Vocal Voices

I might have mentioned the problems with DVLA when my bike was scrapped after the accident. It took a couple of goes and more than a few phone calls to get them to accept that the bike was scrapped and being broken for spares. One of the last letters was to inform me that I faced a fine of £1,000 if I did not submit a SORN. The following phone call got them to admit that a SORN had indeed been received and that the letter had probably been sent while the SORN was being processed. I was told to forget the threat and that an acknowledgement letter to that effect would be sent. That letter duly arrived.

Today I received a court summons from DVLA for not insuring the scrapped bike. The long phone call I have had was llike banging my head against the wall. DVLA can do nothing as the file has been sent to the Courts Service, I have to deal with them. The Magistrate's Court dealing with the case is in Swansea. Regardless of how I plea (NOT GUILTY your Honour) the court will sit in my absence unless I attend.

I made sure that the call was being recorded then informed the young lady that:

* I charge £50 per hour with a minimum of five hours
* I will be making a claim for travel to and from accommodation and food during my stay in Swansea - minimum of one night.
* I require copies of all written communications between me and the DVLA
* I require copies of all recordings between me and DVLA staff
* I require the name and seniority of the DVLA staff member who will represent them in court for questioning

The last three are to be with me at least seven working days before the case goes to court.

I made sure that she understood.

These bast***s do not frighten me one bit and I am not going to let them get away with their threats arising from their own inefficiency.

Ho gosh wm good luck it would scare me
But it's totally there fault I agree and taxpayers money

Good luck with it all WM xx

Might be a good idea to write to the clerk of the court in Swansea and explain the situation, the action you are taking and the likely end result. Also that you may need a FOI request to recover the recordings and paperwork and that you may require more time to prepare before you come to court.

At least let them be aware that you are most certainly not guilty, will be providing a robust defense and that you may need time to prepare it. It's what a Lawyer would do for you if you employed one.

No need to go to Swansea more than once if you don't need to. Although the expenses claim could be quite good if you do have to go more than once.

Personally I'd try to avoid it.

The last time I was almost taken to court by T-Mobile I contacted the debt collector and gave them the details of my submission to the small claims court for the repayment of the money I had already paid them due to breech of contract. The fact that the contract was verbal and not written is of no consequence in law for the problem I had. I did get all of my money back from T-Mobile and was able to keep the 3g stick I had "bought" with my contract...

I find that a few proactive steps in law can help a lot when you are in the right.

Well, I am not letting this go, thanks for the best wishes and for those tips, Suff, something to be getting on with.

British government bureaucracy at its absolute worst. I hope you get both a written apology and compensation from the b*ggers, WM.

Bloody hell, Frank, what idiots!!!!! Wishing you all the best with this, we're all here with a shoulder and a listening ear if you need us!!! xxxxx

Keep us posted Frank, these Government departments are all the same. I am still waiting 16 months later for a reply to my 7 page letter to complaint to the Court of Protection

Shell, they are impossible to deal with. The call centre staff have no authority to deal with your/my complaint, and they are prevented from putting you up the line to someone who can.

I have no idea about what your problem is but mine could be sorted in seconds, but no, their systems demand ours to be treated in one way - so be it.

You have had a long wait. Get back to them and fight. It will be your only way.

Blimee WM. What a damn cheek.

Might it not be a good idea to let The Daily Mail know about it?