Motorists risk having cars towed in 'confusion' over vehicle tax changes

Growing numbers of motorists are having their cars clamped and towed away because of confusion over tax disc changes.

New figures published a year after the tax disc was scrapped suggest that drivers are still struggling to adjust to the new electronic system.

The number of vehicles being clamped or impounded has leapt from about 5,500 a month under the old system to more than 8,000 a month. This hit a peak of 10,554 in July.

The increase has been put down to confusion over new rules regarding transfer of ownership which came in at the same time that tax discs were scrapped after 93 years.

The AA said that while most people know that they no longer have to display a tax disc in their car window, many do not realise that when they sell a car or transfer its ownership the new owner has to tax the car even if the previous owner had several months of outstanding tax.

The new rules put an end to the longstanding practice of advertising second hand cars that are taxed up to a certain date, but are also causing confusion among those who did not opt to set up a direct debit when the new system came in, despite DVLA reminder letters.

An AA spokesman said: "The disc was an obvious reminder. It has now gone and we think people might be forgetting.”

Motoring organisations have now called for a publicity campaign to inform motorists of the changes.

Although the DVLA says it sends reminder letters to all new vehicle keepers some motorists claim they have not been notified.

Dylan Casella, a student at Portsmouth University, had his car towed away and was required to pay a £242 fine after his father transferred the ownership of a car into his name so he could get a parking permit.

He told the BBC's You and Yours programme: “I didn't receive anything from the DVLA to say 'your car is not taxed and you need to renew it'. So as far as I was concerned I thought the tax had carried on and that was that.

"I had actually gone on holiday to Budapest and returned to find my car had disappeared off the road. I headed home and checked in the post and found a letter from the DVLA to say my car had been towed, and taken up to Reading. And they said I had to come and collect it and pay £242."

The DVLA is urging motorists to check the tax status of their vehicles on their website, which is accessible on mobile devices and works by entering the vehicle's make and registration number.

A DVLA spokeswoman said the "vast majority of people tax their cars on time", with over 47 million drivers taxing their vehicles since 1 October 2014. Of these, nearly 34 million have chosen to tax their vehicles online or by phone.

The spokesman added that clamping "remains an effective enforcement tool," but is only used as “a last resort” with vehicle keepers receiving a number of reminder letters advising them that they need to tax their vehicle before enforcement action is taken.