Post Office (PO) has renewed its contract with DVLA to continue providing its services for vehicle tax across the UK and driving licence photocard renewals in branches.
The new contract will take effect on 1 April, for one year, with the option to extend for a further two years.
Last year, it was revealed that the services could be scrapped from PO branches, after the firm admitted ongoing negotiations over “fair” remuneration were failing to be agreed.
As a result, PayPoint entered a bidding war with PO to offer the DVLA , and confirmed ithad been awarded the International Driving Permit contract in January, with Post Office retaining the wider DVLA services.
During that time, postmasters expressed concern over the negative impact losing the opportunity to offer DVLA services would have on their branches, and communities.
Postmaster Satpal Devgun, of Kingstanding Post Office, Birmingham, described potentially losing the service as “devastating” and launched a petition last year to keep DVLA services, resulting in 2,000 signatures within three months.
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“The service is very important to my branch and accounts for a high foot fall weekly; around 15% of all the customers who walk into my branch come in to do their car tax,” she said. “I have a lot of elderly customers as well as a lot of car dealerships and both groups were very concerned about what would happen if the service became online-only. This was a very big concern for our elderly customers because many do not use a computer or have trouble getting online.
“Our customers rely on the personalised in-branch support and find speaking to someone at the counter very helpful. If they have got an issue, we can always get it sorted out.
“When customers come in to get their cars taxed, they will often access other services such as travel money, greeting cards, and stamps as well. We want the customers to feel that they can come into the post office for all their needs.”
Retail government and identity services director Elinor Hull added: “In person DVLA services are just one of many vital services our postmasters offer to customers in their local community. Our in-branch services provide a valuable lifeline to those who may not be comfortable with completing transactions online or who would like assistance as part of the process. Postmasters are rightly pleased that they can continue to provide this valuable face to face service and guidance to their customers, giving them a choice in how they’d like to renew vehicle tax and UK driving licence photocards.”
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