David Oldham, a rigging engineer from Basildon in Essex, purchased a birthday shock of a brand new motorcycle for his daughter.
However because of a slip-up on the paperwork, he did not pay £4.17 to the DVLA after which discovered himself being prosecuted via the Single Justice Process.
Not solely is he annoyed with the best way the system operated, he worries in regards to the long-term implications of a legal conviction over such a comparatively minor offence.
“It’s silly – I couldn’t imagine it. I’ve now develop into a legal over £4”, he stated.
David had by no means been prosecuted via the SJP earlier than he acquired a letter in October 2024 from the DVLA, accusing him of being the keeper of an unlicensed automobile between April 1 and Might 11, 2024.
He purchased the Blueroc motorcycle for his daughter’s birthday and hid it away in a lock-up till the massive day, a primary automobile that she might journey on their non-public land.
The 52-year-old father-of-three says it slipped his thoughts that he wanted to get a Statutory Off-Street Notification (SORN) for the bike, and realised the error solely when an preliminary letter arrived from the DVLA. He instantly went on-line to appropriate the error.
“The automobile was by no means insured for use on the highway and was by no means used on the highway”, he advised the court docket.
He believed that might be the tip of the matter, however in October a discover of supposed prosecution arrived within the submit.
“I assumed what a pathetic waste of your time and my time, over a number of quid as a result of I didn’t register it”, he stated. “I don’t really feel that every one this money and time must be wasted on such a trivial offence.
“The DVLA might have simply despatched me a invoice for the £4.17 with some curiosity. I might have been pleased and apologetic paying. This appears a bit a lot and a whole waste of the court docket’s precious time.
“I’m certain that there are much more applicable makes use of of our tax cash than making criminals of good individuals who did make a foolish mistake.”
David advised The Customary he felt the SJP course of – handled completely in written correspondence – handled him as “responsible till confirmed harmless”, with no possibility to barter with the DVLA to keep away from a conviction.
As a result of fast-track nature of the court docket course of, the DVLA seemingly didn’t learn his letter of mitigation, explaining the error he had made and his willingness to settle out of court docket.
He works within the leisure trade, with common journeys to the US, and fears for the influence of a conviction on his functions for visa. “It’s a vital problem to me, and throughout £4”, he stated.
As for the motorcycle, David says the birthday current for his daughter is tainted, and he or she is left with the unhappy feeling “daddy’s acquired a legal file from it”.
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