Bought bike (BMW F800S if anyone’s interested) on Friday. Can’t tax without either insurance or new log book arriving through post. Need to get to work. Leave note in tax disk explaining and with my phone number, am carrying receipt to prove date of purchase. Still gets lifted by the DVLA, costs £360 to get back. What happened to a grace period. Apparently they have a complaints department but there’s no legal redress to get the money back. Anyone else fought this? any ideas? I plan to and I’ll happily let anyone here know how I get on, should there be any interest. Thanks
I’m afraid that proving the date of purchase isn’t a legal defence… I don’t think that there’s any legal grace period for being untaxed (be good to be proved wrong though 
).I’d be surprised if you got anywhere with an appeal, TBH.The bike was untaxed so in the eyes of the law they can lift it and rape your arse before you get it back.
I sadly think you’re right. My arguement is the law cannot be broken if the systems are not in place to conform. I haven’t avoided paying tax, I was just unable to do so. ergo, i haven’t broken the law.
ask the insurance co to fax-email you a copy of the insurance docs. Then go to the local postoffice with a printout of it. you may get away with it and get it taxed (i did 
)
edit: after my tax disk got stolen i havent replaced it (keep the tax disk on me) - but my bike is taxed and so on the database
Good point - unfortunately, ‘they’ don’t do common sense 
pan i think you will find your still illegal as you are not displaying your disc…
You don’t need the log book to tax a vehicle - you only need the New Keeper supplement from the old log book. That is how I have always taxed vehicles.
Insurance is more of a problem, but there are ways round it, including getting a certificate covering you for 7 days from a local insurance broker - that is how I taxed my car last Christmas.
:ermm: whose to say that some punk hasnt just stolen it?
the other thing i did was have a photocopy of it displayed - but i think wanted the tax diskholder not the actual tax disk
I had to get it insured and ask for a print out before collecting the bike, then i got the tax disc the same day. It was all terribly complicated, and it seems like its pretty hard to buy an untaxed, uninsured bike without having it illegal at some point, especially if the dude at the post office doesn’t like your print out.
I got fined by the police for displaying a tax disc, though I had one and it had been stolen without me knowing. I went to court and while technically guilty they let me off with no fine as it was a bit out of my control.
I know this will hurt, but you shot yourself in the foot.
The law says you have to have things in place/displayed and that’s pretty much an end to it. If you go to court how are you going to answer the simple question of why did you ride the bike before the tax and insurance came through? They don’t care how difficult your commute journey is by public transport.
In case I sound “holier than though”, I had my first bike tax disc stolen in 1979 and I’ve not displayed anything except photocopies since then. Whopee. " 2 charges then if anyone wants to make a meal of it. “Failure to display…” and forgery.
sorry mate but as above, the offences of having no tax and failing to display a valid RFL disc are complete.
The law for this, like most road traffic offences, is very black and white, the grey area just after purchase is not catered for.