Saw this on the register, may be of interest
"The exact date when a penalty notice is deemed to be received is legally quite complicated. However, after carrying out some research Mr Collins believed the DVLA were not adhering to the letter of the law. He said: "Delivery of notices is subject to something called the Interpretation Act (pdf). This quite clearly says that notices are deemed to be delivered within a period from the time they go into the post. Not the day they are printed."full article
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/25/dvla_dodginess/Basically if you just miss a notice you may have a legal president to challenge.
