guydewdney said:
what i find annoying is that one of mu cars (the pimpmobile) has been registered in my name, it tax exempt, yet i ahve to sorn it every year? why? it makes no difference monetary wise if it is on the road or not? sorn it - free, tax it - free... yet i have to do one or the other every year... waste of time / paperwork surely?
I think it is all part of the DVLA/Government's battle to remove uninsured/MOTd cars off the roads.
IIRC (and I may be wrong!), when you apply for your 'free' tax disc, you still have to provide evidence of a current MOT and valid insurance.
Otherwise, any car eligible for tax exemption could be assumed road legal, whether it was or not?!?
By making the SORN declaration an active task, ie, the registered keeper makes a statement/promise not to use the vehicle on public roads etc and reiterating the consequences (fines etc), the DVLA can then comfortably 'enforce' any breaches of this policy.
Don't worry Guy, I am not on their side at all!
I have got a few old motorbikes registered in my name, and have had hassles with their less than perfect system myself!
Eg, one bike was currently taxed. A couple of weeks before it was due, the usual tax it/SORN it/go to jail (!) letter came through.
It was garaged, off the road, and was to stay this way for a few years. I declared it SORN, and got a receipt. A SORN declaration apparantly lasts 12 months (unless you re-tax the vehicle). Anyway, after 12 months, no 'reminder' letter came through. Then after about 2-3 years, I got a regular reminder letter, and declared it SORN again. Didn't make sense to me?
One other example that annoys me is this:
At the start of this year, my (now sold) 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth was garaged (as it had been since just before christmas). The MOT and tax expired in the same month, and I got the tax reminder letter a week or so before the end. The MOT expired somewhere around the 27th and the tax on the 30/31st. I went to book the car in for an MOT (as it was due) and the earliest date I could get was for the first week of the following month. I went to purchase a tax disc (before the MOT had expired) and was informed that I could not buy a tax disc as the MOT would have expired when the tax disc came into force! I had never realised this, as I had never come accross it. Anyway, it seemed so much hassle to have to declare the vehicle SORN for literally one week, get it MOTd (with no TAX disc!) and then go back to the post office again to re-apply for the tax that I decided to buy 12 months tax, starting from the current month (ie 11 months and a couple of days). This meant that I lost one month off my tax, but makes a mockery of the rules stating that you cannot tax a vehicle if the MOT is to expire before the tax starts. Convenient that it works in their favour though.....
Anyway, just another example of their incompetance!
Cheers,
Will