Cherished Number Plates News

DVLA breaking the law?

08 December 2008

The department of transport is to investigate a claim that the DVLA is breaking the law by as regards its treatment of off-road notices, which are sent when a vehicle is declared to be ‘off the road’. these allegations became known to the DVLA when motorbike courier James Collins noticed that the dates on his notice were not sufficient to the requirements of the law.

Having researched the matter Mr. Collins found that the date on his notice was that of which the letter was printed, and not the date he received it on. The receive date should be estimated from the time of postage. It is from this that the DVLA may find themselves in quite a legal dilemma.

Wrong dates such as that received by Mr. Collins can be very misleading and complicated to an unaware member of the public. After a notice has gone through the DVLA’s system, it may take up to fourteen days before a driver receives it which, as you could imagine will lead to serous complications. These mistakes can lead to unfair treatment of drivers and wrongly issued penalty points. In an effort to pinpoint the problem of this, Mr. Collins put in a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA. The DVLA uphold they answered this promptly and in full, although Mr. Collins feels he only received a comprehensive response last week.

There has been claims that the DVLA are knowingly doing this in order o obtain more funds through fining. If this is proved to be through several heads may roll within the DVLA.

It is still not clear whether or not this will continue to happen as the DVLA have their heels dug in and are adamant they have done nothing wrong. It is estimated that there are over 100 drivers in a similar position through out the UK, most of whom may not even be aware of their legal predicament.