dvla - bast**ds

[linkay]

Has anyone else that had done an engine swap bothered to tell the dvla? I thaught i would because if im going to get pulled a lot (probably will ) i want to all legal.
Anyway i sent off my v5 to tell them about the engine change and they said it would take 4-6 weeks, after 6 weeks of waiting i gave them a ring to see where it was, and they said they had not started to process it because i needed to send in photographs to prove that the engine is in, fair enough. So i faxed in the photos (dvla can't accept e-mails as they are still operating in the stone age) and they said it would be back to me in 5 to 10 working days.
10 working days came up yesterday, still no v5 so i rang again and they told me that because i had not signed the photographs (which they never told me to do) they could not process it. They wont accept me sending the photos back again with a signiture they are just going to be sending my v5 back UNCHANGED next weeks so i can start again!
It would annoy me so much if when they had a problem they just contacted me as they have a number but they just sit on their arse untill you ring them. Next time im going to call them everyday to make sure i get it

Anybody else had anything like this???

[volvosneverdie]

Dont think anyone, ever has had anything good to say about the dvla man.
Let the Horror storys stack up.........................................

[Speedy88]

I sent my V5 off with a letter from my "local garage", sent an online query when 4 weeks had passed and then 3 days later got the new one through the post. I've heard some very very frustrating stories though with people that weren't so lucky...

[macplaxton]

The DVLA were rather efficient when I rolled up at 4.45pm to re-tax a Citroen BX.

First they said, no V5, you'll have to pay for new one.

What had happened was it was lost/misplaced/didn't arrive (reissued following a registration change). As the car had been off the road, it slipped the mind of the keeper. Now providing you moan about non-arrival within 3 months, you can get a free re-issue. If you leave it any longer, then it's £25.

Second they said, it's okay. If you came in tomorrow you'd of had to have paid. Today is the last day... Phew!

Then upon sorting it out for 6 months tax, they printed 104.50 on a twelve month disc. Nearly walked out with it, but thought it might just confuse the issue later one, so three reprinted discs later they managed to issue a proper 6 months disc. Didn't take more than about 20 minutes in the end.

They CAN do it sometimes!

I'd be inclined to drag myself to nearest/easiest to get to DVLA local office and speak to someone face-to-face.

[volvosneverdie]

I'd be inclined to drag myself to nearest/easiest to get to DVLA local office and speak to someone face-to-face.

VND takes Vario log book on disabled clasification to DVLA in gosforth.
VND hands this in with new keeper slip and explains he wants to PLG tax it.
VND pays for PLG tax, has tax disk issued and is told that new log book will come out in post.

Today I got the new log book.
Still shows as disabled tax exempts status.

Sigh.

Retards.

[jtbo]

Bureaucrats

I doubt that any private company at free markets would stay in business for long if they would do things like those annoying offices do, too bad rules are not same for all.

[macplaxton]

...Still shows as disabled tax exempts status.

They do have an inability to do more than one thing at a time.

I had that problem when I sent a covering letter to change the "Manufacturer" of my Italjet that was down as an "ERF" 50cc moped (< not very lorry like). In the end I did get it change but it too intervention from a friend I knew who was working in a DVLA office miles away to sort it by post.

Having said that, after MOT-ing my Vario, they pulled up the fact that the VINs didn't match. Well they did match, but on the V5C (and had been for 27 years) was the shortened version of it with just the serial and no prefix. Whereas the MOT man (correctly) recorded the whole number. After filling in the letter, a correct one came back.

Given the millions of records they hold, they're doing "not bad" all things consider. Maybe we should marvel at when they get it right?

[Chris_C]

Mine was held up through no proof. I had to ring up Renault customer services to get them to write me a letter, involving taking Fake to the local Renault dealer and paying for half an hours labour in the meantime.

Even then Renault decided it was an F7P until I showed them how the plate said 'R'...

Renault were pretty ace though and wrote the DVLA a nice snotty letter As said above, if the DVLA was a private company it'd have gone under years ago

[petefarrell360]

The DVLA are the most utterly incompetent shower of s***e to walk, no crawl, this planet..........ever.

I have never seen quite so many cock ups, and cock ups that conveniently end up with them being the recipent of money which is the result of extortion. An £80 fine for not declaring a car off of the road, possibly fair if someone was trying to evade paying the tax, or was actually using the car on the road, not if they A don't send you a reminder the previous SORN has expired, then B lose the form you send them, if you don't contact them within 4 weeks to ask why they haven't sent you a confirmation, you are liable, you get sent an £80 and thden threatened with debt collection agencies if you don't cough up. They even do this on tax exempt vehicles when they lose the forms, when tax exempt cost nothing to Tax, you just need to produce an MOT and insurance to get the disc, but no, they still demand £80, and then threaten you in order to get it!

Scum...........

It always works in their favour, no matter what.

Look at it this way, to fill in a SORN form it's free, (until they cock it up) they've got an entire dedicated SORN department, and lots of people dealing with these, so it costs them money to run this section, I wonder if some bright spark decided to accidentally on purpose lose several hundred SORN applications a week, issue fines to the innocent person who doesn't make a date four weeks in advance to call and check why they haven't received a confirmation, blame it on Royal Mail and hey presto, they're now making a profit? As otherwise letters sent to the DVLA SORN department cover most of the lost post in the UK I'd expect!

Pete

[Chris_C]

I'm sensing some dislike here bud

I hope they've been on the end of a "You've annoyed Pete" barrage of letters and phone calls

[SteveP]

I had a feeling Pete would reply to this thread

[V6 Man]

I hope they've been on the end of a "You've annoyed Pete" barrage of letters and phone calls

DVLA, Orange, O2, Bucks Constabulary, his Insurance Company, the BBC, The Times........ I'm suprised he doesn't live in Tunbridge Wells!!!

[volvosneverdie]

Hang on.
I got another V5 today.

And this one is Taxation Class Correct.



Fail, to win in less than 2 days.
Do you think they know we're writing about them?

[CBA]

Right... they have documentation and photographic evidence of this engine change - but still with this information they produced an invalid Registration Certificate...

Now, I'm no legal expert but thats illegal as far as I know.