You’re Kidding!

May 20th, 2006

Supermodel and racing fanatic Jodie Kidd zoomed into Carlisle for the first time two days ago to help launch an online way of paying car tax. Jodie woke at 4am to make the four-hour trip from her home in Birmingham for the DVLA launch at Tullie House. The newly-wed 6ft 1in model, who is designing her own golfwear range for Hi-tec, said: “It’s my first visit to Carlisle but my husband Aidan Butler knows the city. “He’s involved in horse racing, he’s a fifth generation bookmaker and he’s been up here a lot. He says there’s a great racecourse, and it’d be nice to join him up here in the future.” Jodie, who drives for the Maserati racing team, sat on an inflatable keyboard to launch direct.gov.uk’s new online car tax service. The new way of buying a tax disc can take less than three minutes – it takes just a minute longer on a new hotline set up for those without a computer. The move is expected to make it easier for people who work shifts or have busy lifestyles to pay without a need to queue at the post office. Sue White is a delivery manager at the DVLA’s offices in Swansea. She said: “There are around 33 million cars in the UK. This new service is about giving customers a choice about how they get their tax. “Some people still want to go to the post office but if they want to do it over the phone then this will make it easier for them. “My dad is 71 and he’s used it. He says it’s fantastic.” “I got my own one night online and it was with me within three days.” Drivers need only their V5 log book number and their car registration. All MOTs issued from March 2006 are computerised and checks can be carried out by the DVLA electronically. A DVLA survey of 2,000 UK motorists revealed that 69 per cent of drivers have admitted avoiding renewing their tax because they can’t find the paperwork. Almost 60 per cent said that being able to make online payments means they would pay bills on time. To pay your car tax online, log on to www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc or call 0870 850 4444 in the UK.