DVLA Fiasco

vinylmusic

I wasnt sure if this was the best place to air my grievances with the DVLA but then they are an organization who step beyond their duty and purpose to make money from us (personalised number plates for one) and not always fullfilling their obligations

I have suffered incredible inconvenience over the last month because of them. I am wondering if I am the only one

I bought a car which didn't come with its V5 registration document. I paid £19 to send off for a new one. over one month later I called DVLA Swansea to hear that there is no record of my application. I cant tax the vehicle without the V5 and therefore cant drive it.
To add to my frustration I sold another car on ebay just over a couple of weeks ago. Also without a V5 document. on the auction details I had made it clear that the V5 wasnt present
Having made the sale I applied for a new V5 again sending £19.00
2 and half weeks later they say they have no record of my application. Again!.
The winning bidder is losing patience and on hearing that DVLA have probably lost the application is threatening to pull out of the deal

The consequences now being that I have one car that that I have been unable to tax and unable to drive for over a month with no prospect of a solution in the near future and another where the sale is falling through
Both for no real fault of my own

The fact that they say we must wait up to 6 weeks and applications going missing is remenicent of the passport fiasco a few years back.

If I'm not alone in my frustration I hope others will voice theirs and we can possibly complaining together

cc25

Sorry to hear about your problems with DVLA Swansea. Somehow, I don't think you will be alone!

I know it's not much help for you now, but I have found my local DVLA office (there are 40 around the country, see list here) to be very helpful, friendly and efficient, and vastly better than dealing with DVLA Swansea by post and phone.

If you live near one of their 40 offices, I would recommend calling. Most issues can be dealt with there and then, especially if you have done some prior research on the DVLA website, and have brought any relevant documents with you.

shellsuit

As with the poster above...go to a local office as they are pretty good for sorting things out there and then if possible.

On the subject of no V5 from what i have been told in the past it can take upto 6 months in some cricumstances to issue a new as the car is traced through all the countries insurance companies, Police national computer and former owners (last 2 i think) to see if they are aware the car is changing hands (if they didn't know for whatever reason). Depending on how long they all take to get back to the DVLA then it can take a long time. With regard to them losing information i have received a sorn/tax renewal form for a car which i had scrapped 9 months previous despite them writing to me and telling me that they had received my notification that the car had been disposed of. It really is frustrating at times.