Direct debit car tax?

[Cavcraft]

If you set up Direct Debit car tax how easy (or not) is it to cancel it, when do the payments start (i.e if I did it now when would payments come out) and if the payments don't come out for say a week or two and you sell the car in the meantime, do they still (as I would expect) take one payment then cancel it?

THX IN ADDVNC M8s

[derskine]

I do it but can't say I've paid that much attention.

 

Some observations:

 

I think the payments come out at the start of each month, so if you set it up now, the payment doesn't go till the end of the month, I THINK.

Declaring a SORN on a car seems to cancel them, but I've had the odd payment taken after declaring a SORN, I'm not sure if this is just due to the above though.

[155V6]

If you set it up now,the 1st payment would come out on something like the 23rd of this month,& then the 1st of every month from next month.I wouldn't trust them to cancel the payment just because you'd put it on SORN,I always cancel the direct debit myself.

[320touring]

sorn and cancel the dd at your end. sorted

[billyboy406v6]

Cancel online and at your bank just to be sure !

[barmatt]

I've done it a couple of times now and it seems that the first payment goes at the beginning of the next month, so if you set it up today the first payment would be at the beginning of Feb and would be for 1 month and 3 weeks and then it goes on the first working day of the month thereafter at the monthly cost depending on the vehicle.

 

As said above, when you sell a motor I always cancel the DD myself as I don't trust Doovla to do it.

[Cavcraft]

Thanks. What would happen if I taxed a motor now, then say sold it next week and cancelled the DD, surely I'd get charged somehow as wouldn't it be like the old 'pay by bounced cheque' trick people used to pull?

[Dave_Q]

The first payment is 14 days after set up then 1st of the month thereafter.

 

If you cancelled/sold/whatever before that, possibly a naughty boy letter from the doovla? With not much else provided it was sorned or change of keeper fairly quickly.

 

If it were me I'd let the first payment go out to avoid hassle, however you could always be a test case to see what happens.

[theshadow]

iv cancelled at the bank,had no problem,

[Dave_Q]

Have just thought that when I recently sold my E36 I cancelled the DD and got a letter through saying so.

 

The letter has a space to put in who you sold it to which I filled in and returned, heard no more and got a "you are no longer the keeper" slip through a couple of weeks later.

 

I'd honestly think you'd be fine to cancel before the first payment went out although I guess technically you're open to a fine + 1 months back tax.

[UltraWomble]

If you set it up now,the 1st payment would come out on something like the 23rd of this month,& then the 1st of every month from next month.I wouldn't trust them to cancel the payment just because you'd put it on SORN,I always cancel the direct debit myself.

^^^^ This, the thieving cockwombles took two lots of DD for the C8 in November and December last year and still we havent got this back - mind you me resorting to calling them ladies front bottoms when they kept saying my date of birth was wrong might not have endeared me to them.

[dollywobbler]

I'm currrently testing the system, as I have not cancelled the tax on the Volvo. Will further payments be taken PRACE BETS NOW!

[barefoot]

Sorned the bay on the last day of the month, the ddm went out as usual on the first of the next and was refunded a few days later. No drama here.

[mat_the_cat]

Definitely cancel the DD. I've been stung twice where I've SORNed a car, only for the DD still to be taken out 2 weeks later and not refunded. Which reminds me, I really need to chase that up!

 

I can't imagine it is a deliberate ploy to con people, as it sounds like the system works fine for some. Just that I'd rather not leave it to chance!

[RobT]

If it were me I'd let the first payment go out to avoid hassle, however you could always be a test case to see what happens.

I'd do the former personally, with a phone reminder/note on AS calendar to cancel the DD the day after. Don't be a dork like me and cancel a DD on a Friday evening when it was due to go out the following Monday, as needs a banking day to process. I thought such shiz was instant these days, obviously not.

[Cavcraft]

Someone told me recently the DVLA are losing hand over foot with this new system. I hope it's true because it's an absolute pain in the arse in some regards, to the extent I'm going to actively seek a bit of land to rent this year and they can shove my contributions to RFL up their arses.