Diary of idiocy

[JK0]

Ordered a 2nd hand car last week, so need to rent a garage. I found one on Gumtree, filled in all the agent's forms, and paid 4 months rent. The keys arrived on Saturday, so today I went over there. There is a gate to the area with a padlock & chain, so I was supplied with 2 keys... You guessed it, neither opened the padlock.

I came home annoyed and rang the agent as politely as I could muster. She said: 'Oh they're definitely the right keys, but we'll send you another set'. I'm sure she is too idle to go and check her keys before sending me another set. (Wouldn't fellow landlords be mortified if a tenant could not get into a flat on the first day?) Anyway, we'll see what comes tomorrow.

Second bit of idiocy is the system for taxing a car nowadays:

I bought the car from a dealer in Scotland, and it is being shipped down. Dealer registered the car in my name, but was unable to tax it. The DVLA sent me an email as follows:

You must tax this vehicle before it is driven on the road, tax now at www.gov.uk/vehicletax.

If you do not want to tax you can make a SORN declaration now at www.gov.uk/sorn.

For more information on driving and transport go to www.gov.uk/browse/driving.

You may wish to save or print this email confirmation for your records.

However, if you click on the link above to tax your car, enter your reference & number plate, it tells you to go to the post office as you are a new owner!

Of course, I can't go and do this until the car is unloaded, (illegally onto the road in view of it now not being taxed) as the dealer has left the MOT certificate in the car!

Then when I get to the post office, I will have to pay around £30 for their admin, as the car is exempt from road tax.

Give me strength!

[Macromia]

Unless things have changed in the last 8 years, you shouldn't have to pay any admin fee at the Post Office(as long as you complete the forms yourself).

I had to go to the Post Office to tax my zero tax car when I first bought and didn't have to pay anything.

[JK0]

Unless things have changed in the last 8 years, you shouldn't have to pay any admin fee at the Post Office(as long as you complete the forms yourself).

I had to go to the Post Office to tax my zero tax car when I first bought and didn't have to pay anything.

Thanks Macromia. That's interesting. I'll try to do that.

[JK0]

Ha. I don't believe this...

The car arrived at 5.30pm last night, so too late to tax it then. This morning, I went over to the post office, to find it had been ram-raided overnight, and the police had crime scene tape across it. Good job I don't need to go anywhere.

[JK0]

More idiocy today...

I've been to the post office. They referred me back to the DVLA. The DVLA say that the tax class of the car needs to be changed as it is no longer a 'Crown Vehicle'. (It used to belong to the Scottish government.) I have to return my V5C to the DVLA requesting that, and they will take about 4 weeks to process it.

I resisted the temptation to ask: 'Why the hell did you send me a V5C, which I can't use to tax the car?'

[Kape65]

Have you gone and bought Alex Salmonds Bentley?

[JK0]

I wish.

If it was not already free road tax, and congestion charge, I might have been tempted to leave it as a 'crown vehicle', as they don't seem too bothered about it.

[nukecad]

Ask them if you can have CD plates fitted. LOL.

Is it armour plated? That would shove the petrol consumption up.

[JK0]

More idiocy today...

DVLA sent me a nasty letter threatening me to 'tax it or lose it'.

BTW, why do TFL require a photostat of the logbook to see if a vehicle is elegible for congestion charge exemption, but for emissions exemption they can tell from the reg no?

[JK0]

Just tried to use my online banking to pay my Jersey decorator. The website now asks if it is a business or private account. Not being sure, I thought I'll use telephone banking and explain.

I might as well not have bothered. The girl treated me like a confused pensioner who was about to be scammed out of his life savings, and refused to execute the transfer.

I've sent him a cheque.