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Why won't the DVLA refund tax on a car they know I've sold?

Despite the DVLA recognising that my old car has been sold and I'm no longer responsible for it, they are unwilling to refund the tax paid for the following month. They claim the date of sale is irrelevant and refunds are only due for complete months from when they process the notification. The Government changed the system to collect double tax in the month of sale, but triple tax does seem rather sharp practice.

Asked on 15 March 2018 by Chris Potter

Answered by Honest John
Readers have managed to beat this using the online system to de-tax a car a couple of days before the month end, even put it on SORN, then sell it the first day of the next month. So they get a full refund of the outstanding tax and the buyer kicks off with fresh tax on the first of the month. Can't be done by post though.
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