My wife and I hit a pothole while driving home from a day out. It burst a tyre and we called our breakdown service provider, Autonational Rescue. The agent informed us that our vehicle’s excise duty had expired 10 days before and that I would need to renew it before they could attend. We have not received a renewal letter from the DVLA and, as we no longer have tax discs, we rely on this to remind us. I tried to renew the tax at the side of the road, but you cannot do this without the renewal letter or the V5C logbook. So we were stuck. We ended up calling a local garage, which changed the tyre at the roadside. We now know to carry our V5C reference number and mark in our diary our tax renewal date. But I do question whether breakdown services can refuse to attend because the car tax renewal is a few days out of date.
MK, Leeds
You are not alone. Since tax discs were scrapped in 2014, the proportion of untaxed vehicles has soared from about 0.6% of the total to a record 1.9% in 2021, when the latest figures were published. Reminder letters from the DVLA are meant to prevent drivers inadvertently forgetting, but the agency tells me it is investigating reports that these letters have been going astray. It won’t confirm how many may be affected.
In the eyes of the law, however, a missing reminder is neither here nor there. It is the driver’s responsibility to tax their vehicle on time and the driver who takes the rap if they forget. And that rap is a heavy one. Insurance policies are likely to be invalidated, your car could be clamped and impounded and you face a fine of up to £1,000.
Critically, as you found, you could be also left stranded at the roadside if you break down. Tow trucks have to have a special, more expensive licence to transport untaxed vehicles, so most of the main roadside recovery firms will refuse to attend a breakdown if tax has lapsed, even if recovery turns out not to be needed. The AA told me it would transport untaxed vehicles to the nearest safe place if they were stranded on a dangerous road and it would fully recover members who were unable to renew their tax at the roadside for an extra £99 fee plus £4.50 a mile. The RAC will not turn out unless vehicle duty has been paid.
A spokesperson for Autonational Rescue said its hands were tied even if the tax lapsed hours beforehand. “I appreciate this sounds like an unfortunate situation but it is the responsibility of the driver to ensure they are road legal,” said a spokesperson. “The action we have taken in this instance was in line with the terms and conditions of the product purchased and the law.”
The DVLA pointed out that it did not have a legal responsibility to send reminder letters because the onus to renew was squarely on drivers. “All V11 reminders have been dispatched from DVLA as they always are and without any delays,” said a spokesperson. “However we are investigating with our mailing providers reports of customers not receiving theirs.” Its mailing provider, UK Mail, part of DHL, told me it was not experiencing any issues.
You can check online when your tax is due for renewal at www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax and, if you renew online or at a post office, you can set up a direct debit so that it’s renewed automatically. In August, the DVLA launched a new scheme allowing drivers to sign up for electronic tax reminders, while the AA sends members reminders about tax renewal and MOTs via its app.
Conductor earns symphony of praise
My wife and I travelled by train from London to Birmingham, where our son-in-law was performing in a concert. We had to change at Watford Junction. However, our Thameslink service was delayed and we faced missing our connection. I explained our situation to the conductor. As we approached Watford Junction, he came to tell us that we had two minutes to make our connection. He offered to carry our case and took us to the carriage that would stop nearest the platform underpass. When we reached the station, he led us along the underpass to the platform for the Birmingham train. It pulled in just as we were ascending the stairs and he helped us board. Roshen Burrows, you went way over and above what any commuter would expect and we will always remember your kindness.
MB and JB, London
This is a delightful antidote to rail horror stories and I contacted Govia Thameslink so that Roshen could receive due recognition. Mark Pavlides, its chief customer officer, replied: “It’s great to hear about one of our colleagues going beyond the call of duty. It’s hard to get it right all the time, but Roshen is a great example of showing how much we care and we thank him for his efforts.”
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