Please help settle an argument ...

Aliboy

Aliboy

Aliboy

Soldato
Joined
4 Jan 2004
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3,200
.... about road tax:D

My lovely but ever so slightly mad girlfriend has just received a notice on her car which carries a fine for not having a valid tax disc. It ran out over a week ago but even though she had noticed it was about to run out, she never bothered to renew it:rolleyes: Anyroad, she's now renewed it online and it's (DVLA website) telling her that her start date is of the first of this month ..... but .... she's insisting that she can't drive her car (even though the DVLA have told her that she now has tax for her car) because she doesn't have the actual tax disc displayed on the car.
So, the big questions are ....

Can she legally drive her car without a valid tax disc being displayed until her new one arrives in the post?

Can she still be issued with another fine for not displaying a valid tax disc even though she has now got tax but is still waiting on the tax disc to arrive?

For the love of God folks ..... help a brother out will ya :D

I can't take the grief anymore :D
 
I may be wrong on this, but I drove around for a couple of weeks on the old tax disk (as the new one was posted to an address 300 miles away). The police will only know if they actually look at the tax disk, because the ANPR camera in the police cars will register the fact she's bought a new one. If she did get pulled over, it'd be quite easy for the police to check that she has got a new one, and the situation doesn't seem like it'd be that uncommon, so I'd hope the police wouldn't do anything more than tell her to put the new one on her car when she gets it.
 
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10021514

Displaying your tax disc

Your vehicle tax disc must be displayed on the passenger side (kerb side) of the vehicle’s windscreen. If there’s no windscreen or you have a motorcycle or sidecar, you should display the tax disc on the kerb side of the vehicle.

A current tax disc must be displayed on the vehicle it was bought for. If you buy a new tax disc before your current tax disc expires, you should not display the new one until the old one has expired. The new tax disc is only valid from the first day of the month you have taxed from. The maximum penalty for failure to display a current tax disc is £200. The tax disc can not be transferred between vehicles.

If you use the electronic vehicle licensing service or tax by post at the end of the month, there’s now an exemption for not displaying a tax disc. This exemption covers the first five working days of the month to allow time for the new disc to arrive in the post. While you are still waiting for your tax disc you will need to display your current tax disc. The exemption only applies if applications are made before the current tax disc or SORN expires
Click to expand...

it used to be an offence not to display one but with onilne applications you now get 5 working days grace.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/9/section/147

However, your 5 days runs out on Monday night so she is fine to drive until then but if her new disc doesn't arrive then no.
 
Last edited:
Best get this moved to motors, but I think the good news is that she can drive it without the new disc.

EDIT: Based on the above, she can't, as she is outside the 5 day grace period.
 
Yes, she can drive it, any ANPR system will show the car as taxed. However, if she's stopped for any reason, the copper on duty may (or may not) give her a £30 fine for failure to display a valid tax disc.
 
I've never owned a car and even I know it's legal without the disc because she has actually paid it, it's on its way.
 
Aliboy said:
I looked at that quote before posting on here but she never applied for a new disc before the old one ran out. She done it after it had ran out!
Click to expand...

Doesn;t matter. She has applied online and is still within the 5 working days grace period (for now)
 
Vonhelmet said:
Best get this moved to motors, but I think the good news is that she can drive it without the new disc.

EDIT: Based on the above, she can't, as she is outside the 5 day grace period.
Click to expand...

5 WORKING days, so the grace period runs until Monday night.

After that, she could feasibly get done for not displaying, albeit not for having no tax.

She'd be massively unlucky to get caught for not displaying for a couple of days though i'd have thought.
 
The official 'grace' period ONLY applies if you have purchased the disc online BEFORE the expiration of the old one. Not after.
 
[TW]Fox;20972631 said:
The official 'grace' period ONLY applies if you have purchased the disc online BEFORE the expiration of the old one. Not after.
Click to expand...

So, it's sounding like she can legally drive the car but can still be issued with another fine for not displaying a tax disc :confused:
 
[TW]Fox;20972677 said:
She cannot legally drive the car because she is not displaying a valid tax disc.
Click to expand...

Looks like I have some serious crawling to do :eek: :D

Or I could just stay put in the bedroom and crack on with Assasins Creed Revelations instead!
 
Aliboy said:
So, it's sounding like she can legally drive the car but can still be issued with another fine for not displaying a tax disc :confused:
Click to expand...

She can drive it displaying the old disc until midnight Monday as per the rule's for taxing online.

source: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Motoringtransactions/BeforeyouapplyD/DG_10034732

Little box on the right, it doesn't matter if you taxed it before/after it ran out, that's a rule for taxing on-line and the date is fixed each month.
 
ubersonic said:
She can drive it displaying the old disc until midnight Monday as per the rule's for taxing online.
Click to expand...

No, she cannot.

source: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Motoringtransactions/BeforeyouapplyD/DG_10034732

Little box on the right, it doesn't matter if you taxed it before/after it ran out, that's a rule for taxing on-line and the date is fixed each month.
Click to expand...

That is explaining what happened if you taxed your car on 31st December and the tax disc didnt arrive in time because of the bank holiday. There isnt a 'fixed date each month', its 5 working days. It's simply explaining that the 5 working days isn't up until 10th Jan this month on account of the bank holiday.

The rules are:

If you use the electronic vehicle licensing service or tax by post at the end of the month, there’s now an exemption for not displaying a tax disc. This exemption covers the first five working days of the month to allow time for the new disc to arrive in the post. While you are still waiting for your tax disc you will need to display your current tax disc. The exemption only applies if applications are made before the current tax disc or SORN expires
Click to expand...

It is clear, simple and I cannot see how you can dispute this, though I'm sure you'll try.

It is important we do not get this wrong as we should not advise people on legalish matters we do not understand.

It is an offence to drive the car in the OP on the road until the disc arrives.
 
She would get done for failing to display a valid VEL, not for not having one. The car is taxed but it can't be displayed. It wouldn't ping an ANPR though as the DVLA system will have the vehicle as being taxed.

I don't think police have anything to do with car tax notices now but I don't know if that applies north of the border Al me old son.
 
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