Road Tax - Insurance

Just leave it till the first and re-apply on line. Or go to a PO in the next week or so. There are far more important things to worry about. The number of people with insurance that runs out on the last day of the month before they need to re-tax is probably so low as to not be worth catering for.

"Mrcheerful" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Remembering that, as long as it has been taxed online, you've explicitly got a few days grace for it to arrive.

andy king gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I doubt many people have insurance which expires on the same day as their tax disk.

Adrian gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Oh, and don't forget it's very easy to separate them for next time. Just buy a 6mo tax disk.

New car sales often include good deals on the first year's insurance, making it worth while to get a refund on the previous car's insurance, so I would expect it to be quite common, particularly on age related registration change dates.

Colin Bignell

Don't do that, buy a year disc and cash it in after (say) 9 - 11 months at the very end of a month and immediately buy another year, that way you don't pay the ten per cent surcharge on the 6 month disc or lose anything since you get every full month left full refund.

I always try and buy tax discs using a zero percent purchase credit card online, dvla charge you 2.50 surcharge, but with nine months or so interest free that is a bargain.

Would it be that difficult to cater for them?

No, it is to stop fraud. People would arrange for a new insurance, tax the car, then arrange for it to stop before the first payment. I would have thought even you would have spotted that one.

But I also expect that a high percentage of those will renew and NOT change insurer.

Never go for the insurance deal, you can get far more off the car with haggling, the insurance deal is the one they want people to take as it costs them very little and they do not have to give up much else to the persistent customer.

Would it be that difficult to cater for them?

Of course it would.

We are talking about Govmint-run computer "systems" here......

"Ian" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

No, we aren't. MID is run by a consortium of insurance companies.

Ta.

Then he'll pay more. Road tax is going up from 1 April, but if you buy your tax disc in March you'll still pay the old rate, even for a disc which starts on 1 April! There was a warning with my reminder that the prices quoted are only valid till 31 March.

Surely he can just go the PO with his new insurance certificate?

What is "it"? Tax or insurance? People already do that with insurance. Don't you have to pay for car tax in advance?

How is this stopping fraud?

Not if you applied online on the 1st April. The 5 days grace only applies if you applied online before expiry. And would also be subject to the relevant section being in force, i.e. for example by a commencement order. I don't know if it is or isn't in force.

And how does it prevent that?

I have now retaxed at the PO.

I had two motor insurance certificates - the renewal one and the totally new one.

I could have just presented the renewal one in order to get the disc.

"I would have thought even you would have spotted that one."

Alan

It's best to ignore it. Alan Ferris suffers from "little man" syndrome.

In message , andy king writes

As I once found out, when renewing your tax, the certificate of insurance you present must be current/valid when the new period of tax comes into force. For example, on 26 March, you can't re-tax from 1 April using a certificate which expires on 31 March.

If your current certificate expires at noon on 1 April, I reckon that that is the one you will still have to use, as the tax actually starts at a split second after midnight on 31 March.

I don't think they have any means of checking whether you will have any insurance after noon on 1 April. I presume that they will have to 'trust' you!