Skip to main content

Dysfunctional Layabouts Very Awkward - oh, er, the DVLA

Great to know the country's premium automated stealth-tax collection site doesn't do what it says on the front page.

Oh sorry, the recently new DVLA farce.

If you have a vehicle to shell out for, don't make any changes on-line, as you are then locked out for 5 working days (yep, weekends not included) while the system automatically (yep, "automatically" - you can tell its a civil service 'service', as it apparently realises when it's the weekend and doesn't work then) updates.

The DVLA themselves can't do anything for you, so you have to drag out to a Post Office (preferably one than hasn't been closed by this or the previous Government). Why the organ grinders have to send you to the moneys is beyond me!

Oh, and the highwaymen at DVLA will also charge you £2.50 to use a credit card.

And I love the message on the TOTALLY AUTOMATED PAYMENT phone system "all calls will be recorded for training and monitoring purposes" - I would love to know what they intend to do with a series of phone pad beeps.

What I can't get my head around is that while they had the chance, they should have simply got rid of car tax. Shoved a percentage on fuel so that those who use the most pay the most. A simple, self-financing pay as you drive system. Needs no administering, but then, the government lose chances to collect stealth taxes via their revenue camera cars.

But just think of how much time the Police would gain to chase criminals if they didn't have to go out on revenue duties!

If you must drive a 4x4 road digger and fuel burner to go to Sainsbury's, then you pay tax proportionally on the fuel you use. If you drive everywhere when you could just as easily walk or take public transport, then you pay more via your fuel. And if you don't like it, go electric.

And commercial travellers and professional drivers who use fuel as a tool of their trade could be easily accommodated through the tax system.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pirate Bay threatened with closure - doesn't affect me

Swedish file sharing website The Pirate Bay is now under threat following legal action by the British Phonographic Industry last December. They alleged that the website "infringes copyright on a massive scale” regarding the sharing of computer games, software, films and music. Point taken, and one can't for one minute deny that copyright is being infringed on quite a massive scale, not just on Pirate Bay, but all around the internet. However, with due respect to the originators of the shared files, I have never used Pirate Bay myself, except perhaps on very odd occasions for software, films and music. I never use Pirate Bay for software, because I prefer to pay an outlandish price for another seemingly pointless update to Microsoft Office that neither improves my speed nor productivity. And I am quite happy to part with hard earned cash to a company that has already earned a fortune from me - and others - with their updates over the years. And as for the recent update of Pho...
Post a Comment
Read more

Airport amusement

There is no doubt that airports can be quite amusing places. That is apart from being told by a burly security supervisor at the x-ray gate that thanks to the only contribution Yasser Arafat ever made to society, I had to remove my belt, shoes, watch and place my AK-47 in the tray provided. Watching people going around their travel ‘business’ in airports and on board the aircraft is hilarious. There are those who are plainly not very good at it, continually checking all manner of minutiae with the other members of the party. “Do we go to the gate?”, “Have we time for a beer?”, “I MUST get a pizza”. There are those who have plainly not done it much before and like their fellow travellers to be made fully aware of the exact opposite, as they point and gesture to the monitor shouting out their destination and boarding gate at every passing opportunity to one and all around them. There are those who think they are something special – despite the fact they are travelling via bu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are Camelot dim, dysfunctional, liars or just plain greedy?

There can be no denying that UK lottery operators Camelot are on to a good thing. Especially the overpaid management. They have been reaping the benefits of the franchise for years now - a franchise that in essence, has been licenced by the government to print money. However, I can't quite make up my mind whether the management of the Lotto are dim, dysfunctional, liars or just plain greedy, although the cynic in me answers the question when I consider the chief Executive of Camelot was complaining last year that the annual bonus on her not inconsiderable 7-figure salary had been reduced (conveniently forgetting her 18 year sojourn to date at Camelot has produced a pension we mere mortals can only dream about. How about the poor soldiers, CEO Dianne Thompson, who come back from the far-east minus a leg and have to legally fight for compensation that doesn't even touch what you earn less than a month? And they don't receive CBE's for their troubles either !). Irres...
Post a Comment
Read more