Road tax evasion is bad news - particularly as it can invalidate your young driver car insurance policy.
The DVLA is currently cracking down on untaxed drivers with the aid of a new computer database. Recent awareness campaigns have relied on shock tactics to try and scare offenders into going straight.
However, Birmingham Police may have overstepped the mark a little in the case of Liam O'Connor.
O'Connor, who admitted failing to pay tax on his £600 Rover, was half expecting to find a policeman on his doorstep one morning.
But he wasn't prepared for 12 policemen on his doorstep.
Or the two patrol cars, three motorcycles, three tow-trucks and a transit van they arrived in.
"It was a fair cop," spluttered the dodger, "but what a fuss."
"You'd have thought he was wanted for murder, not an offence carrying an £80 fine," added O'Connor's wife, Meg.
Witnesses couldn't recall which of the three tow trucks the posse used to cart the Rover away, but O'Connor had it back a couple of days later after paying his fine.
When questioned over the allocation of manpower and resources on this case, a Police spokesman said: "It was a DVLA operation."
Mike Page, one third of the elite cheap car insurance team at Hoot, said: "Imagine how much it cost to send all those officers and vehicles to the poor guy's house - £80 doesn't come close."
"Makes you wonder how many men Birmingham Police send if they find out someone's driving without cheap car insurance," he added.