Can you get tax with a cover note?

Can you get road tax using a cover note or as a temp additional vehicle?

If you mean can you tax a vehicle that you don't have covered, then as have a look at your cover note, temporary or otherwise, as long as it says something like any vehicle, then the post office won't query it, but if the registration is mentioned then they will chuck it back at you.

mrcheerful

Eh? Surely you mean the opposite of that - if the registration is mentioned then that's what's required, and if it just says "any vehicle" then it won't work. Though it's different with trader's policies, I think.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

What I was trying to say was that if the registration number doesn't match with the tax application, they will reject it. If the cert. just says any vehicle or similar then that will do.

Mrcheerful

If it's valid when the tax is due to start then yes. If you get some muppet going on about how it must run a month beyond todays date or similar ask for someone who knows what they are doing.

Zackly, as long as it's insured that day you can tax it if the vehicle is covered.

"Insured to drive any vehicle with the owners permission" isn't enough though. You really need "insured to drive any vehicle in the control of the policyholder"

Not according to my local DVLA office - witnessed a running argument that took well over an hour about this very same point. Tax was refused because the cover notes didn't specify the actual reg - just said "any vehicle". Now, whether that was an interpretational error made by the clerk or not, it didn't matter because the supervisor supported the decision. Result: one pissed off chap storming out sans tax disc shouting "you effing cnuts".

Personally I have taxed in the early hundreds of vehicles with a certificate which states any vehicle under the custody or control or ownership of me, or my wife, there is never any query, I have taxed other peoples vehicles for them (while they are waiting for cover notes I hasten to add)

mrcheerful

I see what you meant now - by "any vehicle" you meant some sort of blanket cover trader's policy, not just a normal SDP policy with the "3rd party on any car" extension. Gotcha!

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

I have had Post Office query slight difference in name on Insurance Certificate of my wife compared to her name on renewal note, and I mean the tiniest of differences that anyone would know was really the same person.

Some companies just issue a 'any vehicle' certificate, although in reality only one car is really covered.

Some certificates have the actual vehicle details.

My policy is a trade policy, which says any vehicle etc. but it is not substantially different to the 'only one vehicle' certificate that I used to have.

mrcheerful

THen they were wrong. My mate has a traders policy that says any vehicle. He uses it to tax cars prior to sale.

So can I buy an old banger which has no tax then add it to my current comprehensive insurance as a temporary additional vehicle for a day or whatever and get it taxed for 6 or 12 moths?

Agreed - but that wasn't my point. For the chap to meet his objective (I want my car taxed today) without pursuing to a higher authority was impossible - simply because the clerk and her boss backed each other up. I suppose I'd've asked them to call DVLA HQ there and then.

To be honest I've experienced this level of intransigence based on errors more than once at our local DVLA office in Birmingham - anyone else?

I think we've all come up against this at some point: the post-office chestnut being "I'm sorry sir, I can't issue tax as your MoT expires tomorrow". And it's not much help if there's no "superior" there with better knowledge.

What, so your current bog-standard compo insurance certificate says "any vehicle" - or are you suggesting that the insurance company will send you out a cover note that reflects the reg of the temporary car?

Both sound a little unusual. To my knowledge, it's easy to add temporary additional *drivers* but not extra vehicles, unless the policy is a specialist trader or classic one. Anyone?

Eagle Star certificates used to say any vehicle with no mention of a registration anywhere.

Directline used to cover me for the vehicle stated on the certificate, but also stated that if I changed the car, the new car would be covered, but only third party until I notified them.

Steve W

Yep. I've done the exact same thing with a temporary vehicle.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."