Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to seller)

[Hayley27]

Hi there, I really need some advice please.
I have received a requisition to appear at magistrates court for being the registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle.
The vehicle in question was returned to the dealership I bought it from in July 2015 as it had an underlying fault which they could not fix. Prior to returning the vehicle I had sent my retention certificate for my private plate and the v5c to the dvla.
I phoned the dvla and explained what was happening. I was told a note would be put on my record so the retention certificate and v5c would be returned to me.
They were returned but only page 1 of the v5c was returned. Again I called the dvla who explained this was not a problem- I should just complete section 6 and send it back. In my naivety I thought these phone calls were informing the dvla I was not the owner, therefore the registered keeper, of the car.
I completed section 6 and sent it recorded delivery to the dealership. They called to say they had received it and, instead of posting it back to me to sent to the dvla, they would send it straight to the dvla.
In December I received a letter saying the car was uninsured, I wrote back explaining my situation. Shortly after I received a notification of change of keeper. Again, in my naivety I took this as an acceptance of my explanation and thought nothing more of it until the requisition came through.
What do I do now? Plead guilty and 'wish the court to consider the following circumstances' whereby I explain all of the above. Or plead not guilty and go to court hoping I get a chance to explain all of the above. I'm really worried- I've never been in a situation like this before. The car I bought after the faulty one is insured and I have proof of this. Along with proof of the refund of the faulty car. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[R0b]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Hi Hayley,

If you notified the DVLA then I would certainly not plead guilty, the minute you do then you have a criminal record. If you honestly sent notification which it seems like you did as you got a notification of change of registered keeper, then I think you should defend this. Do you also have copies of any letters you sent to the DVLA?

Take a look at this thread for similar issue that was eventually dropped by the DVLA http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...t=stuffedagain

the DVLA will only be looking for you to plead guilty and pay a fine but you can defend this quite easily, the choice is yours.

[Hayley27]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Hi Hayley,

If you notified the DVLA then I would certainly not plead guilty, the minute you do then you have a criminal record. If you honestly sent notification which it seems like you did as you got a notification of change of registered keeper, then I think you should defend this. Do you also have copies of any letters you sent to the DVLA?

Take a look at this thread for similar issue that was eventually dropped by the DVLA http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...t=stuffedagain

the DVLA will only be looking for you to plead guilty and pay a fine but you can defend this quite easily, the choice is yours.

Hi Rob, thank you so much for getting back to me. I really appreciate it.
I have still got the letter I sent them but I got my notification after that. Will they not claim that I should have notified them before? Even though the dealership sent them the v5c with change of owner completed back in July? If I obtain written confirmation from the dealership stating this do you think this will strengthen my case at all?

[R0b]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Hi Hayley, if you get a statement from the dealership that they notified in July that could help but there still is a legal obligation for you to notify the DVLA, you can't just rely on other people. the DVLA will claim whatever they can to bully you into payment so the choice is really yours. You have a letter to notify change of keeper then I think you should be fine and you will need to stand your ground, or alternatively just pay them the money they will ask for, usually about £100 or so.

If you need some help let me know.

[Hayley27]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Because they only sent me back page 1 of the v5c I didn't see the bit in section 9 which says the registered keeper must return it to the dvla. Or the bit in section 12 which says failure to tell dvla may result in a fine or prosecution. Otherwise I'd have made sure I did it myself. I didn't ask the dealership to send it to the dvla. They suggested it would be quicker if they just sent it straight to the dvla rather then post it to me for me to then put it in the post to the dvla. It didn't occur to me that it wouldn't actually get to the dvla!
They have already sent me the requisition to go to court. So even if I send them £100 now and a letter explaining my misunderstanding with regard to the notification of change if keeper will they not say that I still need to go to court?
If I go to court, and they find me guilty I risk a fine and a criminal record don't I? I'd imagine the dvla would still want me to go to court as then they'd get more money out of me!

[R0b]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Hayley the DVLA do this to everyone to intimidate people into paying up and is done on a daily basis. There is no obligation for you to contact the DVLA and only to notify them, you've received a letter accepting the change of registered keeper and that's enough for you to defend it. They cannot deny that they never received notification about the change of registered keeper, and if you get a statement from the dealership saying that the V5C was sent to the DVLA notifying of change of registered keeper that will further your argument.

If you wish to call the DVLA and offer to pay £100 they might accept or knowing that you are wanting to settle they may ask for a higher amount, the £100 is a rough estimate of what they might ask from you and alternatively they could also refuse your offer to settle and take you to court anyway and then if found guilty you will have to pay more in fees.

What date is the requisition, have you contacted the person in charge of your case yet? If there is enough time and you have an email address I can draft something up in your defence including the dealer as a potential witness and see what they say. They will either drop the case up to the point of the court doors or offer to settle and get a sum of money from you that they shouldn't be entitled to.

Obviously I cannot tell you what to do it is obviously your choice whether you wish to defend or crumble to the DVLA's demands.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Hi there, I really need some advice please.
I have received a requisition to appear at magistrates court for being the registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle.
The vehicle in question was returned to the dealership I bought it from in July 2015 as it had an underlying fault which they could not fix. Prior to returning the vehicle I had sent my retention certificate for my private plate and the v5c to the dvla.
I phoned the dvla and explained what was happening. I was told a note would be put on my record so the retention certificate and v5c would be returned to me.
They were returned but only page 1 of the v5c was returned. Again I called the dvla who explained this was not a problem- I should just complete section 6 and send it back. In my naivety I thought these phone calls were informing the dvla I was not the owner, therefore the registered keeper, of the car.
I completed section 6 and sent it recorded delivery to the dealership. They called to say they had received it and, instead of posting it back to me to sent to the dvla, they would send it straight to the dvla.
In December I received a letter saying the car was uninsured, I wrote back explaining my situation. Shortly after I received a notification of change of keeper. Again, in my naivety I took this as an acceptance of my explanation and thought nothing more of it until the requisition came through.
What do I do now? Plead guilty and 'wish the court to consider the following circumstances' whereby I explain all of the above. Or plead not guilty and go to court hoping I get a chance to explain all of the above. I'm really worried- I've never been in a situation like this before. The car I bought after the faulty one is insured and I have proof of this. Along with proof of the refund of the faulty car. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

You should only ever plead guilty if you are guilty. You have proof that you were not the owner of the vehicle, ie you made a recorded delivery post of the relevant parts of the V5C to the car's dealership. Please attach the letter with the Magistrate's summons. I think in your circumstances they will drop the case as you can prove transfer of ownership, which is a defence to this offence. Your VC5 will have details of your identity, address, your car's description, and registration number plate. In addition to your proof of posting the V5C, do you have proof by way of your end date of your certificate of insurance? I do not believe there is sufficient merit for DVLA to bring a case against you. Were it the situation that you did not have proof of a change of ownership, you would rely on the defence of having posted to DVLA.

[Hayley27]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Thank you again for getting back to me. The date is 7th April and the charge was authorised by Patricia Woolley. Do I presume she works at Crawley Magistrates courts?
I'm not sure whether the dealer would actually agree to coming to court to be a witness. Would a written statement suffice?
I would really appreciate your drafted letter if you have the time to do this for me.

[R0b]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Patricia Woolley I believe may be head of DVLA enforcement so she might not have signed it personally but on her behalf. If you have the requisition letter and information you can post up that would be useful to help draft. A written statement from the dealership confirming that the V5C was signed by and posted to the DVLA should be sufficient evidence that it was posted off and they were notified.

If you are able to email the documents to admin@legalbeagles.info and put in your username of the link to the thread [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION] can post them up for you and i'll draft something up tonight

[Openlaw15]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

Thank you again for getting back to me. The date is 7th April and the charge was authorised by Patricia Woolley. Do I presume she works at Crawley Magistrates courts?
I'm not sure whether the dealer would actually agree to coming to court to be a witness. Would a written statement suffice?
I would really appreciate your drafted letter if you have the time to do this for me.

Yes a witness statement would be sufficient and could be made via the Criminal Procedure Rules for hearsay. Hearsay simply means a witness statement or other materials where the person who made the statement is not attending court. Hearsay is not welcomed because the prosecution like to cross examine (challenge) the witnesses but they can't if it's brought under hearsay rules, obviously. If DVLA cite law to you in their endeavour to bring criminal charges against you, you should cite the law back to them. You simply have to keep your defence relevant to criminal law and procedure. The onus is on DVLA prosecution first of all to prove there is sufficient evidence to bring a prosecution against you. I studied criminal law at qualifying law degree level by the way. Patricia is head of DVLA's enforcement at Swansea.

[R0b]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

@Hayley27

I've sort of drafted a letter which I hope would show the DVLA that you have an intention to defend the claim against you as well as the written statement from the dealer who could back you up in this. Take a look a let me know your thoughts, I'm sure others could chip in too where needed.

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DVLA – Enforcement Centre
Longview Road
Swansea
SA99 1AH

[DATE]

Dear Sir or Madam,

Reference:

I am writing further to your requisition letter dated [DATE].

Please note that it is my intention to plead NOT GUILTY in relation to the offence you accuse me of.

The vehicle in question was returned to a dealership where the vehicle was purchased around July 2015. Both myself and a representative of the dealership signed the V5C which was subsequently returned to the DVLA. Despite receiving a notification that the vehicle was uninsured, I further wrote to the DVLA explaining that the V5C had been returned and shortly after, I received a notification of change of registered keeper thus acknowledging that I was no longer the registered keeper. In support of my evidence, I am also in the process of obtaining a written statement from the dealership confirming the facts above.

S.7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 states that where any document is required to be served by post, it shall be deemed served by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting the letter. As such, my legal obligations are discharged in that the V5C document was sent to the DVLA notifying them that the registered keeper is now the dealership. You will also be aware that there has been several case law on this matter in which the DVLA has been unsuccessful (DVLA v Peck, Kennedy, Collins, O’Sullivan).

I would also like to bring your attention to FOIR 1396/09, Sent to Mr Collins, whereby Richard Batchelor clearly states that:

“..if an item of mail does happen to be mislaid within the Agency, the responsible area would be unaware of the loss until notified (normally by the sender of the mail). There is no automatic process alerting the Agency to a previously received item of mail that had not been processed.”

Therefore, you cannot rule out the possibility that my notification to DVLA was received at the address required, and was subsequently misplaced internally after delivery.


In the circumstances, I have no case to answer in respect of the alleged offence offence of keeping a registered vehicle which did not meet the insurance requirements, contrary to section 144A(1) of the road traffic act.

Please confirm that the DVLA has now withdrawn its requisition against me. Should the DVLA continue to proceed with this matter then I must advise you that I will defend this claim and consider a counterclaim against the DVLA for malicious prosecution and/or misfeasance in a public office. In the event that I am found guilty, it will also be my intention to immediately seek leave for appeal to the Crown Court being that lay magistrates are not always familiar with the legislation and that there has been several cases appearing before the courts confirming that posting the V5C document is sufficient to discharge my duties.


Yours sincerely/faithfully

[Hayley27]

Re: Requisition- registered keeper of uninsured car (which had been returned to selle

This is amazing! Thank you so much for this. I will send it off as soon as possible.
Do you think I should enclose a copy of the above letter when I send back form D- not guilty plea to the magistrates' court?