Reclaim road tax? Not a straightforward case

JabbaTheHut

I taxed my car near the end of August 2008 , commencing September, for 12 months. Before August ended, the car was in an accident and written off.

I contacted my local Motor Taxation Office to see what I had to do to claim my tax back, and they told me to send in the tax disc, and book, fill out a form, and I'd get a refund.

However, the insurance company said they wanted the tax book of the car to give me the write off value of it, so I sent it off to them. I wouldn't have got anything without sending it I was told.

After about 2 months, I got paid, and asked about claiming the 12 months road tax back.(After all, it never spent a day on the road to "burn" the tax). I was told they would issue me with a Certificate of Destruction, and then all I'd have to do is bring it to the Motor Tax Office, and I could use it against the cost of taxing my new car.

After 2 MORE months,(and a heeeeeep of hassle), I got the cert. When I tried to do what the insurance company told me, I was told that this was no good, and I have to send them in the Tax book, and disc, and then they'd refund me.

I told them that I didn't have either, as the insurance company wanted the tax book to pay the write off value, and the disc was still on the car. However, without these things, I was told I'm at nothing.

I checked the Motor Tax website for answers, but all I can find is the sam info as the tax office tells me.

How the flock do I supply the one document(tax book) to two different sets of people??

Is my €560 gone.

Really tired of chasing this now :mad:

Buffman

See form RF120

http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/MotorTax/Refunds/

You do need to return your tax disc and VLC.

irishdxclub

Hi


I was also in a car accident last year, my car was only a few weeks old. I had much the same hassle,


I to hand to give the car regristation cert to his Insurance Company!

Maybe you can put it in as a expense claim!


i.e. Personal Injury Claim
Medical Bills
Loss of earning!


Hope this help.

mick.fr

There must be a way, if the car burns and the cert with, how do you get a refund since you have to have it? Worse case scenario, go to Garda station, fill form 123 or 132 (Can't remember) about lost tax cert, then pop again in tax office they will issue you with a new one. You might have to pay 12 quids though...

slimjimmc

You could just explain the situation to the insurance company and ask them to send you the logbook/VLC and the tax disc. I doubt it's first time this situation has arisen. Once the Motor Tax office is finished with it just send the logbook/VLC back to the insurance company (they don't need the disc).

Seth Brundle

The write off value offered by the insurance company covers everything to do with the car. The car is presumably becoming the property of the insurance company (given that you are giving them the ownership docs). Therefore if anyone is entitled to claim back the tax its the insurance company.
The OP is no longer the owner so can't do it! I can't see them giving out the log book for a car that has been destroyed - I'd say it no longer exists!

JabbaTheHut

Thanks for your replies. Much appreciated.

Kbannon: I know what your saying, but apart from being told by the insurance company rep that I can claim the tax back, the accessor that saw the damaged car first hand, and wrote it off offically, told me that the settlement price didn't include the €560 tax, that I'd have to claim that back myself.

slimjimmc: yep. It can't be the first case ever for this to happen. Cars are wrote off every day of the week, and I'd imagine this has happened before.

I managed to talk to someone in the tax office that seems to know what's going on. He said, I'd have to write a cover letter accompanying the RF120 form Buffman is talking about, stating what happened. Then I'd have to get the local Guards to sign and stamp it. Then get a form to a loss of tax disc. The insurance company have to return the tax book to Shannon (where it's the centre for registration of vehicles, it seems), so the tax ofice should have a record of this.

After all that, I'll then have to submit all documentation to them, and then I *might* get my money back.

thanks again for the replies

lifer_sean

AFAIK it is the person who actually scrapped the car that can claim the tax back. You did not scrap the car - you effectively sold it to the insurance company, who will have sold it on to a salvage firm. The tax disc and VLC are their property now.

Was the car an economic writeoff or a physical writeoff ? If it was an economic writeoff then the car can legitimately be put back on the road and therefore not necessarily scrapped, and in that case the tax cannot be claimed back. (Economic writeoff: cost of repairs with new parts exceeds value of car, but car is repairable, eg. with secondhand parts and low cost labour. Bodyshops someties do this work to keep the staff busy in slack times. Perfectly legitimate.)

If it was a physical writeoff then you need a certificate of destruction from an authorised breaker, and the VLC, and presumably the tax disc.

Years ago I had big problems with an economic writeoff car (minor interior fire) where the guy had managed to claim back the tax because he knew someone in the council office, but he shouldn't have as the car was going back on the road. Took ages to sort out and get a log book. That was 1998, and the car is still on the road in everyday use.

nogoodnamesleft

OP I was in a similar situation as yourself. I was given the market value of the car as it was written off. I have a claim in for personal injury and as part of that I have the receipt for when I paid my tax and I made perfectly clear to the claims manager that I would be claiming for my tax back which he had no problem with

Im afraid to say if you have already signed the settlement form, the insurance company probably wont want to know, but if you only signed for material damages get on to the claims manager. He will be under pressure to close the claim as quickly as possible so highly likely that he will give you 560 just to get rid of the claim. My 2c anyways.

JabbaTheHut

If it was a physical writeoff then you need a certificate of destruction from an authorised breaker, and the VLC, and presumably the tax disc.

I have a certificate of destruction, or at least a copy of it, so it must be a physical write off. As for the tax disc, A lost disc form will sort that out it seems, but I don't have the VLC. The Insurance company has that, although they're supposed to give it over to the licensing Authority.

It still rolls on.............:mad: