Pulled with out of date tax/insurance

RoverCraft wrote: »

If you're going to state that you "can tell you exactly", at least be accurate when you state specifics in terms of fines, points and so on. CharlieCroker is a man 'in the know' and what he has stated is correct in terms of the penalties which may be applied to the OP.

There's a difference between an insurer agreeing to renew a policy which may have lapsed for a period of a few days, on the basis the policy holder had understood it would renew automatically (I've personal experience of this happening with Quinn), and agreeing to back date a policy where the original policy had expired months beforehand.

Quinn Direct will not back date insurance for a new policy application. No insurer will, despite whatever pubtalk you might have heard. Insurance companies won't provide anyone with a way to get around the illegality of having driven with no insurance in place - it's not in their interest to facilitate people that are clearly prepared to take unacceptable risks, which is what the OP did. I'm just calling a spade a spade.

There's no way to avoid a court appearance in your case OP, and it really comes down to the court now to apply whatever penalties they believe appropriate. If the cover on the vehicle was only a few days out, you might have stood a chance of some understanding from the judge in terms of how heavy handed they'd have been, perhaps even avoiding a disqualification if you were suitably represented and had put cover in place immediately. A period of 6 months out of cover is too much though, and I'm pretty sure you realise that yourself.

So in practical terms you're most likely going to have some fines to pay, points on your license and a ban of unspecified duration plus the associated endorsement on your license for 3 years from the disqualification dates. For most people that'll rule out obtaining any kind of affordable insurance, as the loading is pretty severe in terms of premium. Failure to disclose an endorsement or disqualification can be used to void your insurance (and it would, make no mistake) in the event of an accident, so you just have to consider the fact you'll not be driving for a good while after your court appearance, unless you've money to burn.

Again in practical terms this means you've to start considering your own situation. Think about how you get to college/work, the nature of your work in terms of whether you've to travel and how you'll get around, along with the possible impact in terms of limiting your job choices for the short to medium term.

It's a tough situation to face into, but it's not the end of the world. Make a few practical plans now to limit how much of an impact it has on your day to day plans.

In relation to the car being impounded, get it out today if you can. You'll either need to back tax the car and have a properly insured driver collect it for you, or you can have a recovery company take it home for you. The costs can mount up quickly if you don't act now.

Hope that's some practical help and advice for you.

And I know it goes without saying, but don't ever take the chance again. You're being penalised now on the basis of the very real hardship and damage you could have caused and done to other people on the roads.