CLASSIC FANS HIT BY DVLA’S COVID CRISIS
Owners hit by delays to paperwork applications and changes to car details as agency deals with deadly outbreak
Classic owners are facing delays as the DVLA grapples with a COVID-19 outbreak at its headquarters, an organisation representing car clubs says.
The Swansea-based vehicle registration agency has assured CCW that it was business as usual, but the the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs has said that enquiries, including getting cars registered for ‘Historic’ status, have been unresolved since last October.
FBHVC communications director, Wayne Scott, said: ‘The FBHVC accepts the challenges faced by the DVLA who are receiving literally tens of thousands of items of mail each week, but we wish to stress in no uncertain terms that these matters will be raised again with urgency post-pandemic.’
Classic vehicle lobbying group, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC), has spoken of its frustration in resolving critical issues of vehicle identification and registration with the DVLA.
The Swansea agency is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, having more than 500 cases confirmed. Unresolved cases with the DVLA and Federation stretch back as far as October 2020.
FBHVC communications director, Wayne Scott, said: ‘During the pandemic the Federation has attempted to continue dialogue with the DVLA on six matters which are of significant concern to the interests of Federation members and the community that they represent. Having raised these vitally important matters, the Federation was not helped by receiving a communication from the DVLA last October, responding to the matters raised and in five cases stating: “This action point is now considered closed”.
‘The FBHVC represents more than 250,000 historic vehicle enthusiasts owning 1.5m historic vehicles on the DVLA database and a movement that contributes £7.2bn to the UK economy. The FBHVC accepts the challenges faced by the DVLA, who are receiving literally tens of thousands of items of mail each week... we wish to stress in no uncertain terms that these matters will be raised again with the utmost urgency post-pandemic.’
A DVLA spokesperson said: ‘ We have engaged with the FBHVC throughout the pandemic and responded to the issues that they raised. Our online services have not been impacted by the pandemic and continue to work as normal. This will always be the quickest and simplest way to deal with us, and we’ve urged our customers to use these where they can.
‘Current social distancing requirements mean that we must have fewer staff than usual on site at any one time. Paper applications are likely to take between six and eight weeks to process.’
Clubs continue to push for critical document services, the processing of which on paper have been considerably delayed since last year, to be made available online. Confusion over registering cars brought into the UK was a particular problem until the DVLA confirmed updated packs were available ( CCW, 1 August 2020). Changing tax classes of cars from PLG to ‘ historic’ continue to suffer ongoing delays.
Fiat Motor Club GB media officer, Gavin Bushby, hoped that the DVLA would move such documents online in the hope of alleviating its backlogs. He said: ‘The DVLA online systems are working really well and efficiently. There are too many exceptions where paper forms are required, though, and with home working, the DVLA seems unable to track these effectively.’
Jon Burgess fbhvc.co.uk