The AA app will check via databases for you and then nag via your mobile phone. You can add other reminders too. MoT, tax, insurance, servicing.

There's no charge for putting it on annual DD.

Exactly the same this morning, Done it now. I don't recall any earlier reminders but I'm wondering if I signed up for email or SMS ones and missed them.

As far as I can tell from looking at my most recent VED reminder (sent in early Dec 2017, due on 31st Dec [paid at my local post office]) I got in the post, as well as on the gov.uk website, there isn't anything to change reminders to email or texted ones from postal versions. I would suggest, for those who don't receive a reminder, that they contact the DVLA initially to check:

• That one was sent in the post (and when), and;
• Whether it was sent to the correct address. If someone has moved, or a car recently changed ownership, sometimes the owner doesn't tell the DVLA of this (or doesn't send the correct form or it gets lost in the post/goes to the wrong address), or the DVLA don't update the details, or the reminder itself gets lost in the post.

For postal problems, its worth reporting this to Royal Mail, as sometimes they could have dodgy staff opening post in the hope of stealing items, or, more commonly these days people's and their car's identity. I suspect its more prevalent in temporary staff, e.g. those taken on around the busy Christmas period for example.

Even outsiders, i.e. thieves, can do the same - a man drove all the way from his home in the London area to my home town 40-50 miles away to steal post (identities) such as bank/credit card statements etc - he targeted those homes (especially flats) with mail boxes, stuffed them with the free newspaper or suchlike, then followed the postman round, also gaining entry on the tradesman's button and taking the post that was jammed into the boxes because the flap wouldn't close, due to the newspaper. Luckily I saw him acting suspiciously, spoke to neighbours who told me about missing post, and then reported this to the Police, who, with the help of the sorting office, nabbed him in a 'sting' operation the following week.

To be honest though, I suspect the issue is most likely with the DVLA computer system not automatically sending out reminders at all or to the wrong address, then just with the reminder just getting 'lost' in the post (some sorting offices are worse than others).