DVLA rant!

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 19 Oct 2010, 22:09

The DVLA

It's now been two weeks since I dropped off the paperwork for the personalised registration change on my HDi and I'm still waiting for some sort of reply, best of all when you call the telephone number listed on their website to chase things up it goes to an answerphone stating that the number is no longer in use

then gives you another phone another number which gives you yet another number which always states that the lines are busy (for two days now) then having listened to a long answerphone message promptly cuts you off with no opportunity to hold, that's customer service DVLA style!!

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 19 Oct 2010, 23:08

Personal reg transfers can often be a lot of hassle. I was lucky with mine which went very smooth both times. I had mine on retention at one point, i went to the DVLA office who processed the documents while i was there, printing me a new MOT with the new reg etc and i was able to put the reg on the car within the hour. Getting the reg off the car was much more hassle, especially if you try and do it while changing the owner of the car at the same time.

In the end i thought swapping the reg was too much hassle after doing it a few times and it went with the car when i sold it.

Post by **CitroJim** » 20 Oct 2010, 05:59

My goodness

I'm shocked Richard...

Mine went like clockwork. I was amazed at the speed and efficiency of it all. Clearly that was a fluke

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 20 Oct 2010, 20:43

Still no joy with the DVLA, after trying the correct phone number again this morning I gave up then finally got through on another number, my success was however rather short lived as silly me I didn't realise that according to the DVLA there are now eight days in a week!!

Despite their website stating that if nothing is heard from them after two weeks you can chase them up, however as they work on a week being eight days long so I have to wait sixteen days before I'm allowed to enquire how the transfer is going. When I pointed out that AFAIK there are only seven days to a week the nice lady stated that there has to be ten working days within the two week period. Well have not been any recent Bank holidays and as far as I can count there have been ten working days within the relevant period. Apparently according to the DVLA calender there wasn't so I presume that DVLA staff only work a four day week, I wish I was making this up

Post by **myglaren** » 20 Oct 2010, 20:49

They are all Beatles fans at the DVLA

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 20 Oct 2010, 21:45

myglaren wrote:They are all Beatles fans at the DVLA

Good one Steve

Post by **CitroJim** » 21 Oct 2010, 06:59

DickieG wrote:
myglaren wrote:They are all Beatles fans at the DVLA
Good one Steve

You didn't send it to an address in Penny Lane did you Richard?

If you did, it may lie in a Strawberry Field Forever whilst Eleanor Rigby gets around to dealing with it.

Maybe the DVLA staff have just had a Hard Day's Night....

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 21 Oct 2010, 22:02

For some reason I get the feeling that I'm the subject of mirth here!

I finally managed to get through on the permanently engaged number today (it took four days) and spoke to a chap in Swansea who stated that the transfer was completed five or six days ago and couldn't understand why I hadn't been notified but as he couldn't help me anymore he arranged for the Borehamwood office to ring me which they promptly did

I then spoke to a lady who stated that the transfer had just been completed this morning so I should receive the confirmation in the post within a few days. Pause a few hours until the post arrived at home this afternoon @ 3pm whereupon Dawn rings me to say the confirmation has arrived, posted yesterday, confused? Yes I am, the term left hand, right hand comes to mind,,,,

Anyway the plates have now been swapped over, unfortunately that means that my HDi will be on its way down to Devon tomorrow with its new owner

Post by **CitroJim** » 22 Oct 2010, 06:00

Pleased all is now resolved Richard

Gosh, it's been a Long and Winding Road....

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 22 Oct 2010, 07:41

Down to Devon!
Here it will probably be safe for the forseeable future along with all of the other timewarp cars!

On a similar note, I've seen 2 Mk1 Golfs one being a GTi and another one of those convertible things. I see one guy every morning who commutes in a Mk2 Passat I could go on

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 25 Jan 2011, 20:45

As I'm planning on selling my BMW very soon I want to swap the cherished registration number over to my HDi so I had the dubious pleasure of visiting the DVLA at Borehamwood again today.

The story goes like this, the MOT and tax were both due for renewal next week so on Sunday I renewed the MOT and rather than apply for a tax disc online (with the risk of it getting lost in the post, as recently happened to Xac?) I thought I'd pay and collect the new disc whilst applying for the reg transfer. Now comes the wheese, on the transfer application form you have to supply the expiry date and serial no on the tax disc of each car involved in the transfer. so I gave the details of the Xantia disc but didn't bother with the BMW disc details (car parked at home, 30 miles away) as it is due to expire on Monday as I thought that it would be better to renew the disc then write the details of the new disc on the form rather than one which will run out of date within six days of the application.

Having bought the new disc and then handing over the registration transfer papers to the lady behind the counter she pointed out to me that I didn't have details of the BMW tax disc on the form to which I replied

"Yes that's because I didn't know them until you passed me the new disc so I'll write them down now"

The answer I received was "But that new disc is not the disc on the car"

I replied "Well it will be when I get home"

to which she replied "If you put that disc on your car before the 1st February you can be stopped and prosecuted for not displaying a tax disc"

I replied "So are you telling me that you've just sold me a fraudulent disc?"

she replied "No, you must not place that disc on your car before the 1st February"

Giving myself a couple of moments to digest the jobsworth claptrap that I had just heard I then asked her to continue with processing the reg transfer papers but she refused on the basis that I didn't have the current tax disc details, not to be deterred on the basis of having a wasted 60 mile round trip I asked for her to take the papers then put them through on Tuesday,

Her reply; "No we won't do that, you'll have to come back with the old tax disc details or wait until Tuesday and come back then",

To which I replied "I feel as if I've just walked onto the set of Little Britain with David Walliams playing the female bank worker who replies to every question "The computer says no".

Oh deep joy will the the DVLA ever know or care even think about what customer service looks like?

One piece of irony for me was noticing the number of posters littered around the building stating that should DVLA staff be verbally or physically abused they will seek to prosecute, now then I wonder why people might feel so angry as to resort to such lengths?

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 25 Jan 2011, 20:53

I guess thinking that the DVLA could check their own database to find out what the expiry date and serial number of the current disc would be expecting too much?
Terry Gilliam's Brazil is more real than I ever thought!

Post by **CitroJim** » 25 Jan 2011, 20:57

Oh my good gawd..

You just couldn't make it up if you tried Richard

David Walliams would kill for material like that!

The thing is that a tax disc has no start date, just an expiry date. It's valid UNTIL and says nothing about when it's valid from... She was talking spheres...

They must go on intensive training courses to learn to be that difficult; the DVLA take on customer care?

Citroening · Post by **Citroening** » 25 Jan 2011, 21:03

DickieG wrote:One piece of irony for me was noticing the number of posters littered around the building stating that should DVLA staff be verbally or physically abused they will seek to prosecute, now then I wonder why people might feel so angry as to resort to such lengths?

...yes I noticed that too Richard when we had to get the C6 private plate done.

Jobsworths really annoy me and an example is that a mate recently went to a Post Office to tax a car.
Everything was in perfect order with the MOT, Insurance and Logbook.
Apparently though, she said that Motor Trader's NEVER tax vehicles and he wasn't insured to tax it (car wasn't in his name for personal reasons at the time, but we all know that one can tax a car on the green slip...we have done numerous times).

Then, he got the manager out (it said on the insurance that he was covered of any car of his or in control of the vehicle - I saw it...looked perfectly fine).
The manager came out and she said to him "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???"

After some more arguing my mate was getting rather angry!
So, he went down to the next village in the post office, and taxed it perfectly fine...!

Post by **myglaren** » 25 Jan 2011, 22:02

What a bunch of incompetents.
I bet they've been trained up the wazzoo and still don't get it.
You would think there was something difficult about it.

Why would you be trying to give them money if there was a way to avoid it.