VED - "Pay as You go"
Author
Discussion

J4CKO

Original Poster:

46,824 posts

229 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Anyone else think it would be a great benefit to be able to pay monthly for VED, always catches me unawares, now I know I should have spreadsheets and move 1/12th of my yearly VED charges for the cars into a separate bank account or something but I am not that organised, everything else is payable monthly so I think it would be great for VED as well.

I know everybody on PH has their Manservant/Butler etc do it for them being well built company directors worth millions and its loose change but been hit for both cars this month. Was thinking like insurance you pay monthly and as long as the money keeps coming you are legal, its all linked up now so they can reconcile the VED with the MOT and Insurance records. I think it would potentially reduce the number of illegal/untaxed vehicles as people could manage £15/20 a month rather than the £200 plus surprise reminder.

The online application was a step forward but it did deprive the lady in the post office the pleasure of letting you wait for 40 mins in a queue during your lunch hour on pension/giro day and then sending you away without a tax disk on some technicality.

Would be great to get rid of the whole thing or at least having to have a silly paper disk in the window.

Carfiend

3,186 posts

238 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
I just send my jetpack monkey butler over to the computulator to do it for me once a year using my vast wealth gained from day trading in adult entertainment stocks. You see every time a famous female actress is married you buy quickly and sell just before their hollywood marriage is over a few weeks later.

On a more serious note, don't see why not you can do your TV license that way.

otolith

68,807 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Absolutely agree. It's all computerised, and now that we have continuous insurance with insurance and MOT status accessible electronically and checkable by ANPR, I don't see any point in the tax disc. Just make it a monthly direct debit and stop bothering people.

Oh, and roll this service with an email option into the cost of the service, you grasping feckers.

redstu

2,287 posts

268 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Payment by dd would be fine. You would be charged more for it though.
So as a matter of principal I wouldn't do it.
I'm sure many would though.

Caulkhead

4,938 posts

186 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
I could be wrong, but I think you have to pay it as a lump sum because cars are evil and bad and poison little bunnies, so it needs to feel like a punishment.

voicey

2,493 posts

216 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
If you've been hit twice in a month perhaps you should have bought 6 months worth on one of your cars to shift the payment due date?

J4CKO

Original Poster:

46,824 posts

229 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
voicey said:
If you've been hit twice in a month perhaps you should have bought 6 months worth on one of your cars to shift the payment due date?
I can cover it fine at the moment but that hasnt been and will not always be the case I guess, would take the sting out of it for a lot of people, paying six months costs more and I hate that and it discriminates against those less well off, like payday loans, Monthly Payment shops, TV rental, prepayment meters etc, all milk those who can least really afford it, being poor costs more ! I understand six months involves more admin but pay as you go VED would be totally automated. I hate selling cars and leaving a load of tax on them as when I buy one they never have any.


slaveunit

188 posts

191 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Why not scrap the tax disc thing altogether and put another 5p on fuel? then you only pay for what you use, gas guzzlers pay more, bonuses for eco drivers as they wont use as much...

because the tax people would make less out of us, thats why.

versus

612 posts

177 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
paying monthly is not quite the same as 'pay as you go'. its not enough of an amount (£260 for my car) for me to want to pay monthly but i can see how it can dent the wallet badly if your insurance and servicing are at the same time.

martin84

5,366 posts

182 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
I dont think theres any need for such a thing and even if it was available it'd probably be more cost effective to pay it yearly anyway. Right now if you have a Band K car its £260 for the year or £143 for 6 months meaning a £26 surcharge on your VED for the year by paying it in two installments.

otolith

68,807 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
It's not the money, it's the convenience. Set it up, forget about it. I'd like to do the same with my fishing licence - even though it's only £25 a year, I don't want to fanny about renewing it each year, just let me put it on a monthly DD and I'll never have to think about it again.

martin84

5,366 posts

182 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
It would be nice to just have a yearly direct debit for it, the fact you can do it online now does cut down on the hassle of the past but a lot of people change their car every couple of years anyway so you'd also need to change your direct debits.

Chrisw666

22,655 posts

228 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
otolith said:
It's not the money, it's the convenience. Set it up, forget about it. I'd like to do the same with my fishing licence - even though it's only £25 a year, I don't want to fanny about renewing it each year, just let me put it on a monthly DD and I'll never have to think about it again.
I'd like the same convenience.

I guess that the reason they don't is to check people are insured and have an MOT once a year before taxing the car.

martin84

5,366 posts

182 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
slaveunit said:
Why not scrap the tax disc thing altogether and put another 5p on fuel? then you only pay for what you use, gas guzzlers pay more, bonuses for eco drivers as they wont use as much...

because the tax people would make less out of us, thats why.
Im not sure the maths proves eco drivers would be better off than they are under the current system.

For instance, a Toyota Prius costing £20 to tax (Band B) and doing 50mpg over 10,000 miles with a petrol price of 135.9 will cost £1256 for the year in VED and fuel.

A BMW 330i costing £260 to tax (Band K) and doing 30mpg over 10,000 miles with a petrol price of 135.9 will cost £2320 for the year in VED and fuel.

If you scrapped VED entirely and put petrol up to 139.9 to compensate; the Prius owner would see their costs rise by 1.3% to £1236 and the BMW 330i owner would see their costs decrease by 9% down to £2112 for the year.

This is hardly scientific i know because the petrol wouldnt really go up to 139.9 as i havent taken the VAT ( to be charged on the extra 5p duty) into account.

It'd be interesting to do more comparisons with different cars but it looks like the only people to benefit would be owners of larger, more polluting cars and as a result of that the Governments never going to go for it.

Dave Hedgehog

16,328 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
slaveunit said:
Why not scrap the tax disc thing altogether and put another 5p on fuel? then you only pay for what you use, gas guzzlers pay more, bonuses for eco drivers as they wont use as much...

because the tax people would make less out of us, thats why.
you don't understand how governments work

why not put up the VED and add 5p to the fuel duty

would be more accurate

otolith

68,807 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Chrisw666 said:
otolith said:
It's not the money, it's the convenience. Set it up, forget about it. I'd like to do the same with my fishing licence - even though it's only £25 a year, I don't want to fanny about renewing it each year, just let me put it on a monthly DD and I'll never have to think about it again.
I'd like the same convenience.

I guess that the reason they don't is to check people are insured and have an MOT once a year before taxing the car.
That always was the reason, but now that the electronic systems are tied together, enforcement is electronic and you have to keep your taxed car insured whether you use it or not, it doesn't seem as compelling an argument as when the only check was the careful inspection of documents by the old dear in the post office! I suspect it won't be long before you have to MOT your car or SORN it, bringing that into line with insurance too.

otolith

68,807 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
martin84 said:
Im not sure the maths proves eco drivers would be better off than they are under the current system.

For instance, a Toyota Prius costing £20 to tax (Band B) and doing 50mpg over 10,000 miles with a petrol price of 135.9 will cost £1256 for the year in VED and fuel.

A BMW 330i costing £260 to tax (Band K) and doing 30mpg over 10,000 miles with a petrol price of 135.9 will cost £2320 for the year in VED and fuel.

If you scrapped VED entirely and put petrol up to 139.9 to compensate; the Prius owner would see their costs rise by 1.3% to £1236 and the BMW 330i owner would see their costs decrease by 9% down to £2112 for the year.

This is hardly scientific i know because the petrol wouldnt really go up to 139.9 as i havent taken the VAT ( to be charged on the extra 5p duty) into account.

It'd be interesting to do more comparisons with different cars but it looks like the only people to benefit would be owners of larger, more polluting cars and as a result of that the Governments never going to go for it.
What would happen would be that the eco-punishment would hit everyone in exact and direct proportion to the amount of fuel they consume - if that means that the current eco-car driver gets a worse deal, it implies that he's currently getting a better deal than he should be!

martin84

5,366 posts

182 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
otolith said:
What would happen would be that the eco-punishment would hit everyone in exact and direct proportion to the amount of fuel they consume - if that means that the current eco-car driver gets a worse deal, it implies that he's currently getting a better deal than he should be!
Well not really because i bet you could compare any economical-low-VED car to an uneconomical-high-VED car and the beneficary of scrapping VED would be the latter. I dont think its a case of the 'eco driver' getting a better deal than he should, it looks more like the system is designed to purposely give the owner of the bigger car a worse deal than he should. Also for years now the Government and carmakers have geared everything towards giving the eco-cars a good deal, to tempt people to buy them obviously while also discouraging the use of bigger cars by purposely giving them a worse deal. I dont see them reversing such a trend now, not after they've come this far.

The other thing to consider is someone who has a BMW 330i can most likely afford it with the current system, or else they wouldnt have bought it so its not like they've got much room for complaint. My car is £215 to tax, if i disagreed with it that violently i'd buy something else wouldnt i? The majority of people who own smaller, low VED economical cars are families or those on lower incomes who've bought that car to keep costs down. To give them higher motoring costs to give a 9% decrease to someone in a 50k BMW would be political suicide anyway.

paranoid airbag

2,679 posts

188 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
slaveunit said:
Why not scrap the tax disc thing altogether and put another 5p on fuel? then you only pay for what you use, gas guzzlers pay more, bonuses for eco drivers as they wont use as much...

because the tax people would make less out of us, thats why.
you don't understand how governments work

why not put up the VED and add 5p to the fuel duty

would be more accurate
yes unfortunately governments have an allergy to simplification. I really don't think - classic car owners aside - it makes sense from anyones' perspective. Better roads for drivers? Nope, 'cos the money doesn't go into better roads. Reducing fuel use? a little maybe, but that system's way more open to abuse than fuel tax, as we've seen with 80mpg fiats and toyotas that do 40mpg in real life, not to mention completely failing to take into account miles driven at a given mpg. Reduces congestion? nope, 'cos most people need to own/use a car occasionally, and once it's taxed no incentive not to use it more. Better for pedestrians/cyclists/horses/whatever else? No, because whatever you call it, making someone pay to use something gives them a sense that they're more entitled to use it, and have it designed for them, than people who don't.

Abolish it, make more fast toll roads - only motorists are allowed on them, only motorists pay for the upkeep - and tax parking spaces for larger car parks (park and ride excepted) - raise revenue, encourage people away from stupidly short car journeys, and increase town centre footfall as out-of-town supermarkets won't be so attractive anymore. No need for stupid, arbitrary VED.

otolith

68,807 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
martin84 said:
otolith said:
What would happen would be that the eco-punishment would hit everyone in exact and direct proportion to the amount of fuel they consume - if that means that the current eco-car driver gets a worse deal, it implies that he's currently getting a better deal than he should be!
Well not really because i bet you could compare any economical-low-VED car to an uneconomical-high-VED car and the beneficary of scrapping VED would be the latter. I dont think its a case of the 'eco driver' getting a better deal than he should, it looks more like the system is designed to purposely give the owner of the bigger car a worse deal than he should. Also for years now the Government and carmakers have geared everything towards giving the eco-cars a good deal, to tempt people to buy them obviously while also discouraging the use of bigger cars by purposely giving them a worse deal. I dont see them reversing such a trend now, not after they've come this far.
The point you seem to be missing is that if driver A uses more petrol than driver B, driver B's driving habits are more "eco". If the current system gives driver A a better deal, the system is broken.

martin84 said:
The other thing to consider is someone who has a BMW 330i can most likely afford it with the current system, or else they wouldnt have bought it so its not like they've got much room for complaint. My car is £215 to tax, if i disagreed with it that violently i'd buy something else wouldnt i? The majority of people who own smaller, low VED economical cars are families or those on lower incomes who've bought that car to keep costs down. To give them higher motoring costs to give a 9% decrease to someone in a 50k BMW would be political suicide anyway.
Tough titty! It's supposed to be based on consumption and emissions, not on the redistribution of wealth.