Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency was right to impose a late licensing penalty

What happened

Mrs B says that she told DVLA that she had sold her car but she did not get an acknowledgement from it. Without the acknowledgement, Mrs B remained responsible for the car. On a number of occasions, DVLA wrote to remind Mrs B that she needed to tax the car. Mrs B says she wrote to DVLA and tried to telephone them to explain that she had sold the car. DVLA says it did not hear from Mrs B and it issued a late licensing penalty of £80. Mrs B disputed the penalty because she said she had notified DVLA that she was no longer responsible for the car.

What we found

We looked at the law and guidance around transferring vehicles and we also looked at the information Mrs B and DVLA gave us.

Mrs B had a responsibility to let DVLA know that she had sold her car, and to telephone DVLA if she did not receive an acknowledgement within four weeks. While Mrs B said she had let DVLA know, we found no evidence that DVLA had heard from her. Without an acknowledgement from DVLA, Mrs B was still liable for the car.

We found no evidence to support Mrs B's claims that she contacted DVLA as she said, and we could find no evidence to show that DVLA received any contact from Mrs B before it issued the late licensing penalty. It was therefore reasonable for DVLA to impose the penalty. We found no maladministration on the part of DVLA, and we did not uphold Mrs B's complaint.