SORN Warning

[Yorkie]

I did the SORN declaration online and was told that I had committed an offence because it had not been taxed or SORNed since 2009. If they try to fine me or whatever I will say in mitigation that the oversight was due to the failure of DVLA to send reminders but I thought I would pass this on to urge other UK members to check the taxation situation of any unused vehicles they may own.
He who can, does. He who cannot, moderates.

You use the term 'mitigation' and it's important to understand the difference between a 'defence' which might eneable a finding of not guilty to a charge, and that of 'mitigation', which is not a 'defence' - it's an explanation of the circumstances in which an offence was committed, which - if accepted by a court -would lessen the penatly that would otherwise have been imposed.

Unfotunately, this type of offence (SORN) is known as an 'absolute offence' - an offence of 'strict liability', which means that it isn't necessary for the DVLA to prove that the offence was committed with criminal intent. Basically, whether it was an oversight or misundersanding, or done with criminal intent, the outcome is the same - if you've done it, you've done it. Examples are speeding, no insurance, no excise licence/SORN, not MOT. Another example is no TV licence.

Examples of how people might unwittingly commit such offences would be when someone is bereaved and their spouse had always looked after household affairs, and they're in a muddle trying to sort things out. Or you move house, and though you'd notified the insurance company of your change of address, they'd failed to send your renewal notice to your new abode, and with so much going on in your life, your insurance expires, and you genuinely forget that it was due for renewal. It might reduce the fine if the explanation is accepted, (as it probably would be in a Magistrates' Court if you had no such previous convictions and are of good character), but it wouldn't stop six penalty points being imposed, or - if you tot to 12 points - a possible disqualification.

SORN offences carry a fixed penalty of £80.00, so any mitigation would have no bearing on that, any more than it would a fixed penalty parking fine. You don't, as I see it, have a defence, but you do have an explanation. I think that the the best way to try to avoid a fine is to ensure that before such a notice is issued, you give the fullest explanation - that the vehicle is off the road, unroadworthy, is a classic vehicle - not for daily transport, and that you have other vehicles that you use, which are taxed and insured, so have no need or intention to use the vehicle. Also, that it was you who brought the matter to the attention of the DVLA when you realised the oversight, doing what you had to do right away, to correct the oversight. That might be sufficient for them to not issue the notice.

Personally, I wouldn't wait to see what happens, wondering with each new day whether or not a fine notice will appear on your doormat - I'd take the initiative and drop them a line, outlining the circumstances. The SORN system was of course brought in to reduce evasion and related offences, because invariably, it's not just the tax, it's the fact that to tax a vehicle requires that it has insurance and an MOT, and many if not most, untaxed vehicles don't have insurance or an MOT. Unfortunately, others such as yourself, get ensnared in all of this.

Hope that helps a bit.

David