A MAN who splashed out £20,000 on a Porsche is “furious” after being told he will be charged for driving it to work.
The recycling firm worker, who has asked not to be named, claims a glitch will now stop him from using his new motor.
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The driver, from Birmingham, bought the flashy Porsche Cayenne thinking he could drive it throughout the city without falling a foul of its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) checker.
But he claims a glitch on the system gave him different answers after he changed his registration plate.
Before parting with his cash he entered the Cayenne’s registration into the online checker and was told he faced no charges.
But after taking his motor home and switching the number plate to his own personalised registration, the DVLA checker then said there would be a daily fee.
He also says his car is Euro VI diesel compliant, according to the printing on its chassis.
The outraged 52-year-old is now demanding compensation for having to sell the car at a loss, and to fund a replacement, but has been told he will not receive anything.
The driver, who lives in Halesowen, says he has received not one but two apologies from the DVLA’s CAZ team.
The first was on July 21, when red-faced officials admitted a fault with their online Birmingham CAZ checker, which they said had “not been resolved”.
The team said: “It has been identified that there was an error with the data presented to you at the time of checking the service. We are working to implement a fix to make sure this does not happen again.”
They conceded the Porsche driver had done nothing wrong.
But less than two weeks later, on August 3, the DVLA backtracked.
It seemed to blame drivers who put on private plates for “not doing it quick enough” or “not giving the correct data”.
That email said: “On further investigation I can confirm that there is not a fault with the vehicle checker.
“In cases where vehicles with personalised number plates and subsequent changes to different personalised number plates, DVLA are reliant on the current vehicle keeper notifying the correct departments timely.
“If the correct data is not applied, the vehicle checker may temporarily give an inaccurate result, and for this reason results can change.”
But the angry driver told the DVLA this was nonsense.
He said if you change plates you are not changing the emissions of the car – so if it was exempt under the old plate, it should be under the new one.
The man told the DVLA: “I’m completely aware that a VIN number is unique to a vehicle. When a private plate has changed, the DVLA records are changed instantly.
“It’s the DVLA that need to update their (CAZ checker) records, not the current keeper. Not one department wants to take accountability or responsibility.”
Birmingham City Council told BirminghamLive the driver has been offered a six-month exemption to drive his Porsche into the CAZ.
He added: “A six-month exemption is not enough I would like an exemption until I sell it. I have done nothing wrong.
“I have spoken to at least 10 different people in the CAZ team about this. The DVLA at first lost my complaint letter. I then sent it online and they responded but it still isn’t resolved.
“I have made no mistake at all. I said come and pick the car up and give me the cheque for the cost and I will go and buy another car. Or give me a permanent exemption until I sell the car.
“There must be loads of people out there with the same problem. I wish I had never changed the number plate now. I wouldn’t have had this problem.”
The Porsche driver has been told local authorities are responsible for local exemptions.
The CAZ support team told him on August 3, his exemption started on June 24.
Now, a spokesman for the DVLA told BirminghamLive the CAZ checker is nothing to do with them.
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