MSE News: Drivers struggle to renew road tax

redux

minislim wrote: »

somehow i'm not buying the excuse of people not having the money to pay for their tax weeks in advance.

simple budgeting throughout the year can make sure you have the money ready when you need it.

it boils more down to people living beyond their means.

a car that costs £135 a year to tax will only set you back £2.60 per week or £11.25 per month.

now that is easily achievable as you have a whole year to save.

anyway the new way to tax allows you to pay monthly so this makes it even easier now!

I have 2 cars, but only use and insure one at a time.

The one in use again now was on SORN while I used the other for a few days.

Last week, I could not retax this car as the V11 renewal form had a reference number which was not recognised, even though SORN had been reported using the registration document reference not the V11.

So I was told on the phone the other day that I could only tax the car in person at the post office, and the soonest to do this to start from 1st October would be 29th September.

It struck me that the V11 reference might not be recognised there either, and the registration document would not be conveniently to hand where I was at the time.

So in the end I phoned up again and after some further discussion had someone manually order me a replacement document and pay the tax. Fortunately for me I did so on Monday not Wednesday.

That has got nothing to do with affordability, or my supposed personal incompetence at foreseeing and arranging my personal affairs throughout the year.

Meanwhile, the other car's tax disc has gone back for a refund of 11 12ths of £230.

I realise that there is something of an unfortunate vogue for unwarranted personal snideness in this particular part of the forum, but even so I respectfully suggest you mind your own business and refrain from patronising others.

Hintza

It doesn't matter what day you buy your tax online the system should have enough capacity to cope. Not having enough capacity is penny pinching incompetence.

It would in fact be much more efficient if the tax ran from whatever day in the month you needed it (for 12 months) in my case I will be attempting to tax it on 7th October, so why not give me annual tax until 6th October next year then there would be no need for as big a system as payments would be much more evenly spread and fairer when/if you sold the car.

redux

Hintza wrote: »

It doesn't matter what day you buy your tax online the system should have enough capacity to cope. Not having enough capacity is penny pinching incompetence.

It would in fact be much more efficient if the tax ran from whatever day in the month you needed it (for 12 months) in my case I will be attempting to tax it on 7th October, so why not give me annual tax until 6th October next year then there would be no need for as big a system as payments would be much more evenly spread and fairer when/if you sold the car.

Dead right, and that's what this discussion should be like, instead of other marginally relevant comments.

Insurance and MOTs may start on any day of the year, after all.

Norman_Castle

!!!!!! wrote: »

Even the government make no distinction by referring to having to pay vehicle excise DUTY to get a TAX disc

Because VED is a tax. The government do not refer to VED as road tax because they abolished road tax in 1937.

Norman_Castle

Hintza wrote: »

So why are cars placed in a "Tax Class" on the V5c?
.

Because cars are taxed at different rates.

norbsa

Not many people as yet seem to know that a car no longer has to be insured in order to get it taxed.It does however need to have a test certificate.The government has allowed this in order to implement the non transfer of road tax.This means they are putting money before safety because there will now be a massive increase of uninsured drivers because many will not bother insuring now that a disc does not have to be shown.

DUTR

norbsa wrote: »

Not many people as yet seem to know that a car no longer has to be insured in order to get it taxed.It does however need to have a test certificate.The government has allowed this in order to implement the non transfer of road tax.This means they are putting money before safety because there will now be a massive increase of uninsured drivers because many will not bother insuring now that a disc does not have to be shown.

Do you have the documentation that supports your quote on the vehicle not needing to have valid insurance at the time of the renewal period?

I don't believe there will be a massive or even any increase in unisnured drivers, my VED is renewed a month or up to six months before the insurance, so there is al the time in between that can follow where the vehicle is uninsured. At the end of the day it's only a certain type of chancer that is going to avoid getting valid insurance irrespective of a disc or not.

Iceweasel

ElkyElky wrote: »

I stand by what I said in an earlier post. People seriously need to find something better to do with their time rather than correct members and staff alike on the forum who calls it 'road tax' rather than VED.

Seriously, who the heck cares? Clearly the sad acts care but anyone else? I for one will continue calling it road tax because that is what it is... a tax for using my vehicle on public roads.

I understand what you're saying - but if you've ever been to a court or tribunal of any sort you start to realise that the government, employers and bureaucrats use weasel words to fool the public into thinking that black is white.

But as long as we can make more people aware that their 'Road Tax' has nothing to do with providing and repairing roads some of us will keep on clarifying that fact for those who don't know what they are paying for.

Let's move on.

patanne

In previous years at renewal by phone they checked ins & MOT this year only MOT. I used to renew 7 days before the disc expired to allow time to receive the new disc before the end of the month. This year as I did not need the disc I left it much later (fortunately not late enough to be affected). The money is far better off in my savings account gaining interest for as long as possible than paying something before I need to.

If the figure of 7 million cars changing hands each year is correct that is £70m extra over and above the savings that they actually say they are making. It matters not a jot what we call it we still have to pay it!

DUTR

patanne wrote: »

In previous years at renewal by phone they checked ins & MOT this year only MOT. I used to renew 7 days before the disc expired to allow time to receive the new disc before the end of the month. This year as I did not need the disc I left it much later (fortunately not late enough to be affected). The money is far better off in my savings account gaining interest for as long as possible than paying something before I need to.

If the figure of 7 million cars changing hands each year is correct that is £70m extra over and above the savings that they actually say they are making. It matters not a jot what we call it we still have to pay it!

How do you know (unless your car doesn't have MOT? (Perhaps it's less than 3 years old?) .
As for the interest thing...... even if your money was in a 5% net account and you had a car with £400 VED, you would not even gain £1.67, chances are it's much less perhaps not even 25p.