Crime Solicitors

The corporate director of London Councils is warning that the abolition of vehicle tax discs at the end of September could result in “chaos” for some motorists – especially if their vehicle has been cloned.

Nick Lester said that the DVLA – which issues tax discs – has “not thought this through”.

“There is an issue about whether the car genuinely was where the enforcements officer said it was – and this is a problem with cloned cars and ringers,” said Mr Lester.

“If someone gets a ticket and they insist the car has been cloned, the serial number on the tax disc removes all doubt – if the vehicle has been cloned, it’s got a different tax disc number. It’s a very useful check.

“It’s going to be much harder to prove if the vehicle was there or not,” he added.

Vehicle excise duty raises around £6 billion annually for the Exchequer – and the DVLA claims that abolishing hard copies of vehicle tax discs in favour of electronic registration could save millions of pounds in administration costs.

The paper tax disc will be obsolete from 1 October and drivers will be entered onto an electronic database instead. The vehicle tax registration will follow the driver – so if a vehicle is sold, it is sold without tax and the seller will receive a vehicle tax rebate if the registration has not expired, which has to be applied for.

Motorists who have not paid their car tax will be identified by their number plate using CCTV and the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system already in place across the country.

However, local councils say that if a car has been cloned, motorists could, in theory, be left with a penalty notice which they did not incur.

Director of the RAC Foundation, Professor Stephen Glaister, said:

“There is no excuse for a lack of awareness over what the government itself regards as such a major change.

“Surely an appropriate amount of the £6bn could be spent on keeping the nation’s 36 million drivers informed?”

The DVLA says that it is working hard to keep motorists up-to-date with the changes and messages are appearing on correspondence being sent to motorists who are renewing their vehicle tax. More information is also available at the GOV.UK website.

The DVLA also commented that criminals can already clone paper tax discs – and is advising motorists who think their vehicle has been cloned to contact the police or the parking authorities.

Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers – Motoring Offences

Duncan Lewis crime lawyers can advise at any stage of a charge relating to motoring offences, including speeding offences, driving without insurance, DUI, causing death by careless driving, causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, or driving a stolen vehicle.

Duncan Lewis crime lawyers are available 24/7, 365 days a year and regularly visit police stations, courts and prisons to advise on criminal charges, including motoring offences.

For expert legal help with criminal charges and representation, contact Duncan Lewis crime lawyers on 020 7923 4020.

For out-of-hours legal advice on crime charges and representation at a police station during questioning under caution, call the Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers Out-of-Hours Hotline on 07920 077057.