All Posts in "post office"

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Although second nature to most Brits, to Americans the stages involved between buying a car and getting it on the road can seem quite convoluted. 

Once you have picked a car and decided to part with your money, there will be three additional items (and consequently expenses) you will need to consider:  road tax, MOT test and insurance.

The MOT test is a roadworthiness test used in the UK on vehicles over three years old.  It tests the safety, roadworthiness and exhaust emissions of vehicles, and is not a test of the vehicle’s mechanical condition (your car could breakdown on the way home from the MOT test center following a successful MOT test.)  The MOT test must be carried out at one of the UK’s registered MOT test centers and usually costs in the region of GBP 50 (for a standard car).  Cars over three years old must have annual MOT tests.  It is illegal to drive a non-exempt vehicle on public roads without a valid MOT test certificate.  Also, your car will need to pass an MOT test before you can purchase a road tax disc.  The test is more thorough than the state inspections used in some US states (at least, in our experience).

If you buy a secondhand vehicle, then there may be several months remaining on the MOT test certificate.  If this is the case, you will not need to have your vehicle tested until the anniversary date of the existing certificate.

Once your MOT test is taken care of you can proceed to get a tax disc.  The tax disc is akin to the US vehicle license and registration, but for most, other than very new economical cars, it is more expensive (usually upward of GBP 100, and can be as much as GBP 400).  You can get a tax disc at either the post office or a local DVLA center.  Any vehicle used or just parked on public roads is liable for the tax, and stiff penalties are in place for those who do not hold a current tax disc.

If the dealer from whom you buy your car has a “documentation fee” then you should ask him what this covers.  We have found that it usually means he will walk down to the local post office and transfer the tax disc to your name.  For this he may charge you about GBP 50.  It’s something you can do easily yourself.

Similar to the MOT certificate, if buying a secondhand vehicle, the existing tax disc may have several months left to run. 

The third and final requirement for getting a car on the road in the UK is valid motor insurance.  There are very many insurance brokers in the UK, so be sure to shop around.  If possible, avoid brokers altogether and talk directly to an insurer.  There are several insurers that deal directly with the public.  Direct Line is one, there are others.  We very strongly suggest you talk to these before making a decision on your motor insurance;  it could save you many hundreds of pounds per year. 

Be very wary of the current fad of insurance comparison sites.  In our experience, these do not always list many inexpensive insurers and are mostly a vehicle for brokers to ply extra trade.

If you plan on driving on your US or overseas license then you should expect a hefty annual insurance premium (likely to be upward of GBP 1100 per year!)  from high street broker sold policies.  You might have  no choice but pay exaggerated premiums for 12 months until you establish a driving record in the UK.  However, if you have a clean insurance record in the US then read on![ad#ad-1]

UK motor insurance has a “reward” system based on the concept of “no-claims”.  For each full year you drive without an insurance claim against a UK insurer you earn points that give discounts on premiums for subsequent years.  This is no good if you have spent the last 5 or 10 years driving in the US!  So, why am I telling you this?  Well, if you talk directly to an insurer (such as DirectLine) they might be willing to honour your clean insurance record from overseas.  If you have, say, 5 years claims free with State Farm in the US then the insurer will consider a letter from State Farm when assessing your insurance.  You need to be able to prove a claims free record with your US insurer.

Yank by — February 22, 2009 in Travel 1

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It has taken some time for me to adjust my view of the role of the post office.  In the US, it was a place to send and receive mail, buy stamps, apply for a passport, and buy postal orders and postal goods.  Also in the US, mail carriers delivered and picked up mail directly from your home.  In the UK, mail carriers only deliver mail.  If you want to mail something, you either have to stamp it and drop it into the post box, or you take it into the post office.  Since I am still getting used to the different postage rates, it is always best for me to go directly into the post office.  They have so many rules about the thickness, size and weight of the mail, that unless I have the right equipment, I would not be able to determine the postage on my own.  Of course, the US recently made changes in this area, so things are getting bad in that regard as well.  But, since the US uses a larger margin of weight for its mail, it’s easier to determine the amount of postage required.

Although the UK mail offers practically everything the US ones do, there are other differences.  First of all, the UK mail system is so complex and part of it is deregulated.  Don’t ask what that means, because I’m not sure anyone has a clear understanding of it.  Although postal workers are still civil servants, post offices are individually owned, but they are government licensed.  Therefore, the rates they charge are determined by Royal Mail.

One of the major differences is the role of the post office in daily life.  Not only do they provide postal services, they also function as a bank.  You can set up savings accounts and pay bills (council tax, TV licensing, etc.).  Also important is paying your vehicle tax.  You can either pay car tax at the post office or at the DVLA; however, the post office is much more convenient.  Also, the post office can draw your state pension and hand out your cash or deposit it into your bank account.  They have expanded their services to include offering insurance for everything.  And, last but not least, they have gotten into telecommunications.  They offer plans for phone, broadband, cell phones, and TV.  They  have certainly expanded in recent years.

So, whereas, in the US the postal service is simply a post office, the UK post office is so much more.

Yank by — February 19, 2009 in British Culture 0