DVLA Still Taking Direct Debit 3 Months After Vehicle Sale??

[Mallinson1984]

Firstly not sure of the best forum to post this under but i'm sure the moderators will relocate if it would be better suited elsewhere...

Query is as the titel suggests with regards to the new Vehicle Road Tax system really...

So to give some background, I decided to advertise one of out vehicles which usually sits in storage during the winter months... A collector from edinburgh showed some intrest and we basically agreed a deal over the phone. The conditions of the sale were agreed to be that I would put a fresh 12 months M.O.T on the vehicle and collect him from the local rail station so he could have a drive in the vehicle back to our home to ensure everything was as described before handing over the money and completing the sale the same day...

When looking into the new tax system i read on the DVLA site that when paying by direct debit, as soon as they are notified of a change of keeper the direct debit will be stopped and no further monies due... When looking into the new ways of taxing your vehicle the obvous and easiest option seemed to be to choose the pay monthly via direct debit. The idea being that a few days later the DVLA would be notified of the sale and I would have only have paid for 1 months Tax and not have the hastle of waiting for a refund etc...

The vehicle went with the new owner on that day as expected and the very same day in Novemebr the relevant parts of the V5 were posted to the DVLA as required. We are now in January and the DVLA have just taken their 3rd payment with the sold vehicles registration detailed as a reference... The wife logged on to online banking yesterday and has now cancelled the direct debit to prevent any future payments going. I am curently out of the country working and intend chasing this up with the DVLA upon my return.

I'm guessing this is just one of the many teething problems whith have come as a result of changing how the system works... Has anyone else experienced these issue's who can advise how they got on with regards to resolving the issue with the DVLA?? I am guessing this may be a lengthy drawn out process but in the end i should be refunded 2 months direct debit taken following the sale of the vehicle??

Thanks in advance for any comments, advice and sharing of your experiences in similar situations...

Ben.

[JMGS4]

Can't your bank reverse the overpaid monies....IMHO your bank MUST do this if asked?!?!

[R_U_LOCAL]

Have you had an acknowledgement slip back from DVLA to show they have received your notification of sale/transfer?

[Cat]

Have you received a letter from DVLA confirming you are no longer RK? If not it would suggest they never received the V5 and believe you are still liable for paying the tax. If no letter was received did you chase it up with DVLA after 4 weeks as they suggest on the V5?

Cat

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Note to self: this is a good reason for NOT using automatic DD when dealing with DVLA.

But as others have said, the problem may well be that you are still the registered keeper, despite sending off the slip.

[SLCZ3]

Was the new keeper section sent in at the same time as the seller parts of the V5?.

[Mallinson1984]

Yes we have recieved a letter back from them thanking us for informing them and acknowledging the change of registered keeper...

[Mallinson1984]

JMGS4 said:

Can't your bank reverse the overpaid monies....IMHO your bank MUST do this if asked?!?!

This didn't cross my mind when initally thinking about it but is a conversation definately worth having with them. Thanks for the prompt

[Mallinson1984]

SLCZ3 said:

Was the new keeper section sent in at the same time as the seller parts of the V5?.

All of the new keepers details were filled in on the V5 when sent off to the DVLA, the new keeper slip from the V5 was the only part that didn't go off to them as this was obviously retained by the collector and went with the vehicle.

[kwk]

No excuse but, as in the latter part of your initial post, they are having massive problems with the new system and are inundated with calls.

[Mallinson1984]

So the annoyance got the better of me and i called the DVLA this morning... Much less of a hassle than i expected after navigating through the number of automated menu's... The helpful lady i did manage to get through to in the end was very helpful, confirmed that they had recieved our V5 for the sale of the vehicle back in early November and the fact that we should not have paid any more than 1 months tax for the vehicle. The direct debit as per my understanding should have automatically concelled however it hadn't and she kindly confirmed we had been charged an additional 2 months.

This has been transfered to another department for investigation and a refund now which will take up to 6 weeks to arrive. Was advised to cancel the Direct Debit with our bank to stop any further payments being taken.

Lesson learnt here and useful one for everyone is, if at all possible just pay your tax up front to avoid this hassle.

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice guys.

[SLCZ3]

Mallinson1984 said:

All of the new keepers details were filled in on the V5 when sent off to the DVLA, the new keeper slip from the V5 was the only part that didn't go off to them as this was obviously retained by the collector and went with the vehicle.

Hmm, iirc the change does not become effective until DVLA get the new keeper section that should be sent to the DVLA by the new keeper, therefore the change is not complete??
I should contact the new keeper and check if he actually sent it off, otherwise he has three months taxation free
Or am I talking a load of codswallop????

[caiss4]

SLCZ3 said:

Hmm, iirc the change does not become effective until DVLA get the new keeper section that should be sent to the DVLA by the new keeper, therefore the change is not complete??
I should contact the new keeper and check if he actually sent it off, otherwise he has three months taxation free
Or am I talking a load of codswallop????

The latter

[speedking31]

Mallinson1984 said:

... Was advised to cancel the Direct Debit with our bank to stop any further payments being taken.

Just out of interest:

Do you get a separate DD for each vehicle, or just one that says "Pay the DVLA however much they want each month"? Will be awkward to cancel the latter if you have several cars.

[civicduty]

SLCZ3 said:

Hmm, iirc the change does not become effective until DVLA get the new keeper section that should be sent to the DVLA by the new keeper, therefore the change is not complete??
I should contact the new keeper and check if he actually sent it off, otherwise he has three months taxation free
Or am I talking a load of codswallop????

Your talking codwallop the current RK should send the relevent parts of the V5 off and the new owner should be sent away with the new keeper section so that he can tax the car, I think, maybe, but I also could be talking Basswallop!!

[Spangles]

speedking31 said:

ust out of interest:

Do you get a separate DD for each vehicle, or just one that says "Pay the DVLA however much they want each month"? Will be awkward to cancel the latter if you have several cars.

Separate for each vehicle.

[Mallinson1984]

civicduty said:

SLCZ3 said:

Hmm, iirc the change does not become effective until DVLA get the new keeper section that should be sent to the DVLA by the new keeper, therefore the change is not complete??
I should contact the new keeper and check if he actually sent it off, otherwise he has three months taxation free
Or am I talking a load of codswallop????

Your talking codwallop the current RK should send the relevent parts of the V5 off and the new owner should be sent away with the new keeper section so that he can tax the car, I think, maybe, but I also could be talking Basswallop!!

This is exactly correct, nothing has changed with regards to what the seller sends off and what the new owner takes with him to tax the vehicle himself... The DVLA will issue a new V5 to the new keepers address following you sending the old V5 to them complete with the new keepers details on it.

[Mallinson1984]

Spangles said:

speedking31 said:

ust out of interest:

Do you get a separate DD for each vehicle, or just one that says "Pay the DVLA however much they want each month"? Will be awkward to cancel the latter if you have several cars.

Separate for each vehicle.

The direct debit on our internet banking showed a reference of the vehicle registration mark so i assume if you paid monthly for several vehicles it would be pretty simple to see which DD was for which vehicle...

[eybic]

You could attempt to play hard ball and demand an immediate refund.

The DD guarantee states: "If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society"