A housebound and partially blind 83-year-old pensioner has been taken to court after she failed to tax her late husband’s car while she mourned his death.
The older woman, who has never driven, was prosecuted by police DVLA about an unpaid bill for a Volkswagen Touran after it was transferred into her name last April.
The pensioner told the court she did not understand the rules surrounding car ownership because her husband had handled all the bills during their 64-year marriage.
She said the VW was registered in her name by her daughter’s partner in the hope it could be used in the future to take her to hospital appointments, but she never used the car and it has now been scrapped.
Details of the case were heard in the controversial Single Justice Procedure (SJP), a fast-track judicial procedure used for low-level criminal cases.
The Reading widow was convicted after entering a written plea of guilty.
She wrote in her letter: ‘My husband of 64 years passed away on December 30, 2024, at which time he was the registered keeper of the vehicle.
A housebound and partially blind 83-year-old pensioner has been taken to court after failing to tax her late husband’s car (Birmingham Magistrates’ Court pictured)
‘The vehicle was then transferred into my name by my daughter’s partner in early April last year as the hope was that one day I would be able to benefit from using the vehicle to get to hospital appointments etc.
“Although this gesture was in good faith, I did not really understand my responsibilities for the vehicle as my late husband took care of such matters throughout our married life.
‘I do not drive and have several disabilities that leave me housebound (including partially sighted) and therefore never understood that I was the registered keeper and the responsibilities this entails.’
She told the court her daughter’s partner had applied for a statutory off-road notification (SORN), adding: ‘I still have no idea what this means.’
The pensioner said the VW was then spotted on the road while being taken for ‘assessment/repair’, leading to prosecution.
She continues: ‘I am an 83-year-old disabled lady who has never had a driver’s license and therefore has no understanding of the motor vehicle tax process.
‘I was grieving for my husband of 64 years, without being aware of the situation around me.’
Magistrate Dr Stephanie Smith, sitting at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, decided not to ask the DVLA to reconsider whether the charges should be dropped.
Instead, the pensioner received an outright discharge rather than a fine and was ordered to pay £242.92 in unpaid tax by mid-September.
The DVLA, which brings thousands of SJP prosecutions every week, told a consultation on court reform last year that prosecutors should automatically review all mitigation letters before cases go before a magistrate.
The SJP allows magistrates to hear cases in private and has faced scrutiny over prosecutions involving elderly and vulnerable suspects.
The Justice Department has said the SJP’s proposed reforms will be presented “soon.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told the Press Association that any instance of injustice damages public confidence and could “bring the courts into disrepute.”
