Taxing a car in advance

[CAPP0]

Isn't bureaucracy great, especially when the technology exists to circumvent it?

One of my cars has been SORN since January. I'm ready to put it back on the road, but I'm away most of next week, so I'd like to tax it from next Fri, 1st June. Now, given that I'm away, I thought it would be nice and easy to tax it online now, so that the tax disc arrives during the week and I'm up & running next Friday. But oh no. Can't do that. The Directgov website won't let you select the tax disc start date, so I either have pay for tax this month, which won't get used, or wait until next week to tax it.

It's not as if I want to drive the car before 1 June, and in any case if I did so, with a tax disc not valid until 1/6/12, I would run the same risk as if I didn't tax the car at all. So why the stupid bureaucracy which won't let me order a tax disc a week in advance.

You do have to wonder whether these departments employ people simply to work out how to make the customer's life more difficult and to irritate them wherever possible.

[GreigM]

There is an exemption period to cover this - something like 5 days from the start of the month to give them time to post out the disc. In this time you won't get stopped and not having a disc isn't an offence so long as it has been applied for.

[williredale]

I may be wrong (I often am) but I thought you had to go to the post office after a car has been on SORN because it doesn't let you do it online?

[GreigM]

williredale said:

I may be wrong (I often am) but I thought you had to go to the post office after a car has been on SORN because it doesn't let you do it online?

No problem doing it online (so long as the insurance is on the MID), just can't do it before the first of the month.

[CAPP0]

No, you can definitely do it online. It allows me to get to the payment stage, and in any case I've done this before, cars & bikes. I don't use this particular car during the winter months.

It's just the fact that an electronic system, with electronic (ANPR) monitoring, won't let you purchase selectively. In any case I'd be unlikely to receive the disc much ahead of next Friday!

[jagnet]

GreigM said:

There is an exemption period to cover this - something like 5 days from the start of the month to give them time to post out the disc. In this time you won't get stopped and not having a disc isn't an offence so long as it has been applied for.

Aiui this only applies to continuous insurance - if the car's coming off SORN then there's no grace period.

To the OP: a trip to the post office on your return sounds the best option if you want to use it straight away.

It's frustrating, but for every tax disc that gets issued those in the OP's circumstances are few and far between. The DVLA have enough cock ups as it is - adding additional complexity to their systems is only going to make things even worse.

[Deva Link]

jagnet said:

GreigM said:

There is an exemption period to cover this - something like 5 days from the start of the month to give them time to post out the disc. In this time you won't get stopped and not having a disc isn't an offence so long as it has been applied for.

Aiui this only applies to continuous insurance - if the car's coming off SORN then there's no grace period.

It's nothing to do with insurance and it does apply to both taxed vehicles and vehicles coming off SORN.

"If you use the electronic vehicle licensing service or tax by post at the end of the month, there’s now an exemption for not displaying a tax disc. This exemption covers the first five working days of the month to allow time for the new disc to arrive in the post. While you are still waiting for your tax disc you will need to display your current tax disc. The exemption only applies if applications are made before the current tax disc or SORN expires."

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/owningavehicl...


You can apply for tax up to 2 months in advance, but only by post.

[jagnet]

Sorry - meant continuous tax, not insurance.

[williredale]

GreigM said:

No problem doing it online (so long as the insurance is on the MID), just can't do it before the first of the month.

Ah! I did put the caveat that I may be wrong. To be fair though that's what the woman in the post office told me a few years ago when I took my car off SORN.