A man from Southport has won his three-year battle with the DVLA following allegations of tax disc fraud.
Stuart Ball was awarded £250 as means of an apology from the DVLA and chose to donate the money to the charity Help for Heroes.
In 2007, Mr Ball sold his car on eBay and sold his tax disc separately.
However, having failed to pay the additional costs, the new car owner sent off for a replacement license, stating that it had been "lost or stolen".
The DVLA then proceeded to refuse a refund or duplicate license to Mr Ball.
“It was like banging your head on a brick wall," he explained.
"I had the original tax disk, so what didn’t they understand?
"They were going against their own rules and it was a complete nightmare trying to get them to see the error of their ways.
"They just kept on refusing any responsibility and passed me from pillar to post.
"My complaint was not about financial compensation, it was simply about righting a wrong.
“The amount of money was small but the DVLA had no right to refuse me a refund. It may have been three years, and there were countless letters, but the report was well worth waiting for.”
Mr Ball was pleased that justice was done: “It became a matter of principle to pursue the case with the DVLA, not only to right a wrong but more importantly to stop this situation happening to any other innocent people.”
With the DVLA refusing to budge on the matter, MP for Southport, John Pugh, was called in to assist in Mr Ball's case.
Coun Pugh revealed his delight at the decision: “There was a clear loophole in the law and procedures adopted by the DVLA but they were refusing to acknowledge it, right up to their chief executive.”
“We have had problems before with the DVLA not being able to deal with any circumstances which were in any way out of the ordinary. The DVLA culture is not good: ‘The computer says no’ could be their private catchphrase.”
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