Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

3. Mr B says DVLA failed to change his vehicle description to campervan/motor home after he made the alterations it specified.

4. As a result, his insurer’s valuation of the vehicle does not reflect its true value.

5. By bringing his complaint to us Mr B would like DVLA to register his vehicle as a motor home.

6. Mr B bought a panel van on 25 March 2022 which he had converted into a campervan by July 2022.

7. The DVLA declined his application for a change of description of the vehicle to campervan/motor home on 1 September 2022.

8. Mr B added some decals (specialised stickers used to personalise vehicles) to the van and submitted another application with photographs on 10 October 2022.

9. DVLA changed the description to van with side windows.

10. Mr B discovered the van had been registered incorrectly at birth and informed DVLA of this hoping it would resolve the problem. Mr B says this took until 22 August 2023 after which he received an amended V5C, but the description remained van with side windows.

11. Mr B says he purchased the van for £8000 and spent £14200 converting it to a campervan.

14. Before we decide if we should conduct a detailed investigation of a complaint, we look at whether there are signs the organisation has got something wrong. We do this by comparing what should have happened with what did happen. We have done this and have not found any indications that something has gone wrong.

15. Mr B says he has made all the alterations DVLA has specified for motor home conversions.

16. DVLA guidance says to change the body type of a vehicle it must be satisfied that the vehicle meets their policy for body types. It states for classification as a motor home the vehicle must have external features that can be recognised as a motor home in traffic.

17. The guidance lists permanent external and internal features commonly seen in motor homes and states that these are for guidance purposes. It also says the body type does not affect the insurance category of the vehicle or have any effect on speed limits or other legislative requirements.

18. The ICA’s report notes that Mr B’s complaint is not unlike many it has received in the past few years. The ICA concludes that DVLA has followed its own policy in making its decision and it was not critical of this. However, it did highlight the issues raised in similar complaints about the transparency of DVLA’s guidance and communication around its decision making and application of its policy. It set out what DVLA had done to address these concerns and to improve the transparency and consistency of its decision making. It also recommended a payment of £100 to Mr B in recognition of the impact of this.

19. Our principles of good administration say public organisations should act according to their statutory powers and duties and any other rules governing the service they provide. They should follow their own policy and procedural guidance, whether published or internal.

20. DVLA’s 2020 guidance sets out features a vehicle must have to be categorised as a motor home. It also asks applicants for photographic evidence for its officers to make decisions. DVLA clearly states the purpose of the description is identification. It explains that it will consider the information provided and reach a view on whether or not it is satisfied that the vehicle has external features that can be recognised as those of a motor home and can be reclassified.

21. DVLA officers follow a procedure in making decisions that includes considering evidence from applicants and their own judgement on whether they believe the vehicle is better described as a motor home. Where there is evidence a vehicle has been rebodied (vehicle which has had the body replaced) and needs investigating, officers can, at their discretion, forward the case to a specialist team.

22. DVLA’s process is not to be used for anything other than the identification of the vehicle’s external appearance in traffic. The guidance is clear that the process is not linked to how a vehicle is used, how it is insured or how it is driven.

23. DVLA has followed its process and considered the evidence Mr B sent and in the officer’s judgement the vehicle could not be described as a motor home. It is not for us to reach our own conclusion on whether Mr B’s vehicle should be re-categorised, or substitute our own view for the DVLA’s. We are satisfied, based on the evidence we have seen in its complaint responses and the ICA’s report that it considered the evidence Mr B provided and explained its decisions to him, in line with its own guidance.

24. We understand this matter is of great importance to Mr B and he has spent time and money on adapting his vehicle. As we have not found any failings in DVLA’s actions we cannot take this complaint further. We hope our consideration of his concerns has been of some reassurance.

1. We have carefully considered Mr B’s complaint about DVLA.

2. We have seen no indication that anything went seriously wrong with DVLA’s decision about the description of his vehicle. We understand Mr B has spent time and money adapting his vehicle and so is likely to be disappointed. We hope our consideration of his complaint provides some reassurance to him.