Its off road and has been for two years. So its a zero cost SORN..
I try the website:-
"Sorry, we don't have a record of that reference number"
I phone up "Sorry, that reference number is not recognised"
And..as an afterthought they helpfully add.."V11 references are only valid from the 15th day of the month preceding the expiry of the current tax disc"
So, they send out a reminder at the beginning of the month, but disallow its use for a fortnight?
I assume its just another job creation scheme, to ensure that they need extra staff to process it around the month end.
Fer *** sake, if I can't use the thing, why send it in the first place?
For both tax and SORN, I find it a bit of a PITA that I can't do it as soon as I receive the reminder note. It means I then have two weeks to forget that I got the reminder before I can do anything with it. Which makes it a bit of a failure as a reminder...
Hoever I'm not blaming conspiracy ("job creation scheme"), I'm just blaming a bit of non-joined up thinking.
In order to apply for a tax disc you need to have MOT certificate and proof of insurance, but as you say, there is a 15 day window at the end of the month.
Because of when the car was purchased, all three were due at the same time.
I hate spending any time at all on cars - they are means of getting me plus items that I want comfortably between A and B quickly and efficiently and that's it. I have zero interest in them otherwise. To that end, I have the garage come and collect the things, service them and return them and apart from the odd thing where there is a substantial difference on price such as tyres and exhausts and MOT which I can get done conveniently at the end of the road, that's it.
I also hate post offices with a vengeance and especially titting around at them renewing tax discs (mainly because only certain ones can do it).
It was pleasing, therefore to see that with the renewal before last that it was possible to do the whole thing on line. The trouble is that with the 15 day window and with co-expiring insurance and MOT it doesn't work. The MOT reference does seem to go through quickly enough, but the insurance information goes via some intermediate organisation and database and the time for that to be loaded up depends on the insurance company. At any rate, it can take 2 weeks plus.
After further titting around, I eventually bought a 6 month tax disc to make the insurance and tax asynchronous. This has resolved the problem.
The whole setup is onanism par excellence.
The obvious thing to do would be to outsource tax disk issuance to the motor insurers and give them access to the database of MOT records. That would take two organisations out of the equation and have the added benefit that one is the post office, thus hastening the demise of that entire setup.
No it isn't. Your VISA card has clearly stated on it things like VALID FROM XX/XX/XXXX
The V11 has NO SUCH INFORMATION ON IT!!!
Neither does the website.
Only by using the phone is it - with a bit of lateral thinking - apparent that the problem is that they haven't trickled the info down to the computers..And yet it MUST BE computer generated, ARRGGGHH!!
So have I, but they have made a fundamental error. That could be fixed with a bloody great message on the V11 saying 'online registration doesn't work until the 15th of the month'
Now when its a paying matter, I would leave it till the last minute obviously..but when its a freebie..get it out of the way right away surely?
That just *happens* to mean more people get employed by the government, whose jobs are dependent on an inefficient Nu Laber regime that multiplies bureaucracy at every possible point.
I think government employees should be disqualified from voting. Lets face it, the whole civil service is just one huge rotten borough.
The Natural Philosopher ( snipped-for-privacy@b.c) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
You could SORN the thing now, but it'd only be SORNed until the start of June next year. If you want to SORN it until the start of July, you've got to wait until the middle of June.
If you want to do it now, just dig out the V5C and use the document reference from that.
reminders for 1/12 of the number of cars in the country every month. Therefore, they are not going to be able to do that on a single day so would assume they are sent out from the 1st - 15th. Then from the 16th to 31st they can start sending out the tax discs. This keeps it simple.
They've sent it out in advance: what's the problem? It's like Visa sending you a replacement card now valid from 07/07.
In some of the debate on post office closures HMG was being criticised for taking business away from them with online systems like this. I've used it to retax my car and found it a great time-saver.
The reminder I got last month did have that information on it. Can't remember the exact wording, but the 15th of the month is pretty clearly mentioned.
I agree it's stupid that they send out the reminders before you can use them though. The error from the website could definitely be improved to say "that's a valid reference, but you can't buy until next week" too.
Snap! I paid the insurance asap and had the actual certificate here before the 15th. On the 15th I tried the website, and tried, and tried on successive days. Two days before it ran out I gave in and renewed at the post office. Bummer.
Far simpler would be to accept the renewal and payment, and then not actually post out the tax disc until after the 15th of the month so that it cannot be put on the vehicle ahead of time.
I was told in February that it was going to change at some point to allow a few extra days - they may just have been trying to placate me though as I was somewhat annoyed with them.
I'd received the reminder at the start of the month, forgot about it and then suddenly remembered in the middle of the night on the 15th. Re-taxed online on the 16th (a Friday). You then have to wait five working days for delivery before questioning where it is, this took me to the 23rd and as I go to work before the post is delivered, I did not find out until I got home that it had still not arrived. It was then too late to call until Monday 26th. They told me they would send me another, but it would take five working days, thus arriving well after the end of the month! With a rush delivery they could get it to me on the 1st, but of course I would have to go to work before the post arrived!
It is of course an offense not to *display* a valid tax disk - little chance of any problem, but why should I have to break the law or lose pay because of their unreliable and slow delivery system?
The only alternative I was given was to go to a post-office, tax it that way and then request a refund on the disk that I'd already paid for.
But if they trickled the info down to computers then fewer employees would be needed (bear in mind the DVLA is basically a job creation scheme for people with appalling South Walean accents) and they'd lose the telephone call revenue too - I presume it was an 0870 premium rate number to call?
The problem with renewing MVLs (tax disks) either online or at the PO is invariable the customer, who is far too stupid to live on this planet. Drowning at birth would have been a far simpler solution for the vast majority, and would have the added benefit of generally cleansing the gene pool.
Let me see, now. Form V11. MVL application. What does it say? Oh yes, here it is, in red :
THE EARLIEST YOU CAN APPLY FOR A LICENCE IS 15.xx.xx
Yes, I can see how such a statement is far too taxing (!) for the average vehicle driving cretin. Totally ambiguous. Just because the statement clearly says THE EARLIEST YOU CAN APPLY FOR A LICENCE IS
15.xx.xx, it obviously means the first of the month. No, wait, perhaps it means the tenth. Just because it says the 15th, it cannot possibly mean the 15th.
Those who complain are invariably the ones who see, at the foot of the form, AN APPROPRIATE MOT TEST CERTIFICATE, and therefore do not have a valid certificate of insurance. Or arrive with a policy, or a schedule, but not a certificate. Oh, then there are the real bottom of the barrel jobs who bring in a faxed copy, or a photocopy. Or bring to the PO a cheque payable to DVLA. Or expect to pay by credit card. Or bring in a reminder form dated three months ago. These are the numskulls who will spend a quarter of an hour arguing, and hold up the queue, even though all of the above points are clearly explained on the V11.
The fact that these 'people' are usually successful in purchasing a disk eventually is terrifying. They are actually allowed out on the public road! Most of 'em are too stupid to find their own backsides without a map and compass, and they are allowed to drive. Really, really scary.
It is fully appreciated that posters to uk.d-i-y are capable of reading a simple form, and acting accordingly. None of the above could possibly apply to such upright, intelligent citizens :-)
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