Uprating Vehicle - Has Anyone Done It Themselves (not Via Svtech)

[Minxy]

Do SvTech handle the change of the V5 directly with DVLA without need for the owner to be involved?

Nope ... the owner STILL has to do that ... don't get me wrong SVTech provide a service for those who want to use them but it is NOT a complete service and the price they charge, IMV, is way over the top.

 

[Minxy]

That's why my preference would always be to spend the 300 quid with SV, just for simplicity. I don't have the time, patience or inclination to spend any time faffing around like that. If it's more than one phone call, 0ne form or half an hour of my time I would rather pay someone else to deal with it.

Glad you got it sorted though.

But it actually wouldn't take this long normally ... the ONLY reason it took me so long is because I had to find out WHO could provide me with the necessary engineering approval first, once I found out it was very simple and certainly no more difficult or time consuming than if we had actually used SVTech as they would still need the same info anyway ... but charge a lot more to do the same job!

I posted about it on here so others could benefit from my 'research' and save themselves the time and frustration of finding out for themselves ...

 

[Deleted member 29692]

@MinxyGirl roughly how much time would you say you've spent in total on your uprate? i.e. Research, phone calls, trips to the post office, anything else.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

But it actually wouldn't take this long normally ... the ONLY reason it took me so long is because I had to find out WHO could provide me with the necessary engineering approval first, once I found out it was very simple and certainly no more difficult or time consuming than if we had actually used SVTech as they would still need the same info anyway ... but charge a lot more to do the same job!

I posted about it on here so others could benefit from my 'research' and save themselves the time and frustration of finding out for themselves ...

But you also had the follow up calls do deal with when they didn't accept your application straight away which is something else I can't be doing with.

 

[Flamenca]

But you also had the follow up calls do deal with when they didn't accept your application straight away which is something else I can't be doing with.

Are you a shareholder in SvTech by any chance?

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[Deleted member 29692]

Are you a shareholder in SvTech by any chance?

No not at all. What I posted would apply to more or less anything. I would rather pay someone else to make my life easy if at all possible and I've got better things to do than argue on the phone with some idiot about something that someone else should have dealt with.

This applies to my entire life, not just the motorhome part of it.

Spend a few hours faffing around or pay someone to faff on my behalf is a no brainer as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Flamenca]

Well, each to his own. Love your dog by the way. Ours unfortunately passed away a few months ago.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Well, each to his own. Love your dog by the way. Ours unfortunately passed away a few months ago.

Thanks

There's two in that picture. The springer is two now. The little black cocker on the left is one and is currently sulking because the wasp he was playing with has stung him.

 

[Minxy]

@MinxyGirl roughly how much time would you say you've spent in total on your uprate? i.e. Research, phone calls, trips to the post office, anything else.

Difficult to say as part of the 'research' was checking out the spec of my vehicle first to see if it was definitely what I thought it was!

I contacted my dealer to see if they could assist but this was only a small part of my emails so nothing other than an few extra lines. We also contacted Fiat too by phone and by email but again to no avail, but not a massive amount of time spent on this.

I then wrote to VOSA/DVSA to see if they could do it using their weight change form and found out I couldn't as it was already registered, I also emailed them for advice too to clarify things.

I knew I'd be posting about it all on here so I wanted to ensure that what I was writing was correct as I wouldn't want to lead anyone down the wrong path so I went into it in quite a bit of detail, more than would normally be required.

However, if I take all of the above out of the equation ... if I had already known the name of the chap that we used from the off it would have been much, much easier and quicker! My hubby gave him a ring and had a short chat about what we wanted, he said he could do it and to send the information that he requested by email, so was actually very straightforward - send just had to send him photographs of the van, reg no, VIN no etc, gave details of what it was, when registered, current weight and what we wanted to do. I estimate that on this bit we spent no more than 20 mins ... if that. Below is the email I sent to the chap (I put the images/photos into a Word document for ease rather than have lots to attached with the email but they could have been done separately and zipped if necessary):

Further to my husband's (Chris) conversation with you today below are details of our camper which we wish to uprate from it's current MAM of 3500kg to 4250kg which we believe the vehicle in its current form is capable of being changed to without modification (the converter's COC shows that the weights are unchanged from the original vehicle supplied to them):

Reg No: FX15 RRZ (registered 7 May 2015)
VIN No: ZFA2500000*******
Vehicle: Fiat Ducato X250 Maxi 150 XLWB
Model Name: Globecar FamilyScout L (part of the Dethleffs group)​

The weights shown on both the Fiat and Dethleffs (converter) VINs are:

MTPLM: 3500kg (to uprate to 4250kg)
Train: 6500kg (no change required)
Front Axle: 2100kg (no change required)
Rear Axle: 2400kg (no change required)​

I attach the following information in Word document:​

1. 1. Copy of V5C
   2. Dethleffs (Globecar) Certificate of Conformity
   3. Photos of Fiat and Dethleffs VIN Plates & Photo of camper (showing registration number)
   4. Photos of Base Vehicle ID Logos and Tyre details

Please let me know if you need any more information.
​

 

[Minxy]

But you also had the follow up calls do deal with when they didn't accept your application straight away which is something else I can't be doing with.

If you are talking about us contacting the DVLA then that could have happened even if we'd used SVTech as they DO NOT sort out getting a new V5C ... you would STILL have to do that yourself regardless so whilst I appreciate you'd prefer to pay someone to do it for you, in this instance WHO would you have paid?????

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[jezport]

I had no contact with DVLA, I just sent the SVTech form off with my old V5c and got my new V5c back all correct within a couple of weeks.
If I decide to change my front springs or alter any other thing that will mean I can alter my axle or GVW further within the next 12 months SVTech will update it all again with no further charge.

 

[Lee Fryer]

With thanks to MinxyGirl, I sent one email with 2 photos, on return email sent a cheque for £92, received papers and new weight plate in about 2 weeks, waiting for V5c to be returned they have had it 8 days.
Lee

 

[Minxy]

I had no contact with DVLA, I just sent the SVTech form off with my old V5c and got my new V5c back all correct within a couple of weeks.
If I decide to change my front springs or alter any other thing that will mean I can alter my axle or GVW further within the next 12 months SVTech will update it all again with no further charge.

Jez - when was that as on their website/paperwork they do NOT ask for the original V5C, in fact they only ask for a copy of page 2.

 

[jezport]

I'm saying what I sent to DVLA was a letter from svtec and the v5c

 

[Minxy]

I'm saying what I sent to DVLA was a letter from svtec and the v5c

Ah, I see, when you say you had no contact, you meant no 'verbal/email contact, but you still had to send your V5C and stuff from SVTech off to the DVLA yourself.

As the question of whether it was something SVTech did for you or if you had to do it yourself had been asked, your response to me at least suggested that SVTech did it for you, which they don't.

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[Deleted member 29692]

If you are talking about us contacting the DVLA then that could have happened even if we'd used SVTech as they DO NOT sort out getting a new V5C ... you would STILL have to do that yourself regardless so whilst I appreciate you'd prefer to pay someone to do it for you, in this instance WHO would you have paid?????

All I did was dump the paperwork from SV in an envelope together with my old V5 and sent someone else to the post office with it. If I had had the comebacks you had SV would have been dealing with it although I'm not aware of anyone having this sort of issue when using them.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

I think we've pretty well established that the information required for a simple uprate isn't all that technical. A big part of what you pay SV for, IMO, is to get that information presented in a format and order that the drones in Swansea can process without having to think.
As Mel's previous post demonstrates if a piece of info is there but not where they expect to see it they reject the whole application instead of searching for it, leaving you having to waste time on phone calls sorting it out.

Yes, if you are prepared to put some time and effort in yourself there a cheaper options. For me, I'll take easy every time.

 

[JockandRita]

Nope ... the owner STILL has to do that ... don't get me wrong SVTech provide a service for those who want to use them but it is NOT a complete service and the price they charge, IMV, is way over the top.

Totally agree Mel.

I can by a lot of diesel, (or a whole lot more autogas), for the price SVTech wanted, compared to the price VOSA/DVSA charged me.

We are not decided yet, whether to go up another 500kgs on the rear axles, or remain at 5 tonnes in total, for now.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[mikebeaches]

Wow, that took a while to read through the whole of this fascinating thread...

Well done Mel - your perseverance paid off!!

Thanks for sharing your experience, and I'll know who to ask for advice if we want to uprate our next van.

Mike

 

[vwalan]

the secret is buying the right vehicle in the beginning . far easier to get the higher weight ones . if later you need to down plate its just a voluntary paper exercise .
also very often the heavier wweight vehicles are cheaper to buy because not so many have the licemse these days .

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[jezport]

Ah, I see, when you say you had no contact, you meant no 'verbal/email contact, but you still had to send your V5C and stuff from SVTech off to the DVLA yourself.

As the question of whether it was something SVTech did for you or if you had to do it yourself had been asked, your response to me at least suggested that SVTech did it for you, which they don't.

All I did was send my V5c and letter from SVtech off nothing more.
I am considering increasing my front axle weight. Svtech would provide me with all the documentation for the springs and the new safe weight I can run the axle at with another new VIN plate and any paperwork for the DVLA. This would be at no extra charge if I upgrade within 12 months of my first upgrade.
Will the people you used do the same or would you have to pay again? Can they do this type of upgrade? Or would you then need to go to SVtech and pay again?

I am not insinuating that the way you have done it is in anyway inferior to the way I did it , I just want to check for any other members who may consider going down the same route as you. A number of people do weight upgrades in steps. For example. If you have just had new tyres you may feel that you want to run them for a year before upgrading to a higher load tyre. So you do the upgrade in 2 steps.

 

[Forestboy]

SVTech must have increased their prices recently according to quotes on here.
Had ours done about a year ago (may be a bit longer) £240.00 all in and the service was fantastic. DVLA played silly buggers saying it wasn't a motorhome and asking for masses of information one quick call to SVtech and they contacted DVLA and sorted it all out no hassle for me what so ever.
Well done on your eventual result but not the route for everyone.

 

[Minxy]

All I did was send my V5c and letter from SVtech off nothing more.
I am considering increasing my front axle weight. Svtech would provide me with all the documentation for the springs and the new safe weight I can run the axle at with another new VIN plate and any paperwork for the DVLA. This would be at no extra charge if I upgrade within 12 months of my first upgrade.
Will the people you used do the same or would you have to pay again? Can they do this type of upgrade? Or would you then need to go to SVtech and pay again?

I am not insinuating that the way you have done it is in anyway inferior to the way I did it , I just want to check for any other members who may consider going down the same route as you. A number of people do weight upgrades in steps. For example. If you have just had new tyres you may feel that you want to run them for a year before upgrading to a higher load tyre. So you do the upgrade in 2 steps.

The chap I used is qualified to do the work and provide the necessary supporting documentation - his name was given to us on a list from the DVSA as authorised by them to do it, and others on the same 'list' also referred us to him as the 'man who can'. I've no idea if doing a second 'uprate' with the chap would incur an extra cost as its not something that I asked about, however even if I had to pay him to do it, it would still be a heck of a lot cheaper than SVTech in total.

I'm not saying that using this chap is any 'better or worse' than SVTech, just that there is an alternative to the pseudo 'monopoly' they have.

 

[Minxy]

SVTech must have increased their prices recently according to quotes on here.
Had ours done about a year ago (may be a bit longer) £240.00 all in and the service was fantastic. DVLA played silly buggers saying it wasn't a motorhome and asking for masses of information one quick call to SVtech and they contacted DVLA and sorted it all out no hassle for me what so ever.
Well done on your eventual result but not the route for everyone.

... you pay your money and make your choice ... not everyone's choice will be the same.

 

[Minxy]

the secret is buying the right vehicle in the beginning . far easier to get the higher weight ones . if later you need to down plate its just a voluntary paper exercise .
also very often the heavier wweight vehicles are cheaper to buy because not so many have the licemse these days .

That assumes that the vehicle you want is already available in the weight you need ... not all of them are.

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[Techno]

If my recollection is correct? When I uprated with SVTech on my previous van the fee was to up plate the van and subsequently down plating would be free if within twelve months.
I'm pretty sure it DID NOT say additional up plating would be free.
I think you'll find that you are likely to get hit again for a further up plate.

 

[jezport]

If my recollection is correct? When I uprated with SVTech on my previous van the fee was to up plate the van and subsequently down plating would be free if within twelve months.
I'm pretty sure it DID NOT say additional up plating would be free.
I think you'll find that you are likely to get hit again for a further up plate.

You are wrong, additional up-plating is free. I was told that its not unusual to up-plate in stages and if I decided to upgrade my front springs I would not be charged again if it is within 12 months.

 

[Abacist]

I also uprated again with SVTech within 12 months for free and they tell you this first time around.

SVTech have put the time in and paid for stands at shows and given loads of help and guidance to a lot of people.

I for one value their expertise and service and don't begrudge them what I paid.

 

[Flamenca]

My new V5C has just arrived from DVLA with the correct uprated figure. Took DVLA about 2 weeks from the date I submitted the consultants certificate and the old V5. No queries at all from DVLA. Consultants fee £94 and my only input being 2 emails to the consultant taking about 5 minutes each and a walk to the post box. A good result for me and at a realistic cost thanks to the research by MinxyGirl.

 

[SandraL]

Many thanks to @MinxyGirl.
Today received my new V5 from dvla with new 4500kg revenue weight, was 4250kg. Used the £96 expert, all simple and good for me. Sent to dvla 10aug, recvd back 1 sept.
Rear axle also uprated from 2400kg -2500kg, no work required as torsion bars are same as in new 2500kg alko axle and brakes still able to cope.

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