dvla

[Kathyan]

If, as the adverts tell us, the DVLA only has to look on their computer to see if your car is taxed, why are there apparently 2 million untaxed cars on the road?

[david21]

I know what you mean kathyan,i paid �150 to tax my car in january(on my visa as i'm skint after christmas)but there are two car's in my street,one with no disc and the other expired oct'06,so do i be a ******* and report them or like myself ,try to think of other people struggling topay bill's and keep a car on the road.

[Disco Fever]

http://forms.dvla.gov.uk/public/unlic_veh/repo rt_online_dg.htm

Use this link to report them. A neighbour of mine goes to church every week but his tax disc ran out at the end of January so I reported him, I have to pay for a disc then so can he....

[Kathyan]

Well, to be honest, I don't have to pay road tax as I'm disabled but if I did have to pay it, I would. It just seems strange to me that they supposedly know where these cars are, but do nothing about them. Or do they really know?

[kwicky]

Maybe there are many cars with false or cloned number plates. You could walk around an area look for an identical vehicle to yours and copy its number plate. Any check on this vehicle by checking its number plate would say it to be valid.

[Llamatron]

They don't know about you if you've never had insurance, road tax etc.

[carys220]

I was thinking when watching this advert - couldn't you just declare the car 'off the road' then carry on driving without tax (until the community support officers catch up with you), but surely this is a flaw.

[Toureman]

It' simply because the untaxed cars are not registered with the DVLA, if it's not registered with them it's not on the computer.

[chazza]

People might complete a SORN form and claim that they are keeping the car on their property but not driving it, but then drive.

The DVLA will be able to look on their computers and see that this is an untaxed car, which is legal, but they won't be able to tell whether it is on the road or not (illegal)

[Loosehead]

They can tell if a car is taxed but if it's not registered to anyone then unless they are actually stopped by the police there is very little that can be done. There are millions of cars in this situation. I could go to an auction tomorrow, pay cah and walk away, then drive it until it breaks with no tax/inurance/mot. The only way I get caught is if I get stopped by an actual policeman. That's what the 2 million are. The new system of having insurance tax etc registered at DVLA is really still in it's transition phase but before long the police will be able to drive down a street and read all the number plate electronically and be alerted when a non taxed/insurance car is encountered.

[vehelpfulguy]

Many people buy cheap cars at auctions, pay cash, and give a false name and address.

They never fill in the form to say they own it so the car is driving around with no owner.

So they need no tax, no insurance, no MOT, and if they get caught speeding there is nowhere to send the ticket to.

You can only get done if the DVLA know you are the owner, if you never declare you are the owner you can drive for free.

This is why it important to report ANY car you see with no road tax as they probably have not got insurance either. Also important to give the address of the person who drives it.

[kwicky]

Its not just at auctions that a problem can occur. Any private sale requires the seller to notify the DLVA of the purchaser. If that person is false the car disappears into the ether.