Sharing information
We need an emissions sticker to take our motorhome through Germany. However, the companies issuing the stickers want a copy of my V5 along with application. Is it safe to share information on V5? We saw a TV programme where a car identity was ‘stolen’ online as the seller gave a photo of their V5 to a potential buyer.
As for purchase, we were going to use VignetteShop as it appeared easy and reasonable at €14. The state ones seemed complicated and in German.
Can you recommend a company or district? This is frustrating as our French emission sticker, purchased pre-Brexit, was so easy!
Hil and Jer
ED Yes, you’ll need to send your V5 information. It is commonly much cheaper to go direct to the issuing organisations in Germany than buy through third-party companies. A reader used the Berlin state application process last July and reported that he found it very straightforward. The cost was just €6 at the time. He also stated that he used a Revolut card so there were no foreign exchange fees, but any credit card – one of the most common is a Halifax Clarity one – offering this would be the same berlin.de/labo/ mobilitaet/kfz-zulassung/ feinstaubplakette/shop.85047. php
Hil and Jer replied that they tried the Berlin system for about half an hour, but it wouldn’t upload a photo of their V5 and switched back to German halfway through the process. They then tried VignetteShop, which uploaded the V5 easily but cost more... although they reckon it was probably worth the extra £10 for less stress.
Hil added, “However, I feel uncomfortable as it is an unknown company to me, has info about my precious motorhome, came into spam not inbox and, most worrying, my Tesco credit card did not ask for two-factor confirmation. Overall, not a good experience!
“Managing our motorhoming is becoming a full-time job. After recently upgrading our battery, solar panels and WiFi on our 2015 IH van, the upgrading of our fridge to a compressor has proved very complicated! Hopefully MMM might do something regarding upgrading to inspire the market to make upgrading easier. I hope all goes smoothly with our emissions sticker.”