Newbie here, hope I am in the right place.....

purchased a second hand vehicle today.

It is a band C vehicle and as such I should pay £30 a year tax.

Went online to purchase to be given a price of £230 ,

I emailed DVLA to question this and the response I received back was

This vehicles CO2 emissions count was not provided when the vehicle was first registered and we are unable to ammend our records, therefore the amount payable is £230.

I have responded asking why they are unable to ammend their records, they do if a vehicle changes colour, is modified or has a private plate. I am yet to get a reply.

If I were to install a larger engine and as a result my VED cost would go up, I am sure as hell the records would be ammended in a flash.

If I keep this vehicle for 5 years I will have to over pay £1000 to the DVLA for the sake of a thirty second entry on their records. This seems highly unfair to me so my question is this

Would I be able to take the DVLA to a small claims court to rectify this situation?

Do I have to overpay for three years to reach the minimum overpayment of 500 quid to do so or can I cite that they are overcharging me currently and that over the next 5 years that will result in £1000 wrongful payment and I would like to claim that £1000 in order to pay them their overcharge with it....

Sorry if that does not make sense but I am fuming.

I know that a tax class can be changed and I cannot let them rip me off like this.

they are basing their charge on engine size as they say they have no CO2 figure.

Have just asked the vendor to send me a photo of the V5 he holds, before sending it off to DVLA.

This is the first ever V5 document for this vehicle, so first registration.

It clearly states the CO2 emissions level on there so can I assume that this figure was indeed recorded at first registration of this vehicle?

Can I assume that what is on the V5 is also on their records?

If the answer to these questions is yes

then I can only assume in disbelief that they have lied to me in writing in order to extract an unlawful amount of money from me dishonestly.

It would seem that you can change the level, see here https://www.gov.uk/change-vehicle-tax-class/vehicle-changes-that-affect-tax

Thank you for replying,

I did go there and look and there is nowhere to add the details to do it.

It advises going to the post office that deals with car tax,

but I am ringing the DVLA later today to speak to someone in person.

Will post update when I find out more.

Well update and upshot is that they are saying the tax class cannot be changed..

suck it up and be ripped off...

Something to do with first registration,

I am shocked at how immovable that is,

with no explanation as to why that is immovable.

Feel like I have been fobbed off.

To add insult to injury,

the green slip number,

that was perfectly acceptable on line last night to buy tax, has somehow changed.

The guy I spoke to said the number I have given is not of the most recent log book.

Weird as there has only ever been one issued,

I have the green slip number for it,

it worked last night and today they are saying its invalid...

. enough to make you go buy a donkey...

Did you buy the car from a trader or a punter?

Well it is a family friend who has sent off the yellow strip as a trader because he has sold a few vehicles.

I asked him if he sent off for a log book and he said no,

the V5 he is giving me tonight is the first registration one held by the first keeper.

I will get the green slip and he will send off the rest.

It just seems hinky that last night the 12 digit number was recognised and today after talking to the DVLA re tax class, the number is "invalid"

Rang the DVLA back to be told that is not the number they have,

have to now go to post office.

Seriously, have been driving for over 25 years and have never known such nonsense.

I assume that he has been paying the higher rate of tax since new then?

It belonged to a motor parts delivery company, they had for 6 years, then sold to the person I buying from a few days ago.

According to DVLA yes, the tax band it is in now is the one it has been from the start.

They are really not helpful at all so would not explain why it cannot be changed, just told me that it is what it is.

I have no choice but to pay the higher amount, although it is wrong and almost every other driver of the same vehicle as myself, gets to pay £200 less a year. Deep joy

It belonged to a motor parts delivery company, they had for 6 years, then sold to the person I buying from a few days ago. According to DVLA yes, the tax band it is in now is the one it has been from the start.

Is it a Light Goods Vehicle? The VED for them is £230.

I think it might be, now I feel like a dumbass. It does not state that on gov website tho, just lists year, engine size and fuel type. All the gumtree, and dealer ads for the same van states that the tax is £30 pa, so still a little confused but guess I will slink off now feeling stupid...

I think it might be, now I feel like a dumbass. It does not state that on gov website tho, just lists year, engine size and fuel type. All the gumtree, and dealer ads for the same van states that the tax is £30 pa, so still a little confused but guess I will slink off now feeling stupid...

As is often the case with the .gov.uk website, it should not be relied on for accurate advice. For a car, the VED would be based on the emissions, for a van based on the same vehicle it is fixed at £230.

Well Thank you for that, I feel very very stupid, not least because I presumed that if it was published by .gov the it would be correct. My mistake.