DVLA a 'shambles', says SMTA 29 | 08 | 2013
THE SCOTTISH MOTOR TRADE ASSOCIATION (SMTA) has labelled the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) as a "shambles. The criticism centres specifically on its handling of personalised number plates.
According to SMTA chief executive Douglas Robertson, the delays are causing car dealers significant problems in terms of cash flow. Robertson says Scots dealers are up to £1 million out of pocket while they wait for the DVLA to use the new registrations.
And the SMTA warned that jobs will have to go unless the delays are resolved at the Swansea office of the DVLA.
Swansea is now handling 20,000 of the applications each week, following the centralisation of work.
The DVLA has started to wind down its network of regional offices.
Since July, applications to transfer a personal registration plate from one car to another have had to go to the Swansea headquarters, and have taken longer than the guideline seven days.
“The DVLA is currently centralising its processes in Swansea and intends to close all its Local Vehicle Licensing offices (LVLOs)," Robertson said.
"Centralisation is intended to save the UK taxpayers a considerable amount of money in the future, but the current cost to UK businesses and taxpayers could well exceed any savings.
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"The transfer of personalised numbers from one vehicle to another is supposed to take 7-8 working days maximum.
"However we have found over the past couple of months that this can often extend to six weeks and this is causing frustration amongst consumers who cannot put their cars on the road until the transfer is complete. As a result, many of our dealers' cash flow is suffering badly whilst they wait on the numbers to be received.
"Being over £1 million out of pocket for a few weeks can cause great difficulties for a retail business in the motor trade, and we believe it is only a matter of time before jobs are lost.
"This will have been caused by the incompetence of a UK Government Agency funded by the taxpayers!”
The SMTA chief added: “We have been in communication with the DVLA frequently in recent weeks and have achieved no satisfaction; indeed we have evidence that they are now issuing misleading information to ourselves and our members.
"We have also been in contact with the UK Minister of Transport, Patrick McLoughlin who is ultimately responsible for the DVLA, and also the Scottish Secretary of State Michael Moore.
"Sadly, in the two weeks since we made contact, nothing has been heard from either of them.
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"It would appear that little or nothing is being done about this disgraceful situation, and we believe it essential that consumers understand the delays are being caused by the incompetence of the DVLA, not their local dealer.”
The DVLA has issued an apology to car dealerships, admitting it has "experienced some delays" in the processing of personalised registration applications.
"The maximum processing time for personalised registration applications has not changed with the introduction of the new process," a DVLA spokesman said, "and we are still committed to our turnaround time of seven working days from receipt of the application at DVLA.
"However, we are currently experiencing some delays in the processing of personalised registration applications, which means some applications are delayed by a couple of days. We are working to resolve this and expect to be back within usual processing times shortly.
"We remain committed to delivering the best service we can. Our continued movement towards digital transactions and the greater use of other organisations to deliver services on our behalf will make it easier for customers to deal with us in a way that suits them."
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Jim McGill