I gave to the Post Office hadn't made it back to the DVLA. Luckily you get a receipt showing the registration number at the PO when you hand the form in, so I copied that and sent it to them, proving I had done my bit. I got a letter back saying 'I confirm that on this occasion no further action will be taken'.

Well, thanks a lot. What, you mean because I've done exactly what I should have done and either the PO or the DVLA have lost the form. 'Sorry' wouldn't have gone amiss.

Mike

That's got me thinking... I never received a SORN receipt when I SORN'd my '64 in Feb, and heard nothing from the DVLA. Better do it again!

They _are_ serious; the fine will increase if you ignore it.

I was caught like this (well actually my father-in-law) when we reclaimed the tax from his old 405. Fortunately I was able to prove that the car was transferred to my ownership (though not registered) and taken off the road the same day and broken within the week. The local VLO were happy with this and dropped the action.

As a result of all your comments I've written them a letter explaining the situation. Fully expect to get a reply saying they want the fine anyway. We'll see... and I'll post back here.

I suspect that if that's the value, then we should be flogging old XJ6s to ireland. I bet they think an XJ40 is worth more because it's newer, too...

Richard