A grieving widow has been convicted over an unpaid £35 car tax bill on her deceased husband’s vehicle, a "slip-up" that occurred just weeks after his passing. The 51-year-old woman was pursued by the DVLA after failing to pay the £35.84 vehicle tax for her late husband’s Jaguar, which came into her possession last July.
In her defence, she wrote a letter explaining that she does not drive, has never owned a car, and the oversight happened while she was in mourning and making funeral arrangements. However, her detailed account of the circumstances was not enough to prevent a criminal conviction. The case was brought through the controversial fast-track Single Justice Procedure (SJP) courts, leading to the ruling against her.
“At the time of the offence, my husband had recently passed away,” the widow wrote, in a letter to Barrow-in-Furness Magistrates’ Court.
“This was an extremely distressing and overwhelming period in my life.
“I was grieving while also dealing with funeral arrangements and many urgent administrative matters following his death.
“I do not drive and I have never previously owned a vehicle myself.
“I have very limited understanding of vehicle tax requirements and legal procedures.
“English is not my first language, and I struggle to fully understand official correspondence.
“During this very difficult time, I did my best to manage everything correctly, but I became confused about the vehicle tax and SORN requirements.
“The vehicle was not used on any public road and was kept parked at my home address at all times.
“There was absolutely no intention to avoid paying vehicle tax or to break the law. As soon as I understood the situation, I took steps to correct it.”
The widow, from near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, entered a guilty plea in writing, and was sentenced by magistrate Dawn Towart to a six-month conditional discharge with an order to pay £85 in costs and the £35.84 car tax bill.
The magistrate opted to convict the woman and pass sentence rather than refer the case back to the DVLA to check if the prosecution remained in the public interest.
The DVLA has supported the idea of SJP reform, so that prosecutors automatically see letters sent to the courts in mitigation, potentially containing key information on the circumstances of an alleged offence.
The Government conducted a consultation on possible changes to the system, but has not taken any action in the year that has passed since it sought views on reform.
At her annual press conference on Tuesday, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr was asked how the public can have confidence in the work of magistrates in the Single Justice Procedure, when hearings are conducted behind closed doors instead of in open court, and it has a habit of regularly producing convictions for extremely vulnerable people over unpaid household bills.
She revealed that a top judge has conducted a “nuts and bolts” review of the SJP system in the wake of concerns about how it was operating.
She did not reveal the results of the audit and said decisions on the way the system itself operates are for politicians to answer, but stated: “The judges are applying the law as it applies.”
