Struck by it again. Info through the post saying "tax it online, here's its a good idea to tax it online, we'll even enter you into a prize draw it's so good"

Go to tax it online…. "oh, we can't do that because your insurance is due at the same time. Christ, how many people will have the same situation where they bought a car and taxed and insured it at the same time. Morons, whats sort of a stupid system are they running. It currently has insurance, I'm applying for it early and have not yet renewed my insurance but it is still valid.

+1

+1

Any thing to do with Maj's Gov. is w@nk.

ah you failed to mention also that in between taxing your car online and the disc arriving in the post …the nice rozzers will bang you for not displaying a disc……….

Ah government IT systems eh? Always shite.

ah you failed to mention also that in between taxing your car online and the disc arriving in the post …the nice rozzers will bang you for not displaying a disc……….

In theory their computer would tell them that tax has been paid for. IIRC you have a set number of allowed days to cover the postage.

I taxed one of our cars 2 weeks late once (waiting for MOT work to be done) and when I've gone to the web site to tax it it's shown the cars tax as 'about to expire' even two weeks after the end of the month.
So I presume they allow you a couple of weeks leeway before it's officially expired and the rozzers can book you.
So in the situation where the insurance and the tax expire on the same day I would renew the insurance one day and do the tax a day or two later.

To be honest any web-based renewal system is better than trudging to the post office and waiting in line behind the old biddies getting their pension and the eBay sellers sending two sacks of parcels each 👿

I forgot to tax my car for a month due to being away on business. Wasn't a problem.

ah you failed to mention also that in between taxing your car online and the disc arriving in the post …the nice rozzers will bang you for not displaying a disc……….

From the FAQ

I have not received the tax disc. Can I use the vehicle without the tax disc displayed?

When you apply for a tax disc online or by using our phone service you are able to legally continue to drive your vehicle for up to 5 days after the tax disc has expired while you wait for the new tax disc to arrive. This will only apply when you have applied for a new tax disc before the current one expires. You should continue to display the expired disc on your vehicle, until the new one arrives.

Works for me

GrahamS – Member
Ah government IT systems eh? Always shite.

ah you failed to mention also that in between taxing your car online and the disc arriving in the post …the nice rozzers will bang you for not displaying a disc……….

In theory their computer would tell them that tax has been paid for. IIRC you have a set number of allowed days to cover the postage.

Actually not correctly displaying a valid disc and not paying tax/SORNing vehicle are two separate offences. Nice eh? I've had a ticket for failure to display (my disc is in the centre of the windscreen rather than in the bottom corner of the passenger side) even though the computer said the car was taxed. I was then given some rubbish that the Law states the disc neds to be in the bottom left corner. It doesn't, you just need it displayed in view on the winscreen.

As for renewing online. I agree it's a stupid system. There's no warranty/indemity protecting the motorist against the disc being lost / stolen in the post. Effectively, the motorist carries all the risk and liability for the disc whilst it's in the post which is stupid.

I think that website is an example of how brilliany web sites can be.

Search for my MOT certificate and insurance for three days in the mountain of crap on every flat surface in my entire house? no, I just click and tax. It's worked perfectly for me every year since it first came out.

I don't understand.. My tax was up for renewal 28th Feb. My insurance ran out on 2nd March – changed company before I applied for new tax disc. Did it all online so that I wouldn't have to deal with the confusion of which insurance policy to hand over. Worked fine for me…. But did I do something wrong then?

Same problem for me. I renewed this time for just 6 months so next time renewal comes up I'll have MOT and insurance so can be done online.Costs a bit extra though !!

Used it for the last 2 yrs, worked perfectly. No more queuing with the p*ss sodden pensioners at the Post Office 🙂

yup my dad couldnt find insurance cover note – didnt know if he had it , or his business partner.

get it done online then – no bother

at least when my tax is due next month is 3 months out from insurance and 6 months away from mot 😀

Must admit I had no trouble last May and thought it was about time it was online. Used to hate queuing up in the PO for ages, only to find I'd forgotten some essential piece of paper and have to do it again.

Just out of interest, the other week we obviously had a police/DVLA hit in our area, I saw 4 cars clamped in two streets including my neighbours. Was surprised at the number of untaxed vechiles in the area.

I'm in the same situation but with my MOT due very close to the renewal date of my tax disc.
When I try to do the tax online it won't allow me as it is so close to expiry of my MOT. I think I can get around it by MOTing the car early, but it's remembering to do that when the time comes where I keep failing.

I did consider getting 6 months tax, but that shifts it to roundabout when my insurance is due, which is also close to Christmas, so I could do without shifting another financial burden closer to Christmas and my insurance bill…!

Best example of e-govt yet for me. Presumably cheaper to administer and better service for me. Standing in post offices sucks ass

+1
(bought 6 months tax and then resume 12 months so the tax and insurance dates are not the same)

The system works fine .It has safeguards against you taxing a car that may soon be illegal what's the problem?

worked fine for me but as higher up our insurance ends/starts at different times so to spread costs through the year 😉