ins/tax question

My certificate carries a watermark along with a note informing the 'reader' of its existence.

Mathew

Yes & so it should carry a watermark to prove its genuine

The problem is that many online insurance companies such as Swiftcover.com will only provide a downloadable PDF Certificate which can then be printed out We purchased a ex-motability car for a client & had to tax it for them at the local DVLA Office The customer provided a printed certificate from Swiftcover.com & now the DVLA will not accept them due to the possibility of modifying the details on a PDF file thus presenting a forged Certificate

The customer had to badger Swiftcover to issue a genuine certificate & many other insurance companies are using the same system of not issuing documents via the post which according to the DVLA is illegal

The message from "A C" contains these words:

I presume they are 'cos I taxed my car online this year. Mostly so I could use the wife's card to pay for it, I might point out.

But you can still get tax in a PO using nothing but paper documentation you've brought with you hence taxing your car without insurance (or MOT if it's possible to fake that too) is still possible.

Yeah they are, I taxed my car using a inkjet printed copy of my Swiftcover insurance cert.

The rules may be that they can't be used, but I had no problem YMMV

In message , Peter Spikings writes

Too true. We, behind the counter, will accept the paper you provide, if it looks and feels genuine. There is no way for counter staff to check whether or not a certificate (MOT or Insurance) really is genuine, although we do tend to notice 'home made' print outs :-)

We are not experts, though, and doubtless there are those that could produce top quality counterfeit certificates, just like they can produce bent bank notes, Giros etc.

In message , Peter Spikings writes

That would be an ideal solution, from both sides of the counter, but one that I don't imagine will materialise any time soon. DVLA want people to deal direct (web or phone), rather than via the PO.

In message , "Tony Bond (UncleFista)" writes

You were lucky. However, detecting home printed documents is not always easy. Interesting thread, though - I had no idea that Swiftcover certs were home printed. I do now :-)

News ( snipped-for-privacy@nospam.demon.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Seems very bizarre. Surely it's not beyond the realms of possibility to have the PO system check the Insurance and MOT dbs when the reminder's scanned - if they flag up (for whatever reason) that there's no insurance or ticket, then producing paper (and make it good!) is needed.

Most PO's will accept them but the DVLA issued a memo to all local offices stating that the use of 'home user' printed certificates is no longer valid & are technically illegal as they're easily modified

..apart from the fact the DVLA are....

--=20 Conor

I'm really a nice guy. If I had friends, they would tell you.

Earn commission on online purchases, =A32.50 just for signing up:

But then even a cheapo printer is capable of printing something sufficiently well that it looks like it was officially issued by the firm in question.

When was that?

In message , Adrian writes

Bizarre from the common sense point of view, but not bizarre if you are a DVLA bean counter. DVLA do not want you, the Great British Public, to tax your car at my Post Office, because DVLA then have to pay me for the transaction. Look at your next renewal reminder, and the envelope in which it arrives. Both make every effort to encourage you to deal direct with DVLA.

Yes. That and the horror of having to queue too... :p

I went to post a letter t'other day and needed a certificate of posting. My local PO were going to refuse because I had printed out my own postage from the Royal Mail website. They mentioned something about them not getting a transaction fee when you print your own postage. They said in future I will have to go to the main PO!

You contact the Helpline and complain. I had the same when I asked for a balance on my card account one day.

In message , DervMan writes

Yes, there is that. Pick your time, if possible. POs are usually dead after the last post, which, at my office, is any time after

In message , redwood writes

Why would you expect them to work for nothing? Do you?

In fairness, when some smart alec comes in with their own label, and requests a CoP, I will do it - but not until I have weighed the item, checked the postage, printed and attached a £0.00 label and printed the CoP. That way, at least I get credited for the item, if not the postage.