Vehicle registration process ‘confusing’, says Ballycarry man

Tim Geary was speaking after a delay in processing his car’s registration meant he could not use the vehicle for five weeks after buying it in June this year.

All DVLA offices in Northern Ireland were closed in July as part of plans to centralise the service in Wales.

The move led to the loss of hundreds of jobs in the province, with many motorists also reporting problems with taxing and registering their vehicles remotely.

Mr Geary, who purchased his new car in England, ran into difficulties when attempting to register the vehicle. “I was told by the dealer that I would need a Type Approval Certificate to register the car in my name in Northern Ireland, and that this would take at least two or three weeks,” Mr Geary said.

“Until registration takes place you can’t have a registration number, which you need to insure your vehicle, and it was difficult to even get a cover note from the insurers without a registration number.

“I managed to get the car registered eventually, but the whole thing took about five weeks to sort out.

“There seems to be a bit of a bureaucratic anomaly between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, as car registration us supposed to be one of the devolved powers here. They did backdate it for me, but the whole process was very confusing.”

The relocation of the service has been criticised by East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson, who pledged to write to the Transport Minister in London over the what he claimed was a “system failure”.

The DUP representative added: “The disaster that this has turned out to be indicates what we were saying all along; namely, that the service should have remained in Northern Ireland.