DVLA exposed

Following Parker's 100 undercover road tax enquiries to the DVLA, we found that 76 were incorrectly calculated for at least one of the next three years. Read more.

Here's a selection of the recorded evidence...

This year it [road tax] might not even go up. But it may go up.  But I don’t know how much it’ll go up by...

Member of staff, DVLA Call Centre

The majority of the DVLA's errors were a result of its failure to take into account the temporary one-year move of Band F vehicles registered before March 2006 into Band K. This meant that wrong quotes were out on average by over £100.

Find out your tax band here.

When asked whether it mattered that the vehicle was registered in 2005 (and was therefore set to move temporarily into Band K for 2009), the DVLA stated that this was irrelevant.

This resulted in the amount for 2009 being quoted £115 higher than it actually is.

Unlike most staff at the DVLA call centre, this person wouldn't disclose any information regarding the upcoming road tax changes.

Therefore, owners would be unable to find out how much their car will cost them to tax next year, despite the laws changing soon.

This member of staff failed to place the vehicle in its correct tax bands for this year and next, but did calculate the right amount for 2010.

The DVLA found road tax in 2009 particularly problematic to figure out, but to get this year's figure wrong is extremely worrying. 

Amazingly, the annual rate of £445 quoted for 2010 doesn't exist for any tax band, in any year.

This demonstrates the DVLA's ill-informed and inaccurate replies to Parker's road tax enquiries.

For all the latest road tax news, visit Parker's guide to road tax.