Dollis Hill driver wins three-year fight against the DVLA
Dafer Al-Hakim has won a three-year battle against the DVLA - Credit: Archant
Dafer Al-Hakim’s car was seized and destroyed depsite having a valid tax disc
A driver from Dollis Hill has won a three-year battle against a government agency after his car was unlawfully seized and destroyed while he was on holiday.
Dafer Al-Hakim, of Alder Grove, took legal action against the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) after they wrongly claimed his vehicle had been taken because its tax disc had expired.
The 49-year-old’s Toyota Picnic was snatched outside his home in on July 29, 2010, despite the disc showing an expiry date of July 31, 2010.
According to Ali Mosawi of Ali and Ali Chartered Certified Accountants in Neasden, who represented Mr Al-Hakim in court, the clamping company which took the car failed to photograph the windscreen which would have showed the valid tax disc.
A series of letters between the DVLA and Mr Al-Hakim, accessed by the Times, suggests a series of administrative blunders over the tax disc was to blame for the car being ultimately destroyed.
However the DVLA refused t Mr Al-Hakim’s request for compensation and claiming the correct enforcement action had been taken.
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But at Willesden County Court last month, the DVLA was ordered to pay Mr AL-Hakim £1,380, comprising a judgement of £850, court fees of £850 and witness expenses of £50.
Speaking after the court room victory, Mr Mosawi said: “We are very happy.
“This was the most injustice case in the history of the DVLA.”
He added that Mr Al-Hakim was happy that ‘three years of pain’ was over.
The DVLA refused to comment.
