DVLA pockets revenue from car clamping following tax disc change

Individual drivers and small businesses have been falling foul of the paperless tax disc system introduced by the DVLA, with a reported 60% jump in clampings, leaving some more than £800 out of pocket.

The DVLA have clamped or towed almost 100,000 cars in the past year, a 58% rise on the previous year.

Three million reminders

In the past 12 months, 99,307 vehicles have been affected according to the DVLA's own figures. In its defense, the licensing authority said that changes to tax discs rules had been widely publicized, and almost three million reminders are sent out by post each month.

However, the surge in clampings directly followed the scrapping of the old 'pay and display' style tax discs, jumping from 5,000 a month to 8,000 shortly after the change.

With release fees starting at £100 and doubling if not paid within 24 hours, storage fees can also be added on top.

£15m extra

Extra revenue by the DVLA is estimated to be in the region of £15m.

DVLA’s director of operations and customer services, Tony Ackroyd, said: “DVLA does not make a profit from clamping. We operate a comprehensive package of measures to make vehicle tax easy to pay but hard to avoid. In the past year, this has included writing to every registered vehicle keeper in the UK at least once to remind them that the vehicle tax rules have changed.”

The RAC has advised car owners to make sure their contact details are registered with the DVLA and are kept fully up to date.