Think putting a car into trade absolves you of any problems from the DVLA? Think again!

The DVLA are exploiting to the fullest, the SORN/Continuous Licensing introduction with full vigour, and they are taking vehicles you simply wouldn't expect.

They are currently in the South West of England right now, in the Bath/Bristol area, and they are only going to make this more widespread as it will pay them big money to do it before Government realises they've cocked up.

New rules introduced in 2004 stated that if you're not taxing your vehicle, it has to be declared SORN.

Recently, they also introduced rules stating that if the vehicle wasn't declared SORN, then it has to be insured.

Sounds great in principle, but what about Traders?

Filling out Section 9 of the V5C/3 Logbook (i.e. the yellow section) does NOT exempt you from the DVLA being able to take your car!!!!

Think i'm joking? Tell that to several traders near Bath that have had cars clamped and then removed.

The DVLA have subcontracted a company to go around in a new Transit, which has cameras on each corner of the roof. Allegedly they also have sound recording equipment that can work upto a range of 20metres or so from the van, so anything you say is recorded, so if you're trying to give someone a headsup to move a car, its on record, and obviously if you threaten the drivers/enforcement officers, they've got that down as well.

But herein lies the problem.

If you collect a vehicle from a customer that you've just bought that is on a SORN, the second the DVLA receive the yellow part of the logbook, that SORN is now NULL AND VOID.

The trader cannot and is not supposed to declare SORN, because they are not the registered keeper of the vehicle.

If the vehicle is still taxed, you don't have a problem, but if it isn't taxed, then you do.

So, you have a vehicle that is untaxed and now cannot be SORNed, so I asked the enforcement guy, "so technically you can still take the vehicle?" and he said "yes".

If its on a public highway.....they'll take it (people only have themselves to blame in that situation)

If its being worked on, they won't take it..... however.

If its on the work premises and has been in trade for what they perceive as a long duration and doesn't appear to be worked on.... they can take it!

If the vehicle is off the road but in a public car park or communal car park and isn't taxed or SORNed, they can take it!!

If the vehicle is on the driveway of a private dwelling (i.e. a house) and registered to that address, they can't take it!!

A vehicle also attracts their attention if from the date of expiry of the last tax disc (2months and 1 day from expiry), it hasn't been retaxed or SORNed, they can take it!!

A couple of local garages that have had customers cars, a couple of the cars were taken because they were working on other vehicles, and the DVLA basically said "you've got 5 cars here but only two are being worked on" so they took the others!!

You think i'm kidding? I asked a Police Officer on the legalities of cars being in trade, and he directed me to speak to the DVLA guy, "he'll know more of the ins and outs" he said......... which pretty much means the Police will give the DVLA Carte Blanche to do what they like, irrespective of whether or not its right or proper or legal.

Secondly, the DVLA guy was good enough to tell me that its down to his "reasonable discretion", which can largely mean anything.

I gave him the example of a massive car sales place that has 200 cars that are all in trade.

He tried to claim that DVLA wouldn't touch vehicles for a period of 6 weeks, and then they would expect the car to now be out of trade and put into someones name.

I said to him thats ridiculous, because it is entirely conceivable that a trader can legitimately have a car hanging around for a long duration unsold, and now you are insisting that the trader has to devalue the car by adding himself as an owner, just because he couldn't sell it quickly enough?!?!?

So, the upshot is, that lots more legitimate traders are going to lose some of their cars, through no fault of their own via a system that doesn't allow them the ability to escape without punishment.

Watch out chaps, if in doubt, keep them out of sight, he did say that he wouldn't be making a point to go into premises to seize vehicles, but did try to claim he could certainly do it.



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