The DVLA known as scam artists (DVLA)

Member Name: Absy_Baby

Product:	DVLA
Date:	15/04/09 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Er............they sell number plates

Disadvantages: You don't actually own the number plate and they charge you through the roof

The DVLA - well the number plate department!!

Where to start - when I was 16 years old I thought the DVLA were the best people in the world, why you ask because I was less than a year away from getting my driving licence, and they would provide me with my freedom. Which they did.

Since then however my opinion has changed slightly. For my twenty-first birthday I got a personalised number plate. It's great, I love material things although appreciate the things around me, like friends, family and the security I get from them when I need them. I am in no way an airhead, I have travelled quite a lot and totally appreciate where I come from and that a personalised number plate is not really important in the grand scheme of things but hey I wanted one.

Anyway, I had a car for 4 years before getting my number plate, then my mum and dad paid to sort it out and get it put on my car. I thought this was great, the number plate cost in the region of £500, not small change.

The DVLA however are a load of money making scam artists (and I apologise to those who work there, I can't stereotype but.............) it costs money to have a number plate put on, this used to be £80. I brought a new car about 18 months ago, so I then had to pay £80 again to get it transferred which in turn delayed me getting my car by 2 weeks because they couldn't manage to sort the paperwork out and then ended up sending it to the wrong place.

Since then I have decided to sell the car I have, but I need to sell the car before buying another. So I have to pay £105 to put the number plate on retention (which is only for a year) if I had wanted longer it would have been £135 for 2 years and I didn't even look at longer.

If this retention then runs out, the DVLA will reclaim my number plate, the plate that cost my parents in excess of £500 - I do not think so!

It is awful how they sell you a product, then charge you to use the product then treat it as you are renting the product.

All in all it's a scam and an expensive one at that. I hate it when I feel conned and I certainly do now.

What really gets my goat is the fact the DVLA scam master must think those people with personalised number plates have the money to pay - well we don't!!! I wouldn't even mind if in some way it reflected on me but tax prices and the number of pot holes are still extremely high. But I suppose all this money they collect from charging extortionate amounts on numbers plates is just paying for their advertising budget - who cares if they have a machine that automatically tells them when tax is out of date, it didn't make a difference when one of my delightful neighbours dumped their car in the parking bay outside my house, untaxed for 4 months!!!

Summary: A total con if you ask me