Car Tax Question

[Pinkie Brown]

I know we have some members of the local Plod Force on this board, so maybe they will have an opinion?

My insurance & Tax both run out today. I received a renewal notice from my insurers saying unless they heard different, my insurance would be automatically renewed with them. I'm fine with that. As of yet I have no new certificate of insurance.

I went to renew my car tax at the Post Office on Thursday who told me because I had less than 30 days to run on my insurance, they couldn't renew my tax. I produced my renewal schedule, but nope, had to be the new certificate. I wasn't aware of the 30 day thing. Nothing I've ever come up against before with my tax & insurance ending in the same month.

I called my insurance company who said they would get the renewal notice out asap. They advised me to renew my tax online if the certificate hadn't showed up by Saturday. My insurance details would go onto the national database which would enable me to renew my tax online

As of this morning I had no renewal certificate so I attempted to renew online this afternoon. No luck.

I hit a page saying they had no record of my insurance & to try again in 24 hours. If I attempted before 24 hours, my application would be automatically refused?! Obviously my renewal hasn't made it down the line to Swansea yet?

So the obvious question: What is the legal position should I get pulled over tomorrow? Will my story be deemed as a 'sort it asap' or will it be a 'by the book'? I have to go out early tomorrow.

 

[drew]

I know we have some members of the local Plod Force on this board, so maybe they will have an opinion?

My insurance & Tax both run out today. I received a renewal notice from my insurers saying unless they heard different, my insurance would be automatically renewed with them. I'm fine with that. As of yet I have no new certificate of insurance.

I went to renew my car tax at the Post Office on Thursday who told me because I had less than 30 days to run on my insurance, they couldn't renew my tax. I produced my renewal schedule, but nope, had to be the new certificate. I wasn't aware of the 30 day thing. Nothing I've ever come up against before with my tax & insurance ending in the same month.

I called my insurance company who said they would get the renewal notice out asap. They advised me to renew my tax online if the certificate hadn't showed up by Saturday. My insurance details would go onto the national database which would enable me to renew my tax online

As of this morning I had no renewal certificate so I attempted to renew online this afternoon. No luck.

I hit a page saying they had no record of my insurance & to try again in 24 hours. If I attempted before 24 hours, my application would be automatically refused?! Obviously my renewal hasn't made it down the line to Swansea yet?

So the obvious question: What is the legal position should I get pulled over tomorrow? Will my story be deemed as a 'sort it asap' or will it be a 'by the book'? I have to go out early tomorrow.

I'm not plod but fancy a stab at answering the question. You could get done for not having car tax. Fact is you left it too late to get your tax and you didn't ensure you had a valid insurance cert. Most insurers tend to send out the cert with the renewal letter anyway if you have paid by credit card the previous year but you can come unstuck if your card has expired during the previous 12 months and they can't take the payment. Fact is the onus is still on you, not your insurers.

 

[skipper734]

It's Bogies to you Mr Brown. Oh! and as above.

 

[£1.99]

just tried to renew my tax disc online, the page is down due to essential maintenance.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

My take on this is similar to Drews. They should have taken your premium by now and sent your cert so it should be showing on the database. Unless your card was declined you would be ok and probably get a 7 day wonder if you got stopped which in the end would show up ok but the tax issue would be harder to prove that you had/intended to renew.

 

[Garage_Doors]

My take on this is similar to Drews. They should have taken your premium by now and sent your cert so it should be showing on the database. Unless your card was declined you would be ok and probably get a 7 day wonder if you got stopped which in the end would show up ok but the tax issue would be harder to prove that you had/intended to renew.

Maybe take a screen shot of the online page showing its rejection.
I know this is not ideal and the onus was you to get it done before hand, but it at least shows you tried.

In a similar vain: I got stopped on one of my motorcycles a while back last season on the way back from a game and was stopped on the falmer road and when my identity was confirmed as to being the owner of the bike they advise me that the ANPRS was showing the bike had not MOT or insurance.
I informed them that i had had the bike MOT'ed the previous day. did i have it with me they asked (who carries their MOT!)
They then asked if it was ok for them to follow me home, only two streets, to check , had no problem with this.

When home i pulled out my file that contains all the paperwork for all the relevant vehicles and pulled out the the MOT , all ok, now can we see the insurance, gave it to them and after they studied it the young lady informed me that it had run out the week previous !! i was fecking gob smacked.

After checking it myself i held my hands out is a handcuff gesture, stating that i was sorry and in that case was guilty.
Explained that i had came back of holiday only two previous and had the bike MOT'ed deliberately to use it that day, even thought were several other cars on the drive and bikes in the garage i could of used.
He asked if i had got the insurance on line, i confirmed yes and the officer said it was not uncommon for these online companies to not send out reminders and also did any on my other bikes or cars allow me to ride this bike 3rd party, did not have a clue and pulled out all the relevant insurances for the other vehicles and gave them all to him, after a quick flick through he told me he could not see from them if i was or not, but as it was obviously a genuine mistake he would not take it any further.
Basically if you can show a genuine reason, then most will apply common sense as they can see a mistake again someone deliberately trying to buck the system.

 

[beorhthelm]

the plod by the side of the road will do you - quite rightly as they've probably heard it or a variation a thousand times before.

so you'd go to court to challenge. by then you'd have the paper work, showing you were covered. there is an unofficially official unofficial grace period on the tax so it would be ok. or just dont drive tomorrow.

 

[rabbitmaddie]

Just taxed my wife's car via website. Back up around 10pm

 

[LadySeagull]

Yes I just did mine as well, so it is working again.

 

[severnside gull]

no tax means risking having your car taken away on the back of a truck to the compound.

now someone stopping you may show "common sense"..................... but they may not.


A very unfortunate catalogue of events but if it was me I wouldn't risk it

 

[Lady Whistledown]

the plod by the side of the road will do you - quite rightly as they've probably heard it or a variation a thousand times before.

What, for having a tax disc a day out of date? I appreciate there are a few jobsworths out there but you would be extraordinarily unlucky to get stuck on for having an expired tax disc for one day. If it was the insurance that wasn't valid, you might get done for it, as having no insurance is an endorsable (ie you'll get 6 points for it) offence, whereas the expired VEL isn't.

Being realistic, you're unlikely to get stopped. If you're that worried, don't drive the car until its done, obviously it won't have been SORN'd but as its mainly the local councils who act on expired VELs rather than the police, you're not going to get picked up if it's parked on your driveway unless it's months out of date.

In the highly unlikely event that you did get pulled over and were unfortunate enough to come across a copper having a monumentally bad day, just explain what you've already told us.