DVLA Troubles?
Turbo Mini Forums

Bit of a weird one here, so I thought I'd post it up for some views from you guys.

Some of you may remember I had an old red diesel sierra, you may have seen it towing my mini and trailer like a stallion to Avon Park.

Anyway in the summer of 2007 a nice looking lady (no pictures) crashed into the back of it in her red RSP cooper, my tow bar made a mess of her mini, i had a cracked bumper.

It ended up going though insurance and they paid out after an inspection of the car and let me keep it (it was just a bent bumper after all). There was never any paperwork to fill in, I just got a cheque in the post and the keys back.

I kept the car for another year taxing it and it passed another MOT since its accident, finally last summer the head gasket failed. The £200 sierra had served me so well I didnt want to scrap her and offered her free to a good home on the Ford Sierra forum (strange forum that place, doesnt even have a section for sister pictures...?)

ANYWAY - the new owner contacted me yesterday saying he is being taken to court because of this car. First the DVLA wouldnt send him a v5 untill it had had the VIC check due its its written off status (something to do with the write off)?

He has apparantly done the VIC check and it passed without a problem? So I cant see how this is ending up in court?

He has asked for my full name and address, my thoughts are to not rush to give them out as if the DVLA need me they have all my details as the cars former keeper?

Whats your views/experiances of anything similar?

cheers Dan

I don't think I would be giving my address out. The DVLA have it anyway so let them contact you. What is he being taken to court for exactly?

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A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

He has not been particularly clear (another reason why I have not rushed to give away any of my personal details).

I am just concerned over this whole VIC business, he has basically said to me that I/ the insurance company should have carried out this process before the car changed hands.

Ask his solicitor to get in touch explaining exactly what the problem is.

He's probably getting prosecuted for using a vehicle that has been written of as a CAT C and not had the VIC completed. A nice easy prosecution for the police to chalk up there statistics with...

sounds like it all relates to the accident as the car is likley listed on VCAR register and some require the VIC check.

The grey area probably relates to the car being written off but because there was no change of keeper, you were unaware of this as a layperson?

If he is that keen on getting your details, its probably so he can pass this onto you as the seller.

If the question was not asked by the buyer and the car was sold as seen the onus is on the buyer not the seller.

This applies to tax as well, regardless of what is in the window of the car it is the responsibility of the registeered owner to check that the details are correct ignorance is not an excuse. You have no case to answer.

Own the day

Thanks for the input guys.

I will be polite but definetly hold back on giving him my personal details. As mentioned if the DVLA need me they have my details.

I just feel bad in case I should have done something like a VIC check after the accident but haven't. I'm sure if this was the case the DVLA wouldnt have kept letting me tax it and use it?

Anywho will have to wait and see. Thanks again for the feedback

Feel sorry for the guy

Edit, completely misread that. my reply was irrelivent.

Edited by minimole23 on 27th May, 2009.

Isn't your address etc on the log book, under former keeper?

How has been contacting you?

He messaged me by the ford sierra forum (where I advertised the car as free to collector when I got rid of it)

He doesnt have the log book, when I sent the log book off with all of his details on for the change in owner the DVLA send him a letter explaining it needs a VIC check before they issue a new V5 doc

Dan

ah...

Not every car needs a VIC after being written off.

We have put 3 different cars back on the road after being written off and only one needed a VIC. That was only flagged up by the tester (friend) at MOT time.

We then had to phone the DVLA give them the reg and they checked whether it needed a VIC.

The other two that we put back on the road have never had a problem at MOT time nor through tax or ANPR cameras.

However im sure if we phoned up the DVLA gave them the reg and asked if it needed a VIC then they would say yes. Revenue.

ive done two vic's never had an issue with dvla or insurance

they wont let you tax the car untill vic's been done so sounds like he's been colared for not declaring off road while the vics being sorted

Cat C write offs need VIC's. Cat D's don't.

yep that is correct anything over cat D needs VIC as the damage has been part of the major structure of the vehicle...... now this could be a windscreen on a sierra as they were the first vehicles ever produced whereby the windscreen (bonded at that) formed part of the structure of the vehicle....weird or what.

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I'm certain it went down as a cat d, hence them giving me the car back with no questions asked or any further action being nesasary.

The guy I gave the car to runs a sierra scrapyard and has dozens of car's on site, maybe the DVLA clocked onto this and thought with all the sierras at his disposal he may just change the plates over?

Cheers again for the input