Car tax dodging – a crushing experience

  • Published
  • By Staff Reports
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency is cracking down on car tax evaders, and are using various initiatives to ensure people pay up or pay the penalty.

According to the DVLA Web site, a survey estimated that there are 1.55 million unlicensed vehicles in Great Britain.

If you fail to tax your vehicle, you will receive a fine; however, if the vehicle is identified as not taxed, and is parked on a public highway, the DVLA has the authority to take it away and clamp - or crush - it. 

If the vehicle is crushed, you cannot claim for compensation, according to Tracey Cooper, 100th Air Refueling Wing Legal Office British liaison officer.

"Every car in the U.K. must either have current road tax or have a Statutory Off-Road Notice - there is no exception for members of the visiting forces (i.e. the U.S. Air Force)," she said.

Tax discs can be renewed either at the local British post office or online. You will need your current MoT, car insurance and V-5 form, which will have been sent to you by the DVLA, about two weeks prior to your tax expiring.

The registered keeper of the vehicle is responsible for taxing it or informing the DVLA that it is being kept off road (by making a SORN), or has been sold, scrapped or exported.

For those with new cars, taxing them for the first time, documents should be taken to 100th Security Forces Pass and Registration, who will send off the documents for you, and personnel will receive the car tax directly from the DVLA, usually within a couple of weeks.

"If your vehicle is towed away or impounded, you'll need to pay a fee of 160 pounds to release it, plus any storage charges of 15 pounds per day - as well as producing a valid tax disc or surety payment," Ms. Cooper said. "You could also face prosecution, with fines up to 1,000 pounds, as well as paying any arrears of vehicle tax owed, plus costs."

Unclaimed vehicles are crushed after seven days.

Ms. Cooper added that release penalties for clamped vehicles are high; 80 pounds, and a valid tax disc must be produced. If a tax disc can't be produced, a surety -- 120 pounds for a car or motorcycle and 600 pounds for other vehicles) must be paid before the vehicle can be released. The surety payment is forfeited if a valid tax isn't produced within two weeks.

Editor's note: For more information, call Ms. Cooper at 238-3202 or visit the DVLA Web site at www.dvla.gov.uk