Grieving widow prosecuted over unpaid £35 bill on dead husband’s car
A grieving widow has been sentenced over an unpaid £35 car tax bill on her deceased husband’s vehicle; this was a “slippage” that occurred just a few weeks after her husband passed away. The 51-year-old woman was pursued by the DVLA after she failed to pay the £35.84 vehicle tax on her late husband’s Jaguar, which she acquired last July.
In his defense, he wrote a letter explaining that he did not drive, had never owned a car, and that this surveillance occurred while he was grieving and making funeral arrangements. But his detailed account of the circumstances was not enough to avoid a criminal conviction. The case was brought through the controversial fast-track Single Justice Procedure (SJP) courts, leading to a ruling against him.
“My husband had recently passed away at the time of the crime,” the widow wrote in a letter to Barrow-in-Furness Magistrates’ Court.
“This was an extremely sad and depressing time in my life.
“I was also grieving after his death, dealing with funeral arrangements and many urgent administrative tasks.
“I don’t drive and have never owned a car before.
“I have very limited knowledge of vehicle tax requirements and legal procedures.
“English is not my native language and I have difficulty fully understanding official correspondence.
“I have done my best to manage everything correctly during this very difficult period but I am confused about the vehicle tax and SORN requirements.
“The vehicle was not used on any public roads and was always parked at my home address.
“I had absolutely no intention of avoiding paying vehicle taxes or breaking the law. As soon as I realized the situation, I took steps to correct it.”
The widow, from near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, pleaded guilty in writing and was sentenced by magistrate Dawn Towart to a six-month conditional discharge with an order to pay £85 costs and a car tax bill of £35.84.
The judge chose to convict the woman and impose the sentence rather than sending the case back to the DVLA to check whether the case remained in the public interest.
DVLA supported the idea of SJP reform; so prosecutors can automatically view letters sent to courts in mitigation, potentially containing important information about the circumstances of an alleged crime.
The government has consulted on possible changes to the system, but has not taken any action in the year since consultation on reform was sought.
At the annual press conference on Tuesday, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr was asked how the public can have confidence in the work of judges in the Single Justice Procedure when trials are held behind closed doors rather than in open court and the court has a habit of regularly producing convictions for extremely vulnerable people over unpaid household bills.
He revealed that a senior judge had conducted a “nuts and bolts” review of the SJP system following concerns about how it was working.
He did not disclose the results of the audit and said decisions about the operation of the system were up to politicians, but said: “Judges apply the law as it is.”
