V5 / VIN discrepancy

[popegregory]

Hi all

Have just sent car for MOT and been told by tester the car doesn’t exist. On further investigation the VIN he inputted from under the bonnet has two digits reversed from what the V5 says - all same numbers apart from two in the middle the other way around.

I’ve just had a replacement V5 so don’t know if it’s a recent thing (or if every MOT a 1999 car has had has been wrong!), but has anyone found this a quick and easy thing to get rectified before I have to try and battle with the DVLA tomorrow? I’ve owned car since 2009 and never had a problem til now.

[popegregory]

Tommo87 said:

What VIN does it show of you put the reg in for a car vertical check?

It just says they want £30

[popegregory]

r3g said:

Something not right here. When we input the vehicle details to start the test it needs the reg from the plate and the last 6 chars from the VIN,

That’ll do it, its the first character of the last six that’s wrong (and the one prior)

[popegregory]

No, we couldn’t find another (and he was looking all over!). It’s an S1 Elise. What we’ve done before is give the old MoT certificate which they must have used, and if you check quickly then you may well not pick it up.

Guess I’m just hoping DVLA are feeling helpful tomorrow morning.

[popegregory]

zasker said:

Also if it’s an Elise the 7th from last should be H (Hethel) and the 6th is likely to be a C (RHD).

Thanks for this. It’s definitely a DVLA mistake then, it’s the C and the H the wrong way round on the V5

[popegregory]

r3g said:

So this is the first time that the VIN has been physically read off the placard for an MOT test ? I can think of a few scenarios here which could spell some bad news for you depending on when and why this practice started. It's a requirement for the tester to take the reg plate and VIN details as presented on the vehicle. It's not permitted to take them from presented documentation for reasons which should be obvious.

Why has the VIN been taken from previous MOT print-outs on previous tests instead of the physical VIN plate attached to the vehicle?

I see what you mean, but since being shown the image below about how they work I imagine it’s been done in a pragmatic way where they can see what the error is.

[popegregory]

After making a fuss on here, DVLA seem content for me to just post them the V5 back with a letter and picture of the engine bay so hopefully that gets it sorted. Thanks to all who explained what the issue was, especially the picture explaining how the whole VIN number breaks down and what it means.

[popegregory]

Tommo87 said:

popegregory said:

After making a fuss on here, DVLA seem content for me to just post them the V5 back with a letter and picture of the engine bay so hopefully that gets it sorted. Thanks to all who explained what the issue was, especially the picture explaining how the whole VIN number breaks down and what it means.

That feels a bit like an anti climax. Too easy.

It’s not done and dusted yet, plenty of time for them to think of something I’m sure