I have a problem with a V5C for a car I bought recently that has been off the road for many years. One of the digits of the chassis number has been copied incorrectly. A '0' shows as '6' on the V5C. It's the first digit at the start of the VIN and is for padding as the field was never used by the manufacturer.
Not wishing to annoy anyone but it isn't an Austin! I'm sure the principle is the same for all cars.
Does anyone know the best way to set about getting this corrected since it will fail on entry to the computer for an MoT.
I know this has been discussed here before but can't find the thread.

Location: Melrose, Roxburghshire

Hi Jim

My RK had the engine and chassis numbers swapped on the Swedish registration documents. So I had some trepidation about getting it registered. I wrote to DVLA with photos and acquired a "heritage certificate" with the correct chassis number. Amazingly a British reg number came back with a correct V5c almost by return of post.

BUT

A week ago I got a revised V5c showing the chassis number and engine number as the same incorrect one😝. I've sent it back with a letter and hope it will be resolved but I am worried it may not be.

I suggest you write to DVLA with a photo of the vin plate and any other documents you may have. It's possibly your only option!

Howard

Location: Mid Wales

Hi Jim,
I have a similar problem with my Austin Ruby, I have a V5C but when I followed the original paper trail I received with the car purchased in May this year, I discovered that an old error re the chassis No. had been running through the paperwork and the chassis plate ends in a 9 as does the old buff log book, the V5C ends in a 0
I have been tempted to write to DVLA and request a correction, but I am thinking " let sleeping dogs lie" I will be interested how your issue turns out !!!

Location: Duns, Scottish Borders

Hi Jim,

The last time I had a problem with a V5 for one of my Sevens I rang DVLA and was eventually put through to someone who understood the vintage car side of things. I know it takes a long time to ring them but the person I spoke with was very helpful and the problem was resolved properly. It was worth the effort.

Location: Stretham

Hi Jim,

I believe the Head of the Historic Vehicle Section at the DVLA is a guy called Stephen Ivey - perhaps this is the person Lance spoke to?

Jeff.

Location: Almost but not quite, the far North East of England

Hi Jim

I had an example of a mistake on a V5 for one of my austin sevens. I wrote (after a long call) somewhat nervously to the DVLA putting the mistake correct and giving a full explanation of why I believed what I was saying was correct.
They accepted this and matters have been corrected to both their and my satisfaction.
I found them very helpful.

If you are being truthful with a genuine car, I am sure you have nothing to fear.

Good luck.

Nick

Location: The Centre of the Universe

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm reluctant to contact DVLA as the result seems to be a bit of a lottery.
A problem only arises when I need an MoT which the car will need, being built early in 1972.
I've visited my excellent friendly local MoT tester. Who showed me how the system works.
The Mot now requires that the tester enters the VIN from the car onto the computer. That will show up any mistakes. If the VIN is correct there is no problem. If it isn't the operator is warned but can go ahead anyway. Effectively a new vehicle is created on the system. This triggers the police to investigate in case the car is stolen. If the police are happy that the car is OK the fault should be corrected and a correct V5C issued. Note SHOULD.
However he showed me the system on his computer and it actually asks for EITHER the whole VIN the be entered OR just the last 6 digits from the car. Apparently it's only the last six that identify the vehicle.
As the mistake on mine is the first digit it probably won't cause a problem if only the last 6 are entered. I shall visit them again and try it to see what happens in that case.
When they entered the whole number from the V5C it correctly identified the car. That confirms that the car is on the DVLA MoT system.
The number on my chassis is 8 characters. The first 2 are 00 and I think are just padding. The VIN on my V5C is 60 followed by the same six as on the chassis with the characters SX appended for some reason. I suspect that these last 2 are padding to get the VIN up to 10 characters which may be what the system expects.
I'll report back when I've tested my theory.

"'I could have thought of a much more complicated way of doing it' said the Red Queen, immensely proud".

Location: Melrose, Roxburghshire

I am in a similar situation where the chassis number shown on the V5c is actually the car number and this goes back to the buff log book which is dated around 1938! The actual chassis number is stamped on the NSF chassis rail. Am reluctant to open a discussion with DVLA.

Location: Farnham

I must say that I have had no problems with the staff at DVLA, they were very helpful earlier this year when I wanted to change the taxation class on my 1931 RN from PLG to Historic Vehicle. They even gave me a full refund on the tax that I had paid to get the car on the road.

Location: Near M1 Jtn 28

I spoke to DVLA today who tell me simply to note the change on section 7 of the V5C and send it in with a covering letter and pictures of the chassis number on the car.
I expect they are getting a lot of discrepancies as the chassis number has to be entered at the start of the MoT to identify the vehicle. This requirement has only been added recently.

Location: Melrose, Roxburghshire