The DVLA has been accused of behaving like the worst cowboy clampers after it immobilised a car belonging to a 70-year-old woman who has conscientiously taxed her car for more than 50 years – and only sent her a warning letter four days later. In another case, chiropodist Rob Stacey*, who rang the DVLA to ask if he had to tax his garaged classic car to drive it to an MoT testing station 140 yards away, was incredulous when it was clamped in the middle of the night – even though his car had not been driven, and could legally be driven to the garage.Last weekend Guardian Money revealed how thousands of law-abiding motorists have become victims of the new car tax rules introduced last October, with clampings up 60% and drivers complaining of a heavy-handed, zero tolerance approach where the DVLA clamps cars without warning – often after an administrative error. After reading our story, Money was contacted by Wendy Angell, who lives in Barry, near Cardiff, who fell foul of the new rules which mean that a car’s tax ends when the owner changes. She had told the DVLA to put her partner’s car into her name because he has Parkinson’s and can longer drive. She has long been listed as the main driver with their insurer. She even paid the car’s annual vehicle excise duty – road tax. She had a valid disc on her windscreen, but, because of the rule change, the DVLA cancelled the tax. The DVLA has repeatedly claimed that it writes to everyone when they buy or take over a vehicle, warning them that any existing tax is no longer valid. However, it did not send Wendy the V5 registered keeper document until after it had clamped her car.....Read more here