DVLA

What is the IMDA Doing for you?

For those of you unlucky enough to have sent any paper applications to the DVLA within the last few months will fully understand the frustration caused by the lack of information, urgency and communication from them.

We noted a number of weeks back that many of our members had voiced their concerns about the time DVLA were taking to complete on Cherished Transfers , changes to V5C’s retention of cherished numbers etc, in fact any transaction where the paperwork had to be posted to the DVLA Swansea for them to complete.

Being a Government body the DVLA did not have the ability to Furlough staff which meant many of the staff were being paid for sitting at home when dealers and customers were becoming anxious about the fact they could not find out about what had happened to the paperwork they had posted to the DVLA. These delays resulted in many concerned customers and delays to car deliveries and in some cases lost sales .

The IMDA wrote to DVLA with their members concerns with the following letter on the 10^th of July with the hope that we would receive an immediate response however had to send out two follow up emails before receiving the attached letter from the DVLA explaining how the situation was caused and assuring us that they were well on their way to amend the situation.

Although not exactly the response we had desired it does show that as a strongly supported trade Association our views , worries and concerns have been taken via lobbying on behalf of you our members.

Thank you for your continued support. If you would like the IMDA to take action on any other area that is causing concern please do let us know by emailing us hello@theimda.co.uk

You can follow the thread and click to read the DVLA official reply.

 

 

This was our original email to DVLA

 

 

Subject: Official Complaint from the IMDA

 

To Whom It May Concern

 

As the only trade organisation representing the Independent Motor Dealers in the UK of which there are in excess of 15,000, we the IMDA (The Independent Motor Dealer Association) with a membership of 567 Car Dealerships, are writing to complain about the level of service many of our members are experiencing at the moment and have since just before lockdown in the UK.

 

We fully understand the recent COVID-19 Pandemic has caused many challenges across all industries within the UK and can only assume that this has impacted heavily on the DVLA with amount of staff you can have within your offices and buildings. This has obviously impacted on the DVLA’s ability to generate changes to Vehicle ownership and Cherished Transfers changes where it has not been possible for these to be completed online. It is our members experience that where Paperwork including V5C registration documents have had to be posted to DVLA to get changed or updated there is an unacceptable delay in this process with some allegedly dating back to February 2020. Additionally and frustratingly there is no way for the car dealership or the owner of the car to get in contact with you, as it seems many departments with DVLA are still closed.

 

These delays are now impacting dealerships across the UK heavily & financially, where vehicle deliveries are being delayed, many which include a part exchange which means the impact financially is in many cases doubled.

We also worry that many members of the public maybe driving cars without the correct number plate displayed which affects the insurance cover.

Where a registration number is required for Council Parking Permits or ULEZ zoned driving, it is causing many members of the public to change registration numbers on these temporarily which again impacts them financially.

 

Our Association members would like to understand the following:-

• Why has the COVID pandemic caused such a backlog of paperwork?
• What processes have the DVLA put in place to clear this backlog?
• When do we expect to see an improvement in the service?
• When will it be possible to carry out all these amendments online?
• What advice can you give in the meantime for our members when dealing with Cherished Transfers and Ownership changes where they cannot be done online?

 

Although we empathise with the situation, we do not fully understand why there is such a delay given the fact that during the lockdown period there were very few car sales made and as result there would have been less paperwork to deal with.

 

Thank you in advance for your attention to this and we look forward to your prompt reply.

 

Kind regards

Jim

Jim Reid

 

Founder Member of The IMDA

DVLA REPLY - Click to open

IMDA-DVLA-Jim-Reid