car dealer telling the truth re. taxing a new car

Ms_Chocaholic

Special Delivery isn't affected by the Royal Mail strike - could your friend get the insurance certificate posted to them using this service

flea72

if its insurance taken out through an online dealer, then the likelihood is you cant hurry up the process - however, if you had used a local broker in person, a covernote could have been issued on the spot

most insurance companies wont send post by anything other than snail mail, as its too expensive to use special delivery

its just a case of waiting for it to turn up

vaio

naomi1010 wrote: »

………The rules were/are that for new cars:

Once a new car was issued a registration, the customer has to sign a form saying that they acknowledge the registration and that it is their responsibility to provide an insurance document showing the registration number and it has to be an original ie no faxes no photocopies.

It is then for the customer to produce this before the car is collected (although it could be when the car was collected, just meant the customer had to wait for the car to be taxed) and again sign another document saying that they have provided such insurance.

This is due to the nature of the reg being issued by the DVLA and if an audit takes place at the dealership, it has to be proven that original insurance was indeed provided. If couldn't be proven dealership ran the risk of losing their license.

I know over years of doing this job that it can be a pain making sure everything is correct but it is a legal requirement and like said above most dealerships do offer a 7 day free insurance which is emailed to the dealership in a matter of minutes which can be used as recognised by the DVLA as providing an original.

Sorry so long winded but hope it clarifies things

Naomi

This all sounds like paperwork for the sake of it. I can’t see that a dealer is under any duty to ensure that a customer is insured before handing a car over. Same for tax.

What license are you referring too above? Similarly what legal requirement?

peachyprice

AdrianHi wrote: »

My insurance renewed 26th October. My tax disk expires 31st October. Today is the 28th, new insurance certificate posted first class on the 25th.
At the best of times I have a window of about 3 days to get the tax disk as you have to have an insurance certificate valid at the date of the tax disk renewal to do it. Tried with the old certificate 2 days ago and no joy.
Now add postal strike and I'm looking at the car going off the road.
Spoken to Direct Line who say some post offices are being flexible and accepting a faxed confirmation of motor insurance notice to get a tax disk. I have one such fax right beside my keyboard here. I will find out soon if it's going to work.

I am going to get 6 months road tax this time to solve the problem, it's silly having them both together like this.
Wish me luck

For a renewal, if you do it online you don't need the cover note, your insurance company will have uploaded your renewal onto the database.

HTH

naomi1010

vaio wrote: »

This all sounds like paperwork for the sake of it. I can’t see that a dealer is under any duty to ensure that a customer is insured before handing a car over. Same for tax.

What license are you referring too above? Similarly what legal requirement?

The paperwork I was refering to is called an 'AFRL' document (automated frist registration licence) and this is printed automatically from the computer database when issuing a registration via the DVLA site - this is a legal document produced by the DVLA that has to be signed by the customer acknowledging the registration given and also stating you will insure it on that reg to commence on the day the car is to be legally fully registered ie the day it is taxed.

Also on the database, there is a line where you have to input the policy document number before it actually allows you to tax the vehicle - no policy number - no tax (admitley not all dealerships have to have this process done)

As a dealership sells new cars, it is required to ensure all documents inc insurance is is place before the car is released or it can lose the facility to tax new cars if during audit it is found not to have taken the proper steps.

Agreed, it is a lot of paperwork BUT it is completely necessary as things do go wrong sometimes.

As for the legalities, you can not let anyone drive off of a forecourt with no insurance - driving cars with no insurance is illegal.

vaio

Cheers Naomi but it doesn’t answer my question…… what licence will a dealer loose? And what law requires a dealer to check insurance before releasing a car?

I know you have to have insurance to drive and/or tax a car, and there are systems in place to enforce this but to the best of my knowledge they involve DVLC & the police etc, they don’t involve car dealers.

What’s next? Dealers won’t release a car after a service unless you produce insurance & tax?

I’m still in the “paperwork for the sake of it” camp.

flea72

vaio wrote: »

Cheers Naomi but it doesn’t answer my question…… what licence will a dealer loose? And what law requires a dealer to check insurance before releasing a car?

the license they loose, is the ability to produce a RFL onsite. the only loophole, whereby you could take a car without proof of insurance, is if you used a low loader, and then went and got the RFL yourself at a post office later, but why would you do that, when the standard way of doing this is so straightforward?

there is no legal requirement for the dealership to check insurance before release of the car, unless they are providing the RFL for the vehicle

Im this case, the insurance isnt really the sticking point, its the fact the OP's (friend) didnt apply for insurance in time to tax the vehicle, ready for collection - they are welcome to take the car if they want, but whats the point, if they still cant drive it?

F

vaio

The OP said…..

” the dealer tells my friend they can not collect the new car until they have given the dealer a paper insurance cover note for the new car (and a fax or email version of the cover note is not acceptable per the dealer)”

Naomi said…….

”…….. to provide an insurance document showing the registration number and it has to be an original ie no faxes no photocopies.

It is then for the customer to produce this before the car is collected (although it could be when the car was collected, just meant the customer had to wait for the car to be taxed) and again sign another document saying that they have provided such insurance.”

And then later she said…….

” ......As a dealership sells new cars, it is required to ensure all documents inc insurance is place before the car is released or it can lose the facility to tax new cars if during audit it is found not to have taken the proper steps.

Agreed, it is a lot of paperwork BUT it is completely necessary as things do go wrong sometimes.

As for the legalities, you can not let anyone drive off of a forecourt with no insurance - driving cars with no insurance is illegal.”

All of which seems to imply that dealers have a legal duty to ensure that insurance (and tax??) are in place before releasing a car.

I doubted this was the case and the only requirement (which is the same for all of us) is that you can’t get tax without insurance, so the dealer can release the car and the owner can go to the PO to get tax in the normal way (or, if they choose, drive illegally without tax.). It’s not the dealers job (or right) to enforce the tax/insurance laws on customers.

How does the on-site issuing of RFL work? Do the dealers have a book of tax discs and a printer like at the PO?

hethmar

When I got my scrappage deal VW last month, the dealer gave me their insurance no. to ring and they fixed 7 days free cover, faxing the cert to the dealer so he could tax the car. What make is this car your friend is buying?

donglemouse

hethmar - the car is a mini, however mini's 7 day insurance refused to cover the postcode concerned as it was in northern ireland and the dealer would not accept a fax from the purchaser's regular insurer

thanks again to all for helping my understanding of the situation, as others have said it would appear a wait for the postal service to deliver said cover note should resolve the issue in due course