Wrong reg number on my car.

[Deleted member 113659]

Driving home for Manchester yesterday around the Penrith area the engine diagnostic light comes on (orange) on the dashboard of our 9 month old E220.

I carried on to Carlisle and called into dealership. As it was 5pm on a Friday I imagined I'd have to book it in but they got onto it straight away. They got coffees & mince pies for Mrs Ant, daughter & myself. Took the car away and booked me in. (First time there with this particular car)

She asked for reg number, HJ16 --- she informed me that she couldn't locate/find the car anywhere on the system. She asked me if I was sure I'd got it right and TBH I wasn't. She went into the workshop with pen & pad to write it down.

She returned and tried again but still no result. Very perplexed she returned to workshop to get the chassis number. Bingo! She found my car. However the reg number on the car was incorrect! HF16 ---

She asked more about the car. I told her that MB of Poole had supplied it via a lease company. (Contractcars.com)

So. I now have to Notify:

insurance company
GAP insurance
Road tax
Lease company

I also need to get new V5 log book
Get new plates made & fitted.

She said the person at MB Poole that registered the car would have made a typo.

What a total PITA to sort a silly mistake.

I'm now wondering if something had happened in the 9 months since we got the car whether we'd have been insured.

The light was on due to a faulty 'knock sensor' it's booked in for Tuesday at Carlisle. So another half day off work for me.

Any comments/advice really appreciated.

I must say the service and help we recieved from Carlisle was excellent. One member of staff took our daughter around the showroom letting her sit in all the cars (which she loved) to pass the time. AND every member of staff had a different Xmas jumper on. Nice touch.

Ant.

 

[Red C220]

Blimey, that's a pain Ant.

First phone call would be MB Poole then the lease company.

I also wonder if you're actually insured, although as it's an innocent mistake/typo and not some form of designed fraud it would be easy to explain and document.

I'm surprised an ANPR hasn't picked you up in 9 months.

 

[BTB 500]

She asked for reg number, HJ16 --- she informed me that she couldn't locate/find the car anywhere on the system. She asked me if I was sure I'd got it right and TBH I wasn't. She went into the workshop with pen & pad to write it down.

She returned and tried again but still no result. Very perplexed she returned to workshop to get the chassis number. Bingo! She found my car. However the reg number on the car was incorrect! HF16 ---

She asked more about the car. I told her that MB of Poole had supplied it via a lease company. (Contractcars.com)

So. I now have to Notify:

insurance company
GAP insurance
Road tax
Lease company

I also need to get new V5 log book
Get new plates made & fitted.

Eh? If it's registered at the DVLA as HJ... then that's what the car is. The only thing that needs changing is the entry for that chassis number on M-B's system

 

[st13phil]

Eh? If it's registered at the DVLA as HJ... then that's what the car is. The only thing that needs changing is the entry for that chassis number on M-B's system

That's what I'd have thought, i.e. that the DVLA record is the master and that it's the chassis number that has been associated with the incorrect DVLA registration number in MB UK's system. My bet is that HF16 --- is already registered with DVLA to another keeper, so that would be unavailable, and that MB UK's chassis number association for that physical car is also incorrect.

Does your car's physical chassis number match the number on the V5C?

I'd call MB UK Customer Service first thing Monday and ask them to sort it out.

 

[brucemillar]

^ This

It is the DVLA that issue the Registration Number and not MB. So it is the DVLA that should sort it. However what is on your V5 would be the ORACLE here.

Your Insurance would be fine as it is a " slip" and not a deliberate attempt to defraud or gain. You have acted in good faith.

Not sure about any speeding fines, parking tickets etc ;^)

 

[Flyinspanner]

Yes, surely it's just MB who need to update their database, - (how would MB cope with personal reg numbers?). The DVLA, insurer, gap insurer, lease company and 'tax' all have the correct info, butter fingers at MB made a boo-boo, which they need to rectify in their records.

Probably just an inexperienced receptionist who has never encountered this situation before.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I'd do nothing.

 

[st13phil]

The key question in this is does the V5C in Ant's possession quote both the registration number and the chassis number that are present on Ant's car.

If the answer to that is "yes" then MB's internal system is incorrect and they can sort it out with no effort on Ant's part.

If the answer is "no", then the most likely scenario is that someone at the dealership fitted the wrong plates on the wrong cars and that HJ16 and HF16 are the "other" cars. In that case, resolution may be more problematic, but as the supplying dealer caused the problem, they should sort it out and bear any costs.

 

[brucemillar]

I'd do nothing.

That could go wrong in the event that you subsequently were shown to have known about the difference and failed to make any effort to correct it = Fraud.

We cannot unknow what we now know ;^)

 

[Deleted member 6183]

That could go wrong in the event that you subsequently were shown to have known about the difference and failed to make any effort to correct it = Fraud.

We cannot unknow what we now know ;^)

I know.

I'd still give it serious thought if I was still doing high mileage though.

I bet it's not well documented at this stage if at all.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Thanks for all posts guys. Very helpful.

Ok. V5 reg is HF16 and not the HJ16 that is currently on my car (so plate does need correcting.)

V5 chassis number matches the one on the car.

Out of curiousity I've just typed my existing reg HJ16 into 'we buy any car' and its unable to find car details.

I then typed in HF16 and all details of the car came up instantly make, model, colour, engine size etc.

It seems the V5 and DVLA details are correct but the number plate is not.

I could seriously punch myself in the face for not checking the V5 when it came. apologies for not looking at V5 before my OP. feeling fairly rotten today after the Manchester run on Thursday & Friday.

 

[Dippo]

MB don't need to update their database - they have the correct registration, which is why your car couldn't be found on their system using your 'incorrect' reg. The first registration process works by MB making a data file for the car available to the dealer, who uses it to create the registration details with the reg number and customer details. That file then updates MB's records, and also the DVLA. This means that MB and the DVLA both have the correct details. The only people who have the wrong reg number are those you have informed based on the plate on your car - your insurance and GAP insurance provider, and possibly the lease company - although if the dealer has a computerised invoicing system, that may have picked up the correct reg number.

I was on one of the working parties that set up Automated First Registration.

 

[Dippo]

I would suggest you get MB Poole to supply you with a new set of plates FOC - it's their error.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

I would suggest you get MB Poole to supply you with a new set of plates FOC - it's their error.

As I'm returning to Carlisle on Tuesday for a new Knock Sensor I'll as them to fit new plates and send MB Poole the invoice (they're part of the same group anyhow)

What I do know is they'll be an admin charge for the car insurance (£25) because I recently changed my van plate from original to a cherished plate.

Maybe the same for the GAP insurance too.

As we no longer have Tax Discs I'm unsure as to whether that is right or wrong.

Either way the whole thing is a pest.

 

[flowrider]

Eh? If it's registered at the DVLA as HJ... then that's what the car is. The only thing that needs changing is the entry for that chassis number on M-B's system

Agreed, it was MB Poole that got it wrong not DVLA. Your car is HJ not HF.

 

[flowrider]

As I'm returning to Carlisle on Tuesday for a new Knock Sensor I'll as them to fit new plates and send MB Poole the invoice (they're part of the same group anyhow)

What I do know is they'll be an admin charge for the car insurance (£25) because I recently changed my van plate from original to a cherished plate.

Maybe the same for the GAP insurance too.

As we no longer have Tax Discs I'm unsure as to whether that is right or wrong.

Either way the whole thing is a pest.

You have nothing to change, you car plates are correct as will be the tax and insurance. If they were wrong dont you think you would have been pulled over by now.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Agreed, it was MB Poole that got it wrong not DVLA. Your car is HJ not HF.

Well, HF16 is on the V5 with a matching chassis number.

It seems it's registered with the DVLA as HF16 so all is well at their end.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

You have nothing to change, you car plates are correct as will be the tax and insurance. If they were wrong dont you think you would have been pulled over by now.

I'm not so sure TBH. The V5 reg is different to car reg.

It's also very apparent that a search for HJ16 brings up absolutely nothing at all.

But searching for HF16 brings up all my car details.

 

[Dippo]

There will be no problem with the non-existent tax disc. DVLA records will be what is printed on your V5. The DVLA are the agency that sell vehicle details to companies like WBAC, so you have both the V5 and the data supplied to external companies showing your VIN with a reg number of HF. The VED renewal notice will come to you with the HF prefix - that's what DVLA thinks is out there.

Your car on its current plate may well have been picked up by ANPR cameras as untaxed, but the DVLA wouldn't know where to send any fines to, as they have nothing linked to that number - unless it's a valid plate on some other car. The same applies to any speeding tickets; there may be some poor innocent out there with your HF plate who has been receiving tickets in the unlikely event you've been speeding!

You do not need to notify the DVLA of anything - their data for your vehicle is correct, all you have to do now is make the car match it by fitting the correct plates.

Edit: HF and HJ switched

 

[developer]

Time for a top speed test through some SPECS cameras