Agency tells owners to prove their cars' histories, or they'll get Q-registrations
The DVLA is investigating owners of classic cars with Historic Vehicle status and demanding they send evidence to prove that their cars qualify for it - but won't reveal the scale of its activities.
The agency has been sending letters to owners asking them to send information to prove their cars qualify for the tax-free category for pre-1974 vehicles. In one of the letters, the agency warns that it may issue the owner of a 1936 Bugatti with a 'Q' regiatration plate, depending on the quality of information it receives.
John Vale, Vehicle Registration Policy team leader, said in the letter: 'Initial investigations have confirmed that some historic vehicles have been built using replica or replacement parts, or a mixture of period and new components, and have therefore been incorrectly registered.' He added: 'A period manufacturer date has been recorded in error and a registration number allocated based on this date. The DVLA requires information about the provenance, construction and origin of your vehicle - you should provide it.
'Once our investigations are complete, we will write to you again explaining our conclusions. If any amendments are needed, these will be made and a new vehicle registration certificate issued. This could involve the issue of a new vehicle regiatration number - and in some cases Individual Vehicle Approval may be required or a Q registration number may be appropriate.'
Classic Car Weekly understands that so far around 100 letters have been sent out - primarily to owners of Bugattis and other pre-WW2 cars - and that the DVLA is not planning a blanket initiative covering all Historic Vehicle owners.
The DVLA has confirmed to CCW that it is sending letters to Historic Vehicle owners in order to investigate if their vehicles are eligible for the status, but did not respond to requests for information on the scale of the initiative.
An agency spokesman said: 'DVLA has been made aware that some vehicles recorded in the Historic tax class may have been incorrectly registered. WE have a legal responsibility to ensure that the records we hold are accurate. Where doubt is cast over the accuracy of the records held, thorough and proportionate investigations are necessary. We have started to contact the vehicle heepers inonvolved. Where investiagtions establish that the original registration was incorrect, these vehicles will require re-registration under an alternative number appropriate to the age of the vehicle.'
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs confirmed its representatives met with the DVLA on 9 July to discuss the issue.
It said in a statement: 'As the represenative body for many of the historic vehicle clubs in the UK we see it as a prime responsibility to ensure that clubs and their members are not unfairly or without grounds required to engage in such an exercise. On the casis of the meeting we are clear that there is no current intention to send a letter to all historic vehicle owners.
'Rest assured that the Federation will stay very close to this situation and will vigorously defend the interests of bona fide historic vehicle owners.'
The Bugatti Owners Club declined to comment on the latest letters but shared a copy of a letter it sent out to its memebers warning them of the DVLA's initiative. In the letter, chairman Charles Trevlyan said the club was 'deeply concerned' about the notification the DVLA received.
He wrote: 'The club has been concerned as to the potential impact on our members and indeed the wider historic vehicle movement, of the DVLA's review of the registration of Bugatti cars in the UK.
'In view of this we have been in discussion over the past two years with the DVLA, as the vehicle licensing authority in the UK, in order to resolve some of the issues that have arisen.'
Other clubs are also aware of the issue, and the MG Car Club and the Vintage Sports-Car Club have said they are monitoring the situation.