h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Recieved a summons this morning. Apparantly the DVLA didn't get my letter explaining to them that my car was scrapped 2 yrs ago and the relevent documents got sent to them at the time. They're saying that they didn't recive the original documents or the letter explaining the dates/scrapper involved and of course being naive I didn't keep a copy of the letters. I'm now being threatened with up to £1000 fine + £45 expenses. If I plead guilty I don't have to turn up in the magistrates court next week, if I plead not guilty I have to turn up and hire a solicitor and I might still end up paying the fine.

All this for a crappy old metro that was falling apart at the seams.

do you have copy of letter to DVLA as proof?

No

lesson for next time
make copy of the letter and may be the envellope with stamp
and send it registered mail. the costs outway the fines

Already noted - we're looking into getting a photo copier/scanner/printer thingy to keep our own records from now on.

Can you remember where you had it scrapped? They should have a record of the date. That might help you out of a bit of trouble.

I hope that things go ok for you.

Yeah...I've got hubby's dad on the case, he's going to ring up and ask what is going on. It looks like I'll plead guilty and send a letter explaining the circumstances (and the details that I sent in my letter originally). Hopefully it will all turn out ok - it just annoys me that everything is geared towards making me plead guilty

Hubby's dad has been on the phone (what an ) parrantly the £25 fine letter for not telling them immediately that the car was scrapped (even though I did and they just lost the details/they got lost in the post) apparantly went astray...either in the post or because the car was registered at my parents house and it didn't get forwarded on.

The reckons that pleading guilty with a letter will only incur the £25 original fine + £45 legal costs + around £25 don't do it again fine...£90...could be worse (when my dad said it had arrived and was on it's way down to us I assumed it was a speeding fine so I've already mentally parted with £60).

Thanks everyone...having a sh*tty week anyway (bloody A level results making work chaos) and this just put me over the edge

You read my mind - just got back from the chocolate machine with my lunch

Here's some more

poor you if i were you i'd plead not guilty just out of principal-a lot of solicitors now don't ask you to pay if you then get found not guilty, which you should do by the sound of things.
r.e thursday-bet i'm having a much worse time than you just worrying about it!! plus i had a blood test last week which i get the results of tomoro, which is also quite nailbiting!

Thanks

Feeling a lot better now...accepting my guilt and resigned to my future life as a criminal

Hubby is having trouble with the DVLA at the mo too - really feeling very anti-large-swansea-based-government-agencies.

Re Results - the waiting is far worse than even the worst results...my sister was killing herself with worry, then got her results and completely mucked up (she was predicted 3 Bs and got 3Es and a B in general studies), heart sunk initially but once she started doing something about it things started to get better...she got into her insurance choice even though she missed her offer by about 6 grades (ok so admittedly it was Wolverhampton University but she had a great time there, met her husband and settled in the area - she's just been promoted at work into a much better job and is expecting a baby) I asked her the other day about her results day and she reckons that it was one of the best things that ever happened to her (compared to me who met my firm offer dead on and then hated it so much I switched after a year).

(Oh and if it makes you feel any better/reassured Soton has got places on it's Law course available through clearing - it's been a really bad yr for the big 20 (including KCL) so even a dropped grade or two might still be ok to get in)

PS don't get paranoid about all the "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" speil, we don't get the results for applicants who didn't accept an offer so I'm not speaking from a position of knowledge...just general paranoia

Hope the blood test turns out how you want...I remember the nerves when hubby got tested to see if he had what he'd been diagnosed with 7 yrs ago...the possibility it was something else was insanely worrying.

my dads a magistrate, and he says you can make a statutory declaration, which is where you swear in court on oath that you sent the dvla a letter. they then decide whether its worth prosecuting, and he reckons they wont. hope it works
my blood test came back clear, which is good in a way, but it means i can't do anything about feeling tired, which is not so good.

Oooh *takes notes "statutory declaration"*

The only problem is that the hearing is next Wednesday up in Liverpool so I'd have to use up my last days holiday and spend £60 on petrol to get up there...it might work out cheaper to pay the fine...and of course if I went up to liverpool I'd have to tell my mum and dad about it (probably not a great idea atm - my dad is still recovering from setting himself on fire a month or so ago and my mum is always on the brink of exploding due to stress).

And as for the blood test ...nothing worse than not knowing what's going on...hubby was always a bit odd but it was only when the doctors did the pre-tests to stick a metal rod in his spine that they finally realised it wasn't just the wobbly back that made him fall over. My grandma had to have an endoscopy (while conscious) not long ago...it didn't show anything up and it ruled out a few things and eventually she got better on her own but even though the test was good news it put her on a downer for weeks because there was still no solid facts.

Yeah, I'm feeling very anti-large-swansea-based-government-agencies too.

Just got one of those new-fangled photo licence things. They put your name, DOB and ADDRESS on it for everyone to see!

I don't want everyone knowing my address. We hermits need privacy in our boltholes.