Blooming car tax!

How flipping difficult is it to tax a car? Darn impossible, that's how!
I bought my car from my parents in June last year, and as I get high mobility on Disability Living Allowance, I am exempt from paying road tax, but still have to apply for the disc. Last year, I had to go through all the rigmarole of getting the car tax classed as disabled, and got my disc through (and a refund for my step-mum of her tax disc).
This is the first year that I have had to tax the car myself, and I think in future I will simply get someone else to do it for me!

At the end of October, my OH reminded me that my MOT was a few weeks overdue and my tax disc due to expire on 30th November (that's today, for anyone who, like me, cannot keep track of the days and months!). So I booked my car in, paid out for a full service and MOT, and fortunately, it passed without too much hassle. I recieved my reminder letter about my tax disc the following day, but it said I couldn't apply until after the fifteenth of the month, so I put the MOT certificate and reminder in a "safe place" and promptly forgot all about it.

Yesterday, I got all in a flap because I suddenly remembered, and logged onto the DVLA online taxing system. I went through all the insurance checks and everything - all fine. However, I had to provide some exemption certificate number(?). I recalled getting a certificate LAST year, that I had to provide when my car was first moved into the "disabled" tax class, but I didn't get it back and had no idea what the certificate number was.

So I called the DLA benefit helpline, explained that my DLA was renewed "indefinately" in April, so I thought I was automatically entitled to free road tax, and please could I have a copy of the certificate sent, as I must have misplaced it. He said, yes I was entitled, but the certificate had EXPIRED in April, and I had not been issued a new one because I hadn't asked for one. I apologised, and said I wasn't aware that I still needed one, with the car being registered on the DVLA's system as disabled. He agreed to send me another certificate, but warned me that it could take two weeks, and I should call the DVLA and ask for two weeks' grace and explain the situation.

So, starting to panic, I called the DVLA, and got the most UNHELPFUL woman I have ever spoken to. She said that there was "no such thing" as two weeks' grace, and I either had to sign my car off the road for two weeks and reapply when the certificate arrived, or pay £100 for my tax disc and try to get the money back when the certificate came through. I explained that I have no access to any off-road parking, so would that cause problems if the car was declared SORN. Oh yes, I was told. You'll get a fine. At this point I was in tears and begging her to give me some advice - I explained that the reason I GET high mobility DLA is because I cannot walk very far and I NEED my car. Without it I cannot get to work, get to my horse or anything. She said she appreciated my predicament, but the law is the law and all I can do is pay for my tax disc.

So I hung up, calmed down, found my wallet and called back. I don't have £100 going spare, but it seemed I had no choice in the matter, and I would just have to have a few direct debits for the bills bounce on the 1st of the month.
I got someone else, explained the situation all over again, and he said that I couldn't pay for my tax disc as my car is classed as disabled. I will have to go to our nearest DVLA office, which is only open on the second Wednesday of the month, change the class of the vehicle, pay for my tax disc, wait four weeks for my new V5 document to come through, and then CHANGE IT BACK to disabled when my exemption certificate arrived... however, my exemption certificate should be here long before the V5 document makes it back!

I explained that my tax disc expired on THE FOLLOWING DAY, so I would still be unable to drive my car until the second Wednesday of December, and WOULD NOT BE ABLE to drive to Stockton (our nearest DVLA office) as my car would not be allowed on the road until it was taxed. As I am disabled and struggle with public transport, I will not be able to get there by other means. So what did he suggest I do?
Declare it as SORN until your exemption certificate arrives, he says. I explained again that I do not have any access to off-road parking, will that be a problem. Apparently, yes that is definately a problem, and if I continue to park outside my house, I will be fined. I also explained that without my car, I would be unable to get to work, unable to care for my animals and unable to get to my medical appointments. I was simply told "that's not my problem". By the end of it, I was in tears again, and went on to have a full scale panic attack.

Why are these systems so ridiculous? I admit it is my own fault - I shouldn't have left it until the last minute but my doctor considers my poor memory to simply be a part of my depression. I didn't mean to forget. I didn't realise I needed the exemption certificate. I didn't even realise the flipping thing would expire and I wouldn't be automatically issued with a new one when my DLA claim was renewed. As far as I was aware, all I needed to renew my disc was my MOT certificate and the number from my reminder letter.

So I'm stuck. If I declare the car SORN, I can possibly get to work in the wheelchair (but given how cold it is here, I can't guarantee I will be able to cope with a full day of work after being exposed to low temperatures for the walk from my house to my office). I will certainly NOT be able to get to the stables to feed my horse, go grocery shopping or anything else. I also have no where to park the flipping car. No one I know has a garage I could store it in or a driveway that I could borrow. We all have residential on-street parking discs around here. My OH will also not be able to attend interviews (should he get one - we can live in hope).
If I don't declare the car SORN, I have to wait until the second Tuesday of December (so another week and a half) to reclassify the damn thing. I won't have £100 by then, as all my bills will have come out on the 3rd of the month (as the 1st is a Saturday). I will be lucky if I have £20 to spend on food. I have just filled the car with petrol and I just don't know what to do.
Yes, I can probably get lifts everywhere with family, but doesn't that defeat the point of having a car of my own so I can be INDEPENDENT? And still doesn't address the parking issue. Last night I honestly felt like just driving the bloody car off the pier.

So it looks like whatever I choose to do, I'm stuck for two weeks, and am going to get fined no matter what. I was in such a state this morning that I had to take a diazepam with my anti-depressant before I was calm enough to be able to go to work. I haven't slept and because I'm so tense, I've pulled a muscle in my back which is already in agony. I just don't know what to do.