Evening all..

Advice required regarding DVLA / V5s and SORN - so here goes :

When I bought my Fury chassis (back in 2008.. still not finished) second hand, the guy also gave me a V5 and a chassis plate for the Mk2 Escort 'donor' (which amounted to an axle, front uprights and that was all.). I registered this 'car' to me, got the V5 back and since then both V5 and chassis plate have sat in my drawer ever since. Forgotten about.

So tonight (five years on) I find these things and decide to register it SORN on the DVLA website; In so doing a warning message flags up that as the car was last taxed in 1995 there is an offence committed... they may investigate etc etc..

Enough to scare me a bit so I cancelled the declaration without completing the process.

So what is best course of action - Speak to someone in the DVLA and ask for their advice - or just do nothing?

Ideally I would want to use the V5 and chassis plate to try for an age-related reg when I get to the IVA test / paperwork stage of the build later this year, but a bit concerned as what to do. Really don't want to get fined.

Any advice welcome here !

Thanks in advance
Richard

[Edited on 24/7/13 by dickie b]

Meant to add that in all that time I did not ever get a SORN reminder or tax reminder or any such missive from the DVLA.

Which was a bit odd..

It all depends when the donor Escort was last MOT'd. I recently applied for my tax disc on-line and it also said I had committed an offence as there was a gap and no sorn, but my last MOT for the kitten was before the law changed so it didn't attract sorn. When I bought it as a restoration project I sent away log book and tried to register as sorn, but heard and received nothing so rang dvla and a kind lady explained it didn't need sorn until its next tax disc expires. Hope this helps.

SORN was introduced in 1998 as far as I can remember and any vehicle that was untaxed/offroad at the introduction date was not subject to SORN until it is put back onto the road again, so you dont need to SORN it.

My 1977 CB750 is exactly the same , last taxed in 1991, never sorned, I contacted DVLA and they confirmed it was less hassle to leave it as it is until / if I ever put it back on the road.

I found myself in the same boat as yourself and has been said,

A SORN applies to all vehicles taxed on or after 31 January 1998, including those vehicles which tax does not have to be paid for (for example, vehicles in the historic or disabled tax class).

(DVLA form INS107 available online as a PDF)

So - the last TAX was before 1998 - you do not have a problem. When you have gone through the IVA process and send the paperwork to DVLA, they will retain the old V5 when they give you a registration number and the old vehicle will be taken off the records.

I asked them about this before - they said that the change in regested keepers ment I might need to SORN it (off the road before 98) - but it was upto the local office what they did about it - i.e. they are making it up as they go

so I submitted a SORN with the change of owner on the V5, got the new v5 in few weeks and nothing said about the SORN....

the next year I though I'd better renew the SORN, tried online and the automated phone thing - in the end I eventually got to talk to a real person who told me "the computer wouldn't let me put a SORN as its been off the road since 1984" - so the DVLA is staffed by morons who lie to you !


the fact is your 'car' was off the road in 98 and has never been back on the road - so you don't need a SORN


oh and I also found out that there is no requirement for them to send out SORN reminders

[Edited on 25/7/2013 by mcerd1]

Aha - feeling much better about this now! Thanks for all your advice on this.

Cheers
Richard