WRITTEN ON June 13th, 2008 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Save Time and Money, What do we want?
Hurrah for the car tax disc renewal process. It used to be both inconvenient and pointless. Now it’s just pointless. Wibbi we just rolled it into car insurance. The envelope from DVLA proudly blazes on the front “Renew your tax disc online: visit www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc” and I can Win a SEAT IBIZA Ecomotive 1.4 TDI. Cool.
On the back it tells me to “Renew your tax disc on the phone: call 0870 850 4444” OK, maybe.
Inside there’s a letter from Andrew J Rhodes, a form and a leaflet.
The letter says I can renew my vehicle tax or declare SORN quickly and easily online at www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc or call 0870 850 4444. What’s more, that gives me the opportunity to win a SEAT IBIZA Ecomotive 1.4 TDI. Apparently there’s also a no purchase entry route (to ensure conformance to the British code of sales promotion practice or whatever it’s now called) at www.dvlaprizedraw.org)
The form is a V11 – a renewal reminder for a tax disc or Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). It says “Do it online at www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc”. It also says “www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc – It’s quick, safe & esay to tax or SORN online or by phone. A bit lower it says “You can apply for a tax disc or make a SORN online at www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc or by phoning 0870 850 4444.
To tax I need a debit card and to go online at www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc
The extra leaflet underlines the point: It’s quick and easy to apply for a new tax disc online or by phone: www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc 0870 850 4444. It then asks the question: What’s the easiest way to renew your tax disc? Answer: Go to www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc or phone 0870 850 4444.
Remember, it says, you can apply online or by phone 24 hours a day
Happily, if you like the whole idea but want to support your Post Office (r) you can do that and try to win the SEAT IBIZA Ecomotive 1.4 TDI by going to www.dvlaprizedraw.org. Hurrah. Thank heavens we got that straight. And some of the leaflets are on 100% recycled paper (tho othe5rs merely 50% recycled).
Public transport isn’t up to much in Hambledon Surrey, and we have (with apologies to the glaciers) two cars. So I got two letters. That means I have been told by DVLA in writing 16 times in one day to go to www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc
Wibbi they just send a postcard? Or an email?
UPDATE: But I have to say, it is – as they repeatedly told me – indeed quite quick and convenient. Perhaps visitors will be rushing over from Estonia to see how on earth we did it. Who DID do it, I wonder?It’s almost as good as a MySociety service, or something run by James’s clever company Venda. And they sent me a nice email to confirm. Perhaps they’ll just send me emails in future.
21 Responses to “Are we proud of the UK car tax disc service, or what?”
Hang on, I checked out the prize draw site. It’s a bit weird and confusing. Firstly, it doesn’t seem to be part of DirectGov (I thought that was against the rules now?). Second there’s lots of confusing stuff under the terms and conditions which you have to accept to enter the competition:
“What information will DVLA collect about me? When you enter the free prize draw, we will ask for personal information about you. This will consist of: * Your name * Email address * Postal address”
“How will DVLA use the information they collect about me?
DVLA will ONLY use your personal information for the purpose of contacting you regarding the awarding the prize if you are a winner.”
“How long will DVLA keep the information they collect about me for the prize draw?
DVLA will only keep your personal information for 5 weeks (35 days) after the closing date of the prize draw, after which it will be destroyed.”
BUT!
“Will DVLA share my personal information with anyone else?
We will keep your information confidential except where disclosure is required or permitted by law (for example to government bodies and law enforcement agencies).
err, under RIPA, isn’t that just about anyone (400+ organisations) and for about a million different ‘justifiable’ reasons??
Yes, but imagine – you might win a diesel SEAT!
Just tried to register to win the car and I’m pleased to see that they can’t even purchase a valid SSL certificate. Go and complete the registration – you’ll receive an error indicating that they’re using a self-signing certificate that expired on the 3rd September 2005…..
That’s weird. I tried (on behalf of my son so he can write off a SEAT diesel as opposed to one of my cars) and it seemed to work fine.
Oh. Hang on Nick. Delighted to hear from you but house style here was designed to preclude the “I’m pleased they’ve screwed up again” formulation, for reasons of our collective mental health.
Can we induct you into the “ethnographic observation of tribal behaviour and – when it’s unsatisfactory – the ‘wouldnt it be better if’ (Wibbi) formulation”?
Eg: “I notice they’ve left all their top secret notes on the train…Wibbi they left them safely in the office or used encrypted electronic documents” or whatever. You get the general idea.
What is the point of the SORN? More particularly why does it have to be renewed? Is it the only example of having to certify that you are not going to break the law? Do former anglers, their tackle gathering dust in the loft, need a “not fishing” permit? I ask as the owner of two moggies in permanent storage who finds the ritual bizarre and (as a good law abiding citizen) demeaning. I break the law if I place my vehicles on the public highway with or without the SORN, so why do I have to keep declaring, as if shouting at a retarded policeman, “NO. I AM NOT GOING TO BREAK THE LAW.”
WIBBI they didn’t make us jump through unecessary bureacratic hoops.
I always take my SORNS to the post office.
Renewing tax on-line works well because DVLA designed the process professionally and had it properly checked over. That’s rare in central govt, but DVLA is rapidly building itself a reputation as being competent [1], and is now supplying depts other than the one that spawned it. The core of govt is now HO (and its affiliates), DWP, HMRC and their servant DVLA.
[1] Its come a very long way from the days when data entry errors created 3-wheeled Morris Minors.
A very pleasing way to renew my tax disc online (it was chucking down at the time).
WIBBI they’d have told me I needed my Log Book reference number as well to renew – maybe they did but I was too excited about winning that gorgeous SEAT Ibiza to find that specific piece of info.
Hmm, just wondering – does the IBbiza come fully taxed?.
what a great incentive lets hope there arent any hidden agendas!
I need a new car this would suite me down to the ground It sound like a wonderful peice of machinery
SOUNDS LIKE A VERY GOOD IDEA TO HELP PEOPLE BECOME MORE AWARE OF THE CO2 EMISSIONS OF THEIR CARS,I WOULD LOVE A SEAT ECOMOTIVE!
as a restorer of old vehicles,especially motorcycles,i receive around 30 kilo,s of useleess waffle from the dvla-these ‘bright young’ things that come up with these nonsense schemes actually waste time,resources and overcomplicate everthing,because they have no skills other than pushing a button,staring at a screeen and lying-
PATHETIC
i would like to see a move to paying r/t on fuel as 1 drive a 1100 cc car and cover 3, 000+ in a year on a pention i thik that i am paying too subserdise the high milers
D P
The only “ideal” government is NO government…
I would seriously appreciate if the government stuck to more critical issues at hand than mess with all this.!
Just tried to register to win the car and I’m pleased to see that they can’t even purchase a valid SSL certificate.
Noting the anti-government remarks above, it should be recognised that it is not a government department but a private enterprise system farmed out by the government – we are witnessing private enterprise at work ….!
Secondly, I’ve tried several times to get my tax renewed online without success, with the organisation telling me that it has no record of my vehicle, even though it has sent a reminder with the vehicle details thereon. Yes – I did put the appropriate numbers from the correct documents, five times; and yes, I do understand how it all SHOULD work.
I couldn’t agree with you more! And the first sentence of the article definitely says it all.
Au contraire, Perth Limousines – you dont give a fig for what we say and you FAIL THE IDEALGOV REVERSE TURING TEST. May your loathsome, ostentatious, gas-guzzling blog-spamming business crash and burn. We’ve tried to do our small part towards that outcome by deleting your URL thus depriving you of the Googlejuice you crave. And next time we’re in Australia we shall once again simply hire a bike.
When you will win the car you can give the car as a present to me i have birthday i a few days. But indeed I prefer an oldtimer like the Kraft-durch-Freude wagen later known as Beetle. 🙂
Will, it’s called Channel Management. And it worked. You didn’t drive to Hambledon post office.
PS Can I enter the prize draw too?