I received my shiny new V5C in the post today! That means I can now get my car MOT’d and then, hopefully, taxed. I’ve even renewed my car insurance. Still plenty of time before all the end of May deadlines, too, although it’s really not been my fault this year. Not totally, anyway.

The DVLA doesn’t seem to know one end of its arse from the other. How can one organisation have so little clue about what it itself is doing?

I sent off my V5C (the log book) to tell the DVLA my name has changed. I haven’t heard from them yet.

The car tax is due soon. I received a reminder yesterday, in the post. From the DVLA. To Miss C. Taylor. You can’t use that form (V11) if the name on the form is wrong. You have to fill in form V10 instead. “The V10 is…available ffrom all Post Office Branches” sayeth the V11. I went to the Post Office.

“We don’t have those forms anymore,” said the nice lady in the Post Office.

“But it said on the form…” I said.

They don’t do those forms anymore, she said. The only place that does them is the aptly-named local DVLA office. In Peterborough.

She also said I should be able to use the V5C form in conjunction with the V11 the DVLA sent me.

“I sent it to the DVLA,” I said.

She told me I should have kept half of it. I didn’t. I sent the whole thing off. I didn’t see any instruction that told me to keep any of it. So I sent the whole thing off.
I thanked her for her help and left the Post Office.

Luckily, you can also download form V10 from the Internet. It has notes. The notes say I need to produce a valid V5C form. I haven’t got one.

My MOT is due soon as well. Guess what you need to take along with you for an MOT. Yes, your V5C form.

All done (later the same day). I have my nice shiny new tax disc just waiting for the end of May.

I do think it’s a bit daft though, that you can’t display the new one until the old one runs out. It’s like you have to run out at midnight the night it expires so that you can change them over.

This month is one of my most expensive month: I have to pay my car insurance, my car tax and my MOT all by the end of the month. I’m usually most tardy at doing this, but this year, it’s all in the bag. The MOT has been done (pass - woohoo!), the insurance documents arrived this morning and so all I need to do is go to the Post Office for the tax disc. I tried the online thingy, but it didn’t work because I renewed my car insurance too recently for it to be on the system. I don’t mind this, as I believe we should use our Post Offices more, not less. I just mind going out into the manky weather.

I had to go out this morning, “bright” and “early” to give Henry his new tax disc. Such a stupid law it is that says you can’t put it on earlier than the day after the old one runs out. I mean, why?! Anyway, C rang me up at about seven this morning, to make sure I got up, after last night’s “exertions” - oh, I did another cartwheel - oh, in that dress! - but it didn’t work; I fell asleep again and then half an hour later, he rang, but I had just got up to go in the shower. He rang again shortly after, to check I was up, which I was, having just got out of the shower, but then I fell asleep again, and didn’t wake up until about nine, when I did actually go out and give Henry his tax disc and then I went to Tesco to buy orange juice and milk. When I got back, I had extra-sugary tea (that’s how bad it was/is) and juice. Need some more, actually.

To do:

1. Renew car insurance [tick]
2. Get windscreen fixed [tick]
3. Get MOT done [Have phoned my usual garage in Cambridge, and they said the MOT runs out on Saturday, so I've arranged to take him in on Friday morning in case anything needs doing to him.]
4. Renew road tax [Will be able to do this immediately after picking Henry up from the garage, if the Post Office is still open when they've passed him.]

To do:

1. Renew car insurance [tick]
2. Get windscreen fixed [tick]
3. Get MOT done [The cleaner says her husband does MOTs, so she's going to ask him about doing mine, although he's based in Ipswich. Not 100 % convinced by this arrangement, I have to admit.]
4. Renew road tax [Will be able to do this immediately after picking Henry up from the garage, if the Post Office is still open when they've passed him.]