Reply from online tax when I complained.

i complained that when you have insured the bike for a few days the online system would still not give me tax, and they were also very unhelpful when i rang up aswell so i sent a complaint out of fustration thinking no one would take any notice, anyway they did and here is the reply

"Thank you for your email 25 March, relating to your experience of using DVLA’s Electronic Vehicle Licensing (EVL) and Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) service, which has been passed for my attention. Your email reference number is 295689.

I was sorry to read of the events you have described in your email and fully appreciate your frustration. It may be of importance if I explain some background information relevant to this issue.

The Motor Insurance Database (MID) was established by the insurance industry in 2001. It is operated by the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) and is updated by insurers with details of every motorist's insurance particulars. It was created to comply with the 4th EU Motor Insurance Directive, which requires Member States to hold an electronic record of motor insurance policies, in order that the insurer of a vehicle may be traced in the event of an accident. It was established with the primary aim of reversing an apparent increase in the extent and cost of uninsured driving.

The MID and the DVLA register are two separate entities. A link has been set up between the MID and the DVLA purely to enable vehicle licensing by electronic means. However, I must emphasise that the MID is not the responsibility of DVLA and we have no direct access or control over the information it holds, or the way in which it holds it.

Upon application an electronic message is sent to the MID, to confirm if there is valid insurance in place for your particular vehicle registration number, on the date for which the licence is to be renewed or the date of transaction, if this is later. If a record is found for the vehicle for the relevant date, a positive response is given to authorise the transaction to proceed. Please be assured that no information about the policy is sent to DVLA.

The information held on the MID is supplied by insurance companies and reflects the information that has been supplied to them by their policyholders. If the MID has not updated there is no data available for the DVLA check. It is not a fault in the link nor a reflection on our electronic service.

When you apply for a tax disc using our telephone service or website, the vehicle’s insurance is electronically checked with the MID. However there are occasions when an EVL transaction cannot proceed. Indeed, the MIB website itself www.mib.org.uk states: “Please note that motorists may not be able to use EVL if they have recently changed their name and or address, changed their insurance company or any details of their vehicle. There may also be problems verifying insurance cover if the tax and insurance are both due at the same time.”

This important information is reinforced in the ‘Common Questions’ section of the EVL website, which states: “If you have recently renewed, updated or changed the insurance policy, the vehicle details may not have been updated yet on the Motor Insurance Database (MID).

I regret that in this instance, as DVLA do not hold the insurance database I can only suggest that you contact your Insurance company to confirm your policy details are held under the correct registration number and ensure they have been passed to the MID correctly.

For future reference, should you wish to independently check MID you may do so at www.askmid.com.

In closing I am genuinely sorry that you have not had a positive experience of this DVLA electronic service, and for the concern that this has caused. I hope that any future dealings you may have with the Agency will be trouble free."

well it did answer a few questions but not why they were so unhelpfull on the phones.. HOWEVER when i rang the insurance company up and explained the exact same situation they gladly helped me and send the certificate to me through email whilt we were on the phone,, i then printed it out and got my road tax that very hour!!
all ended with a happy ending

by the way the insurers are MCE and very cheap aswell .. i rate them good everytime