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 by the Single Justice Process.
Not solely is he annoyed with the way in which the system operated, he worries in regards to the long-term implications of a felony conviction over such a comparatively minor offence.
“It’s silly – I couldn’t imagine it. I’ve now turn out to be a felony over £4”, he stated.
David had by no means been prosecuted by the SJP earlier than he obtained a letter in October 2024 from the DVLA, accusing him of being the keeper of an unlicensed car 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 large day, a primary car that she might journey on their personal 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 right the error.
“The car was by no means insured for use on the street and was by no means used on the street”, he instructed the courtroom.
He believed that might be the tip of the matter, however in October a discover of meant prosecution arrived within the publish.
“I assumed what a pathetic waste of your time and my time, over a couple of quid as a result of I didn’t register it”, he stated. “I don’t really feel that each one this money and time needs to be wasted on such a trivial offence.
“The DVLA might have simply despatched me a invoice for the £4.17 with some curiosity. I’d have been comfortable and apologetic paying. This appears a bit a lot and an entire waste of the courtroom’s useful time.
“I’m certain that there are way more applicable makes use of of our tax cash than making criminals of good individuals who did make a foolish mistake.”
David instructed The Normal he felt the SJP course of – handled totally in written correspondence – handled him as “responsible till confirmed harmless”, with no possibility to barter with the DVLA to keep away from a conviction.
Because of the fast-track nature of the courtroom 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 courtroom.
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 an important subject to me, and throughout £4”, he stated.
As for the motorcycle, David says the birthday current for his daughter is tainted, and she or he is left with the unhappy feeling “daddy’s acquired a felony document from it”.
