FOXY Lady Drivers Club – “DVLA TACKLES MOTORING FRAUD ONLINE”
DVLA TACKLES MOTORING FRAUD
The Driving Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) has the car taxation renewal process running online like clockwork and will soon be offering us affordable Direct Debit payment options.
But a more major development for motorists is planned for October when they’ll stop issuing tax discs altogether.
Clearly this will save taxpayers money in terms of printing and postage costs but it makes even better sense when we realise that the majority of today’s tax evaders are being caught by police cameras that automatically check a car’s number plate. Some 800,000 offenders were caught this way in 2013.
What happens if…
Let’s see what happens if you were to ‘forget’ to tax your car on time after October. A local camera would automatically check your registration against DVLA database records and if your car wasn’t taxed at the time, the next thing you’d know would be the arrival of a ‘notice of intended prosecution’ on your doormat. A subtle reminder and a financial slap on the wrist to act as a deterrent.
Whereas if you were to sell a car and not make sure the DVLA knew you didn’t own it any longer you could still be liable for any later traffic offence penalties or vehicle tax. Which is why you must ALWAYS send the V5C to the DVLA at Swansea yourself, not rely on any buyer doing this for you, and if you are scrapping a car you must ALWAYS get a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) from an authorised treatment facility (ATF).
When points don’t mean prizes
A second IT initiative which is being tested out at present will allow motor insurers to access DVLA data on penalty points. Individual drivers will also be able to check their personal data online.
As I see it, these two new DVLA initiatives will make life harder for tax evaders and those who have been ‘economic with the truth’ when it comes to telling insurers about penalty points.
The icing on the cake will be when honest motorists start to see cheaper car insurance as a result.
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Steph Savill runs award-winning FOXY Lady Drivers Club for women and their families. Membership services include a range of specialist support services when motoring gets stressful and a UK network of female friendly garages and repairers. To find out more please click here or follow FOXY on Twitter.
