http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=4633...

<<
Motorists have spent £9million ringing the DVLA on a premium-rate telephone number, figures have revealed.

They are charged up to 8p a minute to use the controversial 0870 service – which has raked in receipts of nearly £3million in the last 12 months.

The annual sum raked in on the phoneline by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has risen fivefold over the last five years from £656,164 in 2002-3 to £2.89million in 2006-7.

The figures emerged in a parliamentary answer to a question from Tory transport spokesman Owen Paterson.

He said last night: "This is an astonishing rip-off. It amounts to another stealth tax by the Government. It has to stop."

Similar research has shown how the Driving Standards Agency, which administers tests for learners, has collected nearly £3million in call receipts over the last four years, receiving £623,284 last year.

[...]
>>

This story has even made it to this side of the ocean. It seems an even bigger scandal when the costs are quoted in USD:

http://www.thenewspaper.com/

Friday, June 22, 2007

UK Government Bills Motorists $23 Million for Customer Service

UK motorists have paid more than £11.6 million (US $23 million) to the government simply to obtain basic information or conduct transactions using a telephone. Government agencies have turned to 0870 toll numbers to provide telephone services with an 8p (16 cents) per minute charge for citizens while raising big revenue. Since 2003, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has collected £8,793,260 (US $17,554,127) from motorists waiting on hold, according to Department for Transport Under-Secretary Gillian Merron. This annual amount collected grew steadily from 2003 to the present. In the past four years, the amount of cash collected through the telephone toll grew 440 percent. A separate Department for Transport agency, the Driving Standards Agency, generated an additional £2,725,263 (US $5,440,486) in revenue over the same period through its toll number. The Vehicle and Operator Standards Agency also generated £81,090 (US $161,869).

Treasure Island!

The rest of the world must be laughing at the British - trussed up chickens to be plucked and feathered by big business and corrupt government.  Time to get a little bit angry, methinks.

http://news.scotsman.com/uk/25m-raised-by-DVLA-calls.4044195.jp

£2.5m raised by DVLA calls

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DRIVERS paid more than £2.5 million to phone the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) over the last year, it was revealed yesterday.

Jim Fitzpatrick, junior transport minister, said the money came from 0870 numbers.

He told Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, that the calls raised £2.8 million in 2006-7 and £2.55 million in 2007-8.

He claimed all the lines were "revenue neutral" or raised less than the cost of the service.
>>

idb wrote on May 2^nd, 2008 at 1:55pm:

This is the amount of revenue paid from the 0870 numbers. It is not the amount callers paid in premiums above the price of a normal geographical call.

Source: Daily Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/fairdealfordrivers/2619938/DVLA-makes...

DVLA makes £9million from motorists who check on licence applications
By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 9:56PM BST 25 Aug 2008

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The DVLA received more than £8.7 million in revenue from phone calls to 'premium' 0870 mumbers made by motorists concerning the renewal of their licence and other related services.

[…]

The disclosure comes after it emerged the same Government body made £9 million in revenue from selling motorists' personal details to wheel clamping companies.

The Daily Telegraph has been campaigning for a fairer deal for motorists at a time when drivers are facing rising fuel prices and changes to vehicle excise duty that will leave most with higher car tax bills.

[…]

Mark Prisk MP, the Conservatives' shadow minister for consumer affairs, said: "Motorists will be shocked that a government agency is making money from their essential calls.

"It is bad enough being fleeced by Gordon Brown at the petrol pumps. To be charged higher phone rates for renewing your driving licence, just adds insult to injury."

A spokesman for the DVLA said it introduced 0870 numbers in 1999 "to address the imbalance that meant customers phoning from other parts of the country paid more than those phoning from near Swansea where we are based".

She continued: "The DVLA is now committed to transferring all its 0870 to 0300 numbers. The cost to members of the public in calling 0300 numbers is expected to be no more than that of calling normal geographic numbers.

"DVLA does not make money from its telephone lines, any revenue collected goes back into providing valuable services to the public."

The spokesman declined to say how much revenue came from the 0870 numbers in other years.

There was outrage earlier this year when it emerged that, for just £2.50, private clamping and car parking firms can buy the personal records of any motorist caught staying too long on their property.

Last year alone, the DVLA earned revenues of £3.7m by selling the names, addresses of more than 1.3 million registered vehicle keepers to private firms. The government body has extracted £9million through the practice since 2002.
>>

Anyone any idea what the valuable services are that the DVLA so kindly provide for all of us?

NGMsGhost wrote on Aug 26^th, 2008 at 6:50pm:

So they let the communications provider of the 0845 number keep it all.