Can the DVLA legally take my money for their slowness?

[Utterpiffle]

We have a vehicle that we use very infrequently. It spends 9-10 months of the year on SORN.

We needed it for a 2 week trip in July, so I taxed it as required. Afterwards I sent the tax disc back by recorded post on the 30th July, as I wanted to make sure I get the refund from 1st Aug onwards...

I then get a letter last week dated 31st August denying my application for a tax disc refund as the name I put on the refund form "does not exactly match" the name on the V5C. Hmm, they are right you know, I put "Chris" on the refund form, whereas the owner is clearly written as "Christopher". Silly me.

What annoys me though is that the denial letter states that they will only pay a refund from the date they receive the correction letter I have to send back to them.

As they waited a month to inform me of my terrible error, then send the letter out on the 31st, it is going to cost me two months tax.

It sounds perfectly feasible that a government run agency can find fault on such a pedantic level, but seeing as they have the tax disc, and they know I requested the vehicle as SORN, can they really penalise me nearly £40 for their inefficiency?

Edited by Utterpiffle on Friday 17th September 14:57

[B'stard Child]

Nothing to add except I reckon that's pretty typical DVLA

Was the delay cause by postal re-direct?

[OwenK]

Ìn my experience, and those of others, the DVLA (and to a lesser extent the DSA) appear to be a law unto themselves!

[Utterpiffle]

B'stard Child said:

Nothing to add except I reckon that's pretty typical DVLA

Was the delay cause by postal re-direct?

Hi BC, must phone for a natter at some point...

Anyway, yes, letter redirect took a week, but even I was at home in the UK, their letter was still dated 31st Aug, so there would be a difference of two calendar months before I could get the reply to them.

Edited by Utterpiffle on Friday 17th September 15:00

[Risotto]

Essentially they can do as they please.

The nature of the organisation is such that any complaints are generally abandoned when the customer realises the sheer futility of trying to pursue a grievance in the face of such bovine stupidity.

Edited by Risotto on Friday 17th September 15:08

[B'stard Child]

Utterpiffle said:

B'stard Child said:

Nothing to add except I reckon that's pretty typical DVLA

Was the delay cause by postal re-direct?

Hi BC, must phone for a natter at some point...

Great idea

Utterpiffle said:

Anyway, yes, letter redirect took a week, but even I was at home in the UK, their letter was still dated 31st Aug, so there would be a difference of two calendar months before I could get the reply to them.

Take a different tack and write back to them billing them for the time and trouble, lost interest on the outstanding refund and any other misc costs - fuel to post office to post the next letter (bearing in mind your current address that should more than cover the the difference between what you expected and what they are offering)

Make the letter polite with a hint of humor but to the point and see what happens.

If nothing else you'll get an intersting reply that you can pass on to the motoring press

[Meoricin]

I've missed out on two tax disc refunds so far from the DVLA - total of approx £100 worth, which isn't a small figure to me. Both times they denied the refunds on the grounds of the car not having been scrapped/them not having been informed.

First time I figured fair enough, I hadn't done so because the V5 was in the car when the recovery agent for my insurance took it away, and I never saw the car again.

Second time, however, I sent the notification in the same envelope as the tax disc refund form.

Didn't get anywhere with phone calls, and couldn't re-apply because I no longer had said disc.


I know a girl who did work experience there when she was 14, apparently they put work experience kids in charge of sorting mail - specific forms go in specific trays, and once one thing from an envelope had been sorted, the rest would go in the bin! Don't know if they still operate this way, but it seems like it.

[derestrictor]

Risotto said:

The nature of the organisation is such that any complaints are generally abandoned when the customer realises the sheer futility of trying to pursue a grievance in the face of such bovine stupidity.

Excellent.

[redstu]

You were a bit late sending it in anyway, it could easily have arrived on the 1st august or later anyway.

The "tax" disc system is outdated and inneficient and should be scrapped.
Maybe with the government cuts it will be!

[B'stard Child]

redstu said:

You were a bit late sending it in anyway, it could easily have arrived on the 1st august or later anyway.

Not how it works - the stamp only has to be franked before the end of the month for them to credit you a full months refund

redstu said:

The "tax" disc system is outdated and inneficient and should be scrapped.
Maybe with the government cuts it will be!

Now everything is avaliable on-line to the Police one of the biggest Police arguement for RFL was displaying a tax disc is gone (it used to be a reasonable assumption that a car was more likely to have MOT and insurance with RFL in the window)

I'd rather have the tax added to fuel* - the more you use tne more you pay

(*) never going to happen they'll keep adding increases to both!! That and there are a gazillion spacktards working at DVLA that would be added to the unemployed total

Edited by B'stard Child on Friday 17th September 19:20

[Balmoral Green]

So, to re-cap. You filled the form in wrong, sent it at the very last moment to claim a full month, then correspondence from the DVLA had to be redirected to you as you're not at the V5 address.

I can see why so many people have problems with the DVLA, and why so many more don't.

[B'stard Child]

Balmoral Green said:

So, to re-cap. You filled the form in wrong, sent it at the very last moment to claim a full month, then correspondence from the DVLA had to be redirected to you as you're not at the V5 address.

I can see why so many people have problems with the DVLA, and why so many more don't.

That did make me laugh.......

[LS6wetdream]

i also had this happen to me this year, on a car i taxed for 3/4 months, nobody was interested on here,

i reckon its a new scam, as the refund only is payable from your reply to their very late letter with a lame excuse on it.

however i did get my proper refund from my original date i canceled it

i believe i didn't say or check the box i wanted a refund/or the car was indeed off the road, some bks like that

Edited by LS6wetdream on Friday 17th September 20:18

[bazking69]

It's the DVLA. Just like any government agency they do what they want and you can't do anything about it.

[NHK244V]

Balmoral Green said:

So, to re-cap. You filled the form in wrong, sent it at the very last moment to claim a full month, then correspondence from the DVLA had to be redirected to you as you're not at the V5 address.

I can see why so many people have problems with the DVLA, and why so many more don't.

You posted it on a friday expecting it to get there before sunday, was it 24hour or normal first class ?