Walking around my home town in Norfolk the other day I noticed 8 cars – all wheel clamped with UNPAID VEHICLE tax notices on their windscreens. These drivers have been caught with out of date car tax. It’s an offence to keep a vehicle on the UK roads without valid vehicle tax – or declaring SORN (statutory off road notice). Don’t join these drivers and face considerable fines. If you don’t know if your car has valid vehicle tax use our free car tax checker.
Who Clamped these Cars?
Only the following authorised bodies can wheel clamp a vehicle – including:
- the police
- councils
- DVLA
- VOSA
- bodies with statutory or other powers (e.g. airports or train stations)
What’s the penalty?
At the time of writing this post – the minimum release fee is £100 if settled within 24 hours. After 24 hours it goes up to £200. As well as the FINE the driver has to either buy vehicle tax or declare the vehicle SORN. If the car has been impounded the daily storage charge is £21 – in addition to the £100/£200 fine. More details can be found at the DVLA Notice Payment System (external link)
What happens if the fine is NOT paid?
Simply put, if a driver fails to pay the fine they will receive a letter informing them that their car will be sold / disposed unless all fees are paid. In addition to losing the vehicle, the owner could also be fined a further £1000
Check it now
It’s simple and it’s free – pop over to our car tax checker to get an update on your vehicle tax status.
Get a Clamp Removed
What to do if your car’s Clamped
When a vehicle is clamped due to unpaid vehicle tax a sticker and leaflet should be left on your windscreen. The leaflet is an INF32 and it gives details fo the telephone number to call to have the wheel clamp removed. An example of an INF32 (pdf file) > inf_32-unpaid-vehicle-tax
What if it’s been impounded
If your vehicle has been removed and taken to a pound then you should follow these guidelines –
- find out where your vehicle is
- pay a release fee
- show confirmation or a receipt to prove you’ve paid your vehicle tax
If you don’t know where your car is – contact your local police station by calling 101 and asking for your local police. Alternatively call the NSL on 0843 224 1999 (up to 7p / minute plus connection fees on mobile)
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More Information on clamp removal / vehicle recovery
To find out more about having a wheel clamp removed or recovering your car following removal please visit the DVLA – get a wheel clamp removed …
External References
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