Have you tried phoning the DVLA?
DVLA rakes in £3.4m in phone chargesWhich? investigation unearths massive profitsThe DVLA raked in £3.4m in the last financial year from charges to its 0870 numbers according to Which? magazine.
The government's vehicle licensing agency was one of 30 organisations in the magazine's hall of shame list, where higher-charging 0871, 0870, 0844 or 0845 numbers are used to make money from callers.
Revenues are often shared between these organisations and the phone service provider, which gives them an incentive to keep the customer on the line as long as possible.
Which? revealed the extent of revenues made using these numbers – a 10 minute BT call from a landline to a regular geographic number costs 40p at the most, compared to £1 when dialling an 0870 or 0871 number.
Junior transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick recently told shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers the DVLA lines were "revenue neutral" or raised less than the cost of the service.
The DVLA itself claimed it plans to switch to a cheaper number in the future.
Neil Fowler, Which? magazine editor said: “Why should you pay for the privilege of making a complaint or getting a problem fixed? It's unacceptable that companies and government agencies can make big money from people calling helplines.”
Ironically, Which? still has some 0845 numbers, but insists it does profit from them.
Meanwhile, the DVLA has rejected the Which? findings, claiming it is committed to abolishing its 0870 telephone lines.
The agency said it was awaiting the outcome of an OFCOM consultation, which is due to end on 16 June, to introduce 0300 numbers.
"The DVLA does not make money from its telephone lines, any revenue collected goes back into providing valuable services to the public," said a spokesperson.
The DVLA also denied the agency looked to increase revenues with longer lengths of calls dialled to its 0870 numbers and blamed peak times for delays due to customer demand.
