DVLA sent me letter and asked me to plead guilty or not

[Pawnless Endgame]

Thanks @Kenai and @tom_e

I misread the OP and thought that someone committed a driving offence in July with the OP's old plate. So I made the assumption that someone else got the plate, where really it's about insurance and him missing the boat regarding that.

 

[Richie]

Normal reg numbers do not go back into circulation when you put a cherish number on your car. The normal.reg goes back onto the car once you take the cherish number off it again.

 

[danlightbulb]

Although his insurance cert had the correct number, the car was driving about without the number being registered to the car.

The insurance policy should also show the make and model of the car though, which they get automatically when you put the reg number in?

If the reg and correct make/model is shown on the policy then it was insured?

 

[Richie]

That would be upto the insurance company as they may deem it invalid as the reg number on the car wasn't registered to the car ergo the car was effectively "unregistered"

If there is a way an insurance company can void a claim, they'll take it

 

[GlitterBalls]

It wasn’t insured. It sounds like you got a private plate and just slapped it on without actually registering it against the vehicle. So your insurance wasn’t against the actual registration of your car, it was on a registration that as far as the DVLA were concerned was on retention.

Why does your location say Bristol when you’re posting from Hong Kong btw?

He's fled to Hong Kong to escape the clutches of the DVLA.

 

[Housey]

And we have another....

 

[muon]

The insurance policy should also show the make and model of the car though, which they get automatically when you put the reg number in?

If the reg and correct make/model is shown on the policy then it was insured?

Not really. There are hundreds of vehicles with that make and model.

If an accident was to happen (let's say one costing millions), Admiral are within their rights to say the vehicle they were insuring was this other registration. This is proven by their submission to MID.

The vehicle that caused the accident was not insured by them and was in fact deliberately removed from cover on date X.

Now if you were the one claiming damages, you might be able to argue liability still lay with Admiral in the courts, however, this isn't a get out clause for the OP technically being uninsured.

 

[kindai]

After reading the relevant provision if you want to challenge it in court I think you have an easy case.

144 - Offence of keeping vehicle which does not meet insurance requirements

(1)If a motor vehicle registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 does not meet the insurance requirements, the person in whose name the vehicle is registered is guilty of an offence.

Fortunately for you, there is a statutory defense.

(2)For the purposes of this section a vehicle meets the insurance requirements if—

(a)it is covered by a such a policy of insurance F2... as complies with the requirements of this Part of this Act, and

(b)either of the following conditions is satisfied.

(3)The first condition is that the policy F3... , or the certificate of insurance F3... which relates to it, identifies the vehicle by its registration mark as a vehicle which is covered by the policy F3... .

(4)The second condition is that the vehicle is covered by the policy F4... because—

(a)the policy F4... covers any vehicle, or any vehicle of a particular description, the owner of which is a person named in the policy F4... or in the certificate of insurance F4... which relates to it, and

(b)the vehicle is owned by that person.

(5)For the purposes of this section a vehicle is covered by a policy of insurance F5... if the policy of insurance F5... is in force in relation to the use of the vehicle.

Now if you went to court, it should be pretty easy for you to demonstrate with the certificates of insurance that the vehicle was covered by admiral as identified by its number plate, even if the record in the DVLA was incorrect.

 

[muon]

No because the vehicle registration mark is not defined by the number plate. The V5 has the registration mark against the VIN.

The OP is actually also guilty of displaying an incorrect registration mark.

 

[LuckyBenski]

After reading the relevant provision if you want to challenge it in court I think you have an easy case.



Fortunately for you, there is a statutory defense.



Now if you went to court, it should be pretty easy for you to demonstrate with the certificates of insurance that the vehicle was covered by admiral as identified by its number plate, even if the record in the DVLA was incorrect.

Somehow I don't think the DVLA are going to cede to an insurance company's opinion, rather the opposite. Don't forget this is a DVLA punishment not an insurance case.

 

[GreenMint]

Honestly I'd say fighting it or trying to find any loophole will just cause you more problems, you:

• Didn't register the new plate on the car
• Told the insurance you changed the plate, they wouldn't do a car search based on the reg, surely, as you only called them to change the reg on file, not amend the car on the policy
• Invalidated your road tax as the road tax with the DVLA would be against the original plate.

As far as I can see you've been driving with no tax & no insurance, best thing is to put your hands up, say you made an honest mistake and just take whats coming, trying to fight something that was, sadly - 100% your fault isn't worth the hassle and you're more likely to get things a bit easier by just putting your hands up and admitting it without trying to make excuses or asking for special treatment.

No one wants fines or points, but in this case its very hard to see how either would be avoidable.

 

[arknor]

if youre katie price you would probably get away with a caution

 

[d_brennen]

After reading the relevant provision if you want to challenge it in court I think you have an easy case.



Fortunately for you, there is a statutory defense.



Now if you went to court, it should be pretty easy for you to demonstrate with the certificates of insurance that the vehicle was covered by admiral as identified by its number plate, even if the record in the DVLA was incorrect.

Wouldn't Admiral be the first to back out should OP smash into a bus stop full of nuns?

 

[Diagro]

Honestly I'd say fighting it or trying to find any loophole will just cause you more problems, you:

• Didn't register the new plate on the car
• Told the insurance you changed the plate, they wouldn't do a car search based on the reg, surely, as you only called them to change the reg on file, not amend the car on the policy
• Invalidated your road tax as the road tax with the DVLA would be against the original plate.

As far as I can see you've been driving with no tax & no insurance, best thing is to put your hands up, say you made an honest mistake and just take whats coming, trying to fight something that was, sadly - 100% your fault isn't worth the hassle and you're more likely to get things a bit easier by just putting your hands up and admitting it without trying to make excuses or asking for special treatment.

No one wants fines or points, but in this case its very hard to see how either would be avoidable.

No such thing as road tax

 

[Tom_ed1987]

Honestly I'd say fighting it or trying to find any loophole will just cause you more problems, you:

• Didn't register the new plate on the car
• Told the insurance you changed the plate, they wouldn't do a car search based on the reg, surely, as you only called them to change the reg on file, not amend the car on the policy
• Invalidated your road tax as the road tax with the DVLA would be against the original plate.

As far as I can see you've been driving with no tax & no insurance, best thing is to put your hands up, say you made an honest mistake and just take whats coming, trying to fight something that was, sadly - 100% your fault isn't worth the hassle and you're more likely to get things a bit easier by just putting your hands up and admitting it without trying to make excuses or asking for special treatment.

No one wants fines or points, but in this case its very hard to see how either would be avoidable.

OP had insurance. Just against an incorrect registration mark due to a clerical error. I don't see how this is any different to when you get a 1 digit typo that nobody notices until pulled over by ANPR, which is pretty common and doesn't result in a driving uninsured conviction.

 

[jpaul]

he doesn't have insurance - voided, the registration mark he used for that is not registered at dvla .. ANPR plus any potential speeding tickets against plate he was using sounds an issue.

 

[gailjon]

No such thing as road tax

There's always someone...

 

[Terminal_Boy]

if youre katie price you would probably get away with a caution

She could run over an entire primary school class in a road roller and get a caution.

 

[Steven225]

Hi for everyone who would like an update on this.

I have just got off the phone with dvla. They stated all I had to do was to pay £100 to closed the case so the case doesn’t get go to court and there wouldn’t be any penalty point or further action be taken after this.

Dvla stating the system recognised I changed the plate over in September and I must have been picking up driving a new plate wijtout insurance at end of July hence the letter stating July time.

The dvla lady promised me it doesn’t mean I plead guilty or not as the case is now closed.

 

[ci_newman]

OP had insurance. Just against an incorrect registration mark due to a clerical error. I don't see how this is any different to when you get a 1 digit typo that nobody notices until pulled over by ANPR, which is pretty common and doesn't result in a driving uninsured conviction.

OP has found a solution now, but even allowing for a clerical error the OP received letter from the AskMID warning them they weren't insured and OP ignored the letters. As with anything car or legal related, *never* ignore letters or warnings about breaching the law. Deal with it and resolve the problem ASAP.