DVLA BACKLOG KEEPING CARS OFF THE ROAD
Classic fans left waiting months for replies as Swansea staff work ‘flat out’ to deal with delays caused by coronavirus
Classic owners have said that they are encountering delays of up to three months as the DVLA clears a backlog of paperwork dating back to before the start of the UK-wide lockdown due to COVID-19.
The vehicle registration agency has this week told CCW that it is working as quickly as possible but acknowledged that paperwork is taking considerably longer than usual to process.
Lindsay Rouse, who is attempting to get an imported Lancia re-registered for the UK, said: ‘I go online to see what’s happening every few days, and get the same COVID-19 message.
‘I have the original paperwork, but don’t want to send it to them only for it to be lost in a backlog mountain, especially as you have to also send the original foreign registration document. If that were to end up lost, who knows how you’d progress it.’
‘The DVLA is getting through it, but turnaround times are taking longer’
The DVLA says that it is working flat-out to process applications which came during lockdown – a period when its office staff were furloughed owing to COVID-19.
A reduced staff returned to the agency offices on 12 June to comply with social distancing; many Classic Car Weekly readers were directed to the DVLA website instead of relying on paper applications.
Enthusiasts were stuck in limbo if they had sent documents – as reported previously ( CCW, 6 May), leaving them unable to declare MoT and tax exemptions.
A DVLA spokesperson said:
‘ We are processing applications as quickly as possible. If someone has already made an application, they don’t need to contact us; we will process this and return any documentation as quickly as possible. If customers do choose to send in a paper application, they will have to wait longer for a reply.’
Unfortunately, sections of the DVLA website which need human intervention – like processing documents for imported vehicles – have been struck by the same delays, and CCW has contacted by owners waiting to hear if their cars have been reclassified as tax-exempt ‘Historic’ vehicles.
Lancia enthusiast, Lindsay Rouse, is still waiting to get his imported Thema 8.32 on the road after a four-year restoration; he cannot download the pack necessary to send back to Swansea. He said: ‘I check the DVLA site three of four times daily, but since early April you go onto their site and all you get is “You cannot currently order application packs or forms online because of coronavirus (COVID-19)”.
‘I do actually have blank paperwork from three years ago but I don’t want to use that as it may well have changed since then. And more than that I don’t want to send it to them only for it to be lost in a backlog mountain. Especially as you have to also send the original foreign registration document. That gets lost and who knows how you progress it.’
Although there are now people manning the phones, non-key worker tax and MoT enquiries are now being processed; workarounds have appeared online, including entering zeroes for your log book number on the key pad, or waiting to speak to a staff member to manually pay for car tax and discussing historic vehicle tax classes with them online.
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) urged any historic vehicle owner with sensitive documentation to send copies to Swansea during the backlog, or, if an MoT or tax classic change was stuck in the pipeline, to pay for road fund licence and roadworthiness testing and claim the former back at a later date. Communications officer, Wayne Scott, said: ‘The DVLA, like many organisations are experiencing delays with processing documentation. They are getting through it, but turn-around times are taking longer. In the meantime,
WAYNE SCOTT, FBHVC
keep a copy of any documents that you have sent away for your own records and while you wait, MoT/ tax your vehicle and get out on the roads, (observing government guidelines, of course) and enjoy it.’ ❚ dvla.gov.uk