A strange thing happened recently, I thought I would pass it on

I was recently given a Mk5 Escort GTI fitted with a 1.8 Zetec engine. ( Currently breaking it )

As it was a friend who gave it to me & the Tax just run out, I asked him if he had declared SORN on the car ( He's useless at remembering things like that )

True to form he hadn't even thought about it

Being a mate, I said I would do it for him, only takes a few seconds online ( at least his ass would be covered ).

He signed the V5 & gave it to me to sort .... Before I get slated, I know it is the registered keepers legal duty to notify DVLA of any changes.
But mates is mates & all that

As soon as I got home on the Saturday morning, went online & SORN'ed the Escort, received an automated confirmation Email from DVLA.

First thing Monday morning I sent the completed V5 off to DVLA.
Change of keeper & Mondays date as the date of change.

About a week later, the new V5 turned up in the post as expected.

Now here's the rub, for some unknown reason I went to DVLA's web site to make a vehicle enquiry on the Escort & to my surprise the vehicles status was " SORN expired "

Needless to say, I soon sorted that out.

Had I not checked DVLA's records, I would have been oblivious to the fact that SORN ends when the vehicle changes hands & the new keeper has to do it again !!??

The first I would have known about it would have been when the fine arrived in the post.

Some of you may know this but it was news to me.

Moral of the story, if you buy a donor car that is currently on SORN, when the V5 arrives, you'll need to declare SORN as soon as possible otherwise a fixed penalty notice will be arriving in the not too distant future !!??

Thats a bit rich ..... They should put something in with the v5 informing you that the vehicle has been SORN'd or that the vehicle needs to be reSORN'd.

Suspect / hope based on my experience with them if they 'did you' and you contacted them they'd rescind the fine.

flippin eck, never realised this?

I have just bought a bike project thats currently SORN, was my understanding that it lasted until it expired, transferred like a tax disc

A new SORN has to be applied for at any change of owner OR address. I think you'll find it in the T+Cs when you apply in the first place... so they did inform you; Well thats thier argument anyway.

Sounds about right. I sold a car last year around September, V5 changed and all that. Received a letter saying they now know it is not registered to me any more. About 2 weeks ago I received a reminder to say that the SORN or Tax was about to expire!!

Why the hell did the system send me a letter to say I don't have the car then send me another to renew the SORN or TAX???

Beggers belief

quote:

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Originally posted by tony-devon
flippin eck, never realised this?

I have just bought a bike project thats currently SORN, was my understanding that it lasted until it expired, transferred like a tax disc

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cheers, I did check it when I bought the bike, printed the info out, sent the V5 off on Saturday, so be interesting to see what it says if I check online when the new V5 comes to me in my name

any and every loophole that they can use to get money out of you.

I did get done for SORN on one of my classic bikes, what pissed me off was that the road tax is free, I argued, said I had sent it, and that was that.

left it and left it, never heard anymore about it

I find it interesting that you have to tell the licencing authorities when you take a car off the road.

In the rural area I live in most farms have one or two old vehicles out the back that haven't been licenced in years, or just abandoned.

Nice to know - thanks for making the effort to share it with us.