DVLA update
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When you're off on a road trip and you're driving, there are plenty of things you probably wouldn't want to be without but the most important has to be your driver's licence. This acts as proof, should you ever need it, that you're entitled to be behind the wheel. Unless, of course, the DVLA makes another of their mistakes - the kind that has left some of you without any licence at all.
We've already heard (in the programme on Monday 27 April), how some of you had sent your licences to the DVLA to have them updated, only to have them returned with incorrect details. Jon Jones has had his entitlement to ride a motorbike removed, after he'd had it for 30 years. Instead of admitting a mistake, the DVLA made him retake his test.
It told Jan Shepperd she'd have to do the same, and insisted it is always right. The company told her over the phone that according to its records she had never applied to have a licence and there was no way its records were incorrect. She felt disgusted at being told that she was essentially a liar.
Since 27 April 2009, Watchdog has heard from hundreds of you who say you've lost the right to drive because of blunders by the DVLA. We decided to investigate further.
Lynn Groves
In 2006, Lynn Groves mislaid her driving licence so she applied for a replacement. Having been on the road, with a full licence, for 42 years she didn't foresee that she would encounter any problems at all. She was, however, wrong. The DVLA refused to send her a new licence because it said it couldn't find any record of her on its system.
Lynn tried to explain to the DVLA that she had her original licence, but they refused to acknowledge it as proof. This has meant that, for the past three years, she has been unable to drive. Lynn was told to re-take her test, which she unfortunately failed because she was so nervous.
Rosemary Williams
Rosemary Williams checked her licence after she saw Watchdog on 27 April 2009. She found a major problem - as devastating as it is ridiculous. She found her licence was null and void, the impact of which Rosemary describes as 'horrendous', particularly as she can no longer drive to see her grandchildren.
Rosemary's problems date back to when she moved house and sent the DVLA her licence to update her address details. Though she only spotted it last week, it turns out the new licence expired before it had even arrived.
The issue date was 16 April 2008. The expiry date, however, was 15 April 2008 - the day before. This means that for the past 12 months, Rosemary has been driving around with void insurance and no legal right to be on the roads. When Rosemary realised this she was horrified. Another corker, from the government agency that, remember, says it doesn't make mistakes.
You are not alone!
We'd never have thought so many of you would be telling us the DVLA messed up your licence too. Car drivers, motorcyclists and even a few truck drivers have all been in touch to tell us they have also had their entitlements wiped from their licence. For some, this has even meant they haven't been able to work until they've spent hundreds of pounds getting through their test again.
It does seem, though, the DVLA doesn't just take licences away. We all know they issue them but we've heard tell of instances when they've actually given out licenses to people who haven't actually passed their test.
Amy Nicholas took and failed her driving test last October, but was surprised and shocked when she received a full driving licence through the post two weeks later.
That's not all. We were contacted by a gentleman who was a little confused after receiving his licence back from the DVLA. The entitlements seemed fine but the problem came when he read the details on the front of the licence. He discovered that he was actually from the 'Untied Kingdom' and not the United Kingdom.
He wasn't quite as confused, however, as a Surrey-based man whose licence was sent, with all the correct details, but with a photo of a woman instead of his own.
Tim Shallcross, the head of technical policy and advice at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, believes it's a DVLA fantasy that they can have 40 million records without a single error. He told Watchdog that this is a real problem. This is because if you believe that there are no errors, you don't have a process in place to put those errors right when they do occur.
Julia takes drastic action
Julia Bradbury decided it was time to take drastic action and as Lynn and Rosemary can't drive she took them on a road trip to the head quarters of the DVLA - in Swansea. The journey was long and when they finally arrived both ladies were a bit nervous but with evidence in hand and truth on their side, they entered the building.
Emerging, minutes later, both ladies were jubilant - they'd been triumphant. Though they would have to wait a few weeks, Rosemary and Lynn were told their licences would be re-instated.
It's a massive U-turn for the DVLA, who has previously refused to budge an inch. It's great that we managed to get two ladies back on the road, but what about everyone else who has been in touch? Have the DVLA finally seen sense, or are you all going to have to go to Swansea to sort out your driving licence problems?
DVLA statement
"It is vital that we protect the safety of all road users by ensuring that only people who can prove they have passed the relevant driving test are allowed to drive on our roads. Errors are extremely rare but we thoroughly investigate all cases reported to us and aim to resolve any inaccuracies as quickly as possible. Drivers should of course remember that they are required by law to let us know when they change their details to allow us to keep our records up to date."
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~04~RS~)
Comments
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I passed my test 3 months ago. Ive still yet to recieve my new licence. Turns out they sent it to my old address and they claim i never informed them of the change of address details - it was on the bottom of the paper licence at the point of taking my test.
I now have to apply for a replacement licence - lost licence according to them and being told it is entirely my fault......(how can i lose something ive never recieved?)
I do have proof i passed my test luckily but still, I WANT MY LICENCE!!
Do they keep the original licences that are sent to them so that they can be shown up for the incompetent fools they are?!
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Each person's computer record should show the full history of the person. It is inconceivable that the history is not available!
Do they really not record the date that one passes their driving test.
The software is clearly rubbish!! How much did it cost the taxpayer?
It is also clear that their attitude towards their customers is absolutely appalling.
To claim that they never make mistakes is egotistical nonsense.
To expect people to retake driving tests is appalling. People should sue for compensation.
michael
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I personally am not surprised at the cockups DVLA are making.They stole £40 off me for not declaring my motorcycle SORN.I did,however I was fined for not recieving their letter.
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I dont know about anyone else, but im moving in a few weeks to a new address, after watchdogs findings, i kinda dont want to notify dvla of the change, i know i have to, but i dont want my license to be withdrawn, my license is majorly important to me, living in the middle of almost nowhere, does anyone else feel as though they cant trust dvla at the moment?
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I had a driving licence from the Isle of Man. I had full motorcycle entitlement and provisional car entitlement. I sent the licence in to the DVLA to change for a UK licence and received a Full Car licence with no motorcycle entitlement.
I was tempted to retake my motorcycle test. But I did the right thing and contacted the DVLA. thankfully as the IoM had full records the DVLA couldn't really argue and got it sorted out very quickly.
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I had a D and DE category on my driving license from 1993 to 2004. This entitled me to drive "any bus with more than 8 passenger seats with/without a trailer over 750kg". I've never driven a bus nor applied for this category. I assume that I probably could have applied for a job as a bus driver - scary isn't it!
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Why was the lady in the DVLA film (Lynn Groves) not wearing her seatbelt properly? She took it off her shoulder so surely it wouldnt work in a situation where the car may have to stop quickly. Shouldn't the driver ensure that their passengers are seatbelted in properly?
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Hi yer, My name is Mr [personal details removed]. I am a Managing Director of a company thats been going for 40 years. I own a courier company and also hold a CPC Licence. So i have to know the law. One thing Under the Freedon Of Infomation Law i asked several M.P`s if we were a member of the EU? And no we are not. So this means that The EU Symbol is an advertising banner. Which simply means it can not be applied to any Government Documents. Like your Driving Licence. So I wouldthink twice befor showing it on TV cus the Police can do you for having it. Ask the guy from DVLA? They told the Government that it can Not be applied to The Driving Licence but the Government aparrently told them they must. Can you check this out?
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My wife has a medical condition.
She applied for a new licence and included details from her doctor.
She was told she could only have a three year licence due to her condition.
She received a TEN year licence.
Should she own up???
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I am getting worried after hearing all your stories. I sent my licence in for an address change, filled in as directed on the rear. I have waited weeks to get it back and when, lasrt week I finally gave in and rang them I was told it was being held because no-one knows why it was sent in. The person I spoke to told me I had to send in a D1 which he would send to me, and assured me that it would come to my new address. It hasn't arrived yet.
Like I say I'm getting worrried.
Allan
Cornwall
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the dvla spelt my first name wrong and i had it checked by the postoffice before i appled! i now have to re-send it back with a photo copy of my passport!
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Lynn Groves
HOW,, when she has just failed a driving test can she be given her licence back!!!! nerves or not that is shocking she failed a test to drive on public roads ........... Who is to blame when she has an accident now DVLA thats who for issuing a licence for failing a simple test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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P.S. to my previous posting ... I also have GH on my paper license which entitles me to drive road rollers and tracked vehicles until the year 2029, but these are not present on my plastic card license. I've no idea why there's a discrepancy but I've never applied for those categories either!
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A few years ago, I found myself on a Saturday morning in a tinly little town called Swakopmund on the coast of Namibia without my driving licence and an urgent need to hire a 4x4. I found the DVLA sevrice number on the internet, rang, and amazingly someone answered. Not only that, but a duplicate licence was faxed to me within an hour. Brilliant service.
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this made me chuckle since applying for my license i have returned it 3 times as my name was incorect on the licence. my middle name is a unisex name that is spelt different for males and females. only a small point but each time it came back it was still spelt the female way. even thou each time i had sent a cover note explaining this. I gave up in the end but could this make my licence invalid?
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I have had my SORN documents returned 6 weeks after posting it. It had been around the country for some reason. Royal Mail returned it to me eventually.
I have also experience trouble in taxing my car and the loss of important documents.
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I am watching the Drivers' Licence portion of this week's program, and have to wonder why the DVLA's computer systems have not been called into question. Here's why:
The fact that the DVLA claim to have no record of people who were previously issued drivers' licences seems to point towards a fundamental lack of integrity within its computer systems and/or databases. The only ways a record may go missing (bearing in mind that they had records of some of these people before) are: poor access controls, resulting in unauthorised data deletion (or creation, for that matter)or poor or non-existent controls over the migration of data as systems have been updated or upgraded.
There was reference on the program to one person's licence which bore an expiry date one day prior to the issue date. Surely the DVLA's systems should have automated edit checks that do not allow data item B (expiry date) to be of a lower value than data item A (issue date). This is a basic "edit check" that even an average user of excel would build into a spreadsheet!
Finally, there was reference to someone's licence marked "Untied Kingdom". Again, basic data entry edit checks would have caught this. In any case, why would anyone have to type this in instead of selecting it from a pull-down menu within the systems? Are there really that many possible entries into the "country" field?
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The guy from the DVLA has used, like many others have done before, what I call the "Harold Shipman" line of defence: I left more patients alive than I killed...
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I moved over from Canada and had to get my licence registered in the UK.
I got my licence eventually only to find that it is only for Automatic vehicles.
Ive tried going to the DVLA and they say theres nothing they can do even though the website says different.
Im so stuck as to what to do!?
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Sorry to post a third comment, but I've NOW just noticed that my paper license (but not my card license) also has category A until 2029 - this is a motor cycle but I've never applied for this or passed a motorcycle test! This is a shambles.
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I have been battling with the DVLA for nearly 2 years after returning my full licence for an address change to be sent a provisional licence back.
Still the DVLA refuse to admit they have made a mistake despite the fact they have been sent letters from my previous employers confirming they have taken copies of my licence for the use of company vehicles.
I refuse to retake my test on the basis this is there mistake. I think it is disgusting that they are so incompetent!
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Beat DVLA,Passport Office, Holiday Insurance etc...It's very easy.
Either take digital photo or photocopy every important document such as Driving Licence, Passport, Holiday Insurance,Birth Certificate, etc etc
Then email it as an attachment to your Hotmail or email address and store it in a special folder.
WHEREVER you are in the world you then have access to all your important documents just by going to your email.
I needed my holiday insurance whilst at the other end of the world and it was all instantly to hand via Hotmail.
My Passport was stolen and I managed to print out all the details whilst in Thailand (via Hotmail)and it made everything very, very easy!!
Seems simple......well it is!
I do hope this helps someone else!
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I bought a new car a few weeks ago. Having not received the V5 within 2 weeks of buying the car I called the DVLA to ask where it was. They proceeded to tell me it had been sent to the wrong address!! Apparently they can't read...
They did at least get a new one out to me within 4 days.
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They are doing much worse. My son had a fixed penalty, didn't pay it as he was on holidays when it arrived etc. so it escalated, and he gave me the money. I wrote a cheque for the amount required. The money was taken from my account. When he was in Korea in the new year, he got a court summons for the unpaid debt - as a result of which, we believe his application for the Police was turned down, as a potential conviction; he had advised them nothing of concern, as he had no idea this would happen as he had argued in writing, and sent copies of cheques etc off to prove it had been paid. Still, they took him to court. He had to use 3 days unpaid leave to attend court; the first time the person seeking to prosecute hadn't had any copies of the correspondence and said they needed to cheque, so it was adjourned to allow them to do this. The second time, they failed to turn up so he was advised to get a solicitor involved and make a sworn affidavit that he HAD paid; he did this, and was charged for it. The third time he turned up with this, and they still asked him to come back. He couldn't afford to take any more time off so agreed to pay it. Again. And all this DESPITE the fact they had been sent copies of the cheque for the amount, the bank statements. And copies of the cheque which clearly showed on that it had been stamped by the DVLA; his car reg was both stamped on the cheque and hand written on it. So we pay twice; totally ridiculous, no right of appeal which is against the laws of natural justice - and it is on his record!
Not long before that, I had sent a cheque for £40 to them; they wrote and told me it hadn't been paid, so I sent a cheque for the higher amount. Four days later, I get the original cheque back (for the lesser amount)with a note on it advising this was no longer required - as the bill had been paid. I am incredibly angry at all of this; and from now on, will send everything to them by recorded delivery only and will keep copies of all documents and get them witnessed by a JP my end. Caroline J
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Last year I got married, moved address and passed my D1 test. These all happened within a short period of each so I sent off my application in bulk to change name, address and add the full category. I was surprised as for a change, none of these changes were going to cost me anything. ( you have to admit that is rare!)
I got a friend to check it was all there and even remember flexing the envelope to fill my photocard in it before putting it in the post box. A week later, I received the bundle back, minus the photocard syaing they had not received it and I needed to pay some obsurd fee to replace it! I wrote a snotty letter back stating they were trying to rip me off, explaining my concern in the current climate that my old licence with my maiden name and old address had been mislaid by them. At the same time I sent in some freedom of information requests asking how many photocards were lost at the dvla.
A couple of weeks later, I received my new licence back so I assumed they were admitting fault. I then noticed they had not added the D1 category! I phoned and they denied receiving it. They had the only proof of me passing it. I ended up having to go back to the test centre and paying a fee for a duplicate copy.
Make sure you sent everything recorded to the dvla and photocopy it all before you send!
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I sent my application off to the DVLA for my first photocard several years ago and was shocked to find that the photo on the card, which had my details, was not my photo but of another woman. I thought "ok mistakes can happen", so I returned it with an explanation, only to be sent the same photo card a second time. I was told at the time that all photos were stored on microfilm and probably received the photo of the next person on the film.I found this method of storage very surprising with all the technology that surrounds us these days. My photo is due for renewal in 2011 so fingers crossed I will receive the correct photo, otherwise I may have to have a radical makeover!
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After the article on Watchdog, I thought I would check my licence which I had recently got replaced due to a change of address. Sure enough, the valid to date is only 13-02-2010. I have been driving since I was 18 on a full licence. I am now 53 years of age. I am sending them an e-mail and also telling them that I have notified Watchdog as their mistakes are clearly more than just a few as they explained on the show, I'll keep the blog posted.
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What is worring is that you could have the full licence documentation provided by the DVLA, but that they have lost the "database entry" this could result in a check being made by the police for a minor traffic infrigment, resulting in production of the licence at a police station. The problem being the police will side on the DVLA print out as an offical document. This could then result in you being arrested for "use of a false instrument" ie the licence.
Would the DVLA accept an international licence as proof?
As such the entire driving licence system has been made Null and void by computer errors.
I suspect that the only way to resolve this is for everybody with a licence to claim that they have lost it, and obtain a new one and check the details and keep both. one to proveto the DVLA that you had one in the first place.
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After watching about DVLA, I have just checked my licence. I had some points occured taken off last year (3) I am shocked that I had to pay even though you are entiled after three years to request that the DVLA remove them. I passed by driving test in July 2007 so why is my driving test now only valued until next year. Any ideas? I am glad I looked and have now made a note as no car no job.
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With regards to the photo card part of the licence, it looks like some people have not been sent reminders, as these cards expire every ten years to ensure that the photo gets updated.
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We moved in Dec 2007 and sent our licences off to be updated. Since watching the feature on Watchdog - we thought we'd better take a look. Although my licence is valid until 2035, my photocard is only valid until Sept 2010 and my husband's until 2011 when it shouldn't expire until 2019. Is this because the actual photo needs updating or is it an error. I can't find any info to explain
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To my knowledge, the DVLA has been making Driving Licence errors of the type described by viewers for over ten years. Couldn't the DVLA be taken to court for loss of earnings etc? This is one government body that needs a real shakeup. Errors are clearly due to a lack of attention to detail. The people responsible for such errors should be dismissed, as there is clearly little concern for the distress caused to others.
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how about being told you have lost your license, because you didn't send it back to have a fixed penalty added for an offense that you are supposed to have done, despite having been out of the country for over a year. We emigrated in 2002, the offense happened in 2003, I have not been back to the uk in 7 years! The only reason I found this out was because I had lost my license and wanted a replacement. I still do not drive. They want me to retake my test, and also a new theory test.
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i have recently moved, i sent my husband and my license off to dvla, my husband can only drive a car, which befor he could drive none paying people on minibus and other things are missing, mine came back sayig i have to renew it in 2010 which would only make me 42 when before it expired when i would be 70 dont know if this is right or not if any body knows then please let me know thanks
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Just look at the DVLA's delightful new TV adverts: "pay your road tax or we'll crush your car". Such an arrogant unaccountable organisation.
I moved to Finland over a year ago and decided to exchange my license for a local one. It's all handled by the police. You apply in person, they call you when it's ready - you go back to them, check it, then sign to accept it.
I'm sure it's these grand outsourced systems and fulfilment centres and automated processes that are supposed to increase 'efficientcy' but in reality just dehumanise us and reduce people to faceless numbers.
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I recently had a problem with the DVLA on the phone - they were so useless I too had no choice but to go to see my local DVLA office, where after a wait it was sorted, so I understand that they can be a bit useless. Having said that - although one of the ladies on tonights show had had 3 years of problems, the fact that she had been told to retake the test and then failed it (I too was nervous taking my test)only for watchdog to take her to get the licence back! Yes, originally it was the DVLA's fault, but shouldn't we be more worried that they just give it back when she has recently failed the test!!
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The man from the DVLA got off lightly when interviewed by Julia Bradbury. He failed to answer why Lynn Groves refused her licence for 3 years until Watchdog intervened. Some people's working lives are ruined by the mistakes made by the DVLA, and an apology does nothing to compensate. Julia Bradbury should have asked the DVLA chief how he is going to remedy situation similar to what Lynn Groves experienced, when a lowly call centre person or DVLA employee simply dismisses the customer by saying that there is nothing he or she can do for the customer. What system has the DVLA chief put in place to avoid these problems? Is there a complaints procedure? It is not good enough to say that they handle a large number of driving licences and a few errors are inevitable. It means nothing to the DVLA and everything to the customer.
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i replaced my photo driving licience in feb 09, when the dvla sent my new one, it runs out 04/10
MARGIlouisa
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Whats really worring is if this goverment agency can get it so wrong what about passports - and worse still what about the identity card scheme?
Sorry sir, computer says no. go streight to jail never to be released.
Big brother is watching you.....
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Hello I have just watched you'r film on the DVLA.
In 2005 I got 6 points on my licence, after only driving for just over 3 years, but because the accident that caused me to get the points was under 3 years of passing my test I was told my licence would be revoked and I would have to take my test again.
So I went and applied for a provisional licence, but before that arrived my full licence came back. So I continued to use it, driving as normal as I thought that it was not revoked because I had been driving for more than 3 years.
Later that year I moved house so I sent off my licence to have the address changed, While it was at the DVLA I continued to drive until I was pulled over my the police who told me I didnt have a full licence. I told them I had just sent it off to have my address changed. They contacted the DVLA, who told the officer that I only held a provisional and my full licence was revoked 6 MONTHS earlier.
So I was driving around for 6 months without a full licenec when I thought I had. THATS NOT THE WORST!
Because I didn't have a full licenec I had to got to court where I picked up a further 6 points which resulted in me beeing disqualified for 6 months.
I've let it go now I've learnt from my mistakes. There is nothing I can do about it.
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Driving Licence Expiry Warning......
When I Passed My Test in 1973 - My Licence was Valid Until 2025
After Your Program - I Checked My Licence for Errors - And Was Horrified to Learn That it Expires in 2011...... And I Have to Pay £17.50 for a New One...... I Already Paid For a Licence until 2025...!
How Many People are Driving on Expired Licences...?
I Understand that You Need to Pay an Administration Charge If You - Loose Your Documents, Move House, Etc....
But this is Scandallous - How Can The DVLA Charge this Ridiculous Amount - Just to Update your Photo?
But More to the Point - How Many People Also Think Their Licences are Valid for the Original Period.....? Am I the Only One?
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hi there i need some help regarding my driving licence,i had they address changed on my driving licence approx 8 weeks ago,having being alerted by watchdog about some mistakes on licences i checked my new licence and found it valid from 27/03/09 until 08/08/09..what do i do next? and can you explain what the back part 10. from and 11. to which also have dates means please as the dates on this are 15/07/93 and 04/10/34.
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never mind the mistakes with licences V5 issues are just as bad they charged me 55 for failure to notify would not explain what this was and I had no record of the registration, when i called up i was told as i did not know the make and model they could not help me they could however send me a letter demanding money! I refused to write them a letter as standard time for an automated reply is 6 weeks so I took a day off work to sit in the regional office to be told oh forget it, no explanation why i was sent it!! the call centre in Swansea is rude and tell you if they have to repeat themselves they will cut the phone off and they do they need a governing body like offcom etc, i understand people make mistakes its human nature but a third party looking at them would probably make people more conscientious
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Further to my previous post, I have since checked the paper licence and these idiots have issued me with a provisional licence instead of a full licence. I passed my test in 1974 and there's no way I'm going to take it again because their systems are screwed up!!!
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I have resigstered a petition to the Prime Minister. It is not yet published.
It reads:-
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to remove the
incompetent senior management at the DVLA
The DVLA senior management accept that their organisation make
up to 1,000 errors a year removing driving rights that have
often existed for many years.
These errors can devastate the lives of their victims and yet
the DVLA can years to correct them.
The top management team believe that these people should not
complain, they should see the problem in the perspective that
they are only a small percentage.
The reality is that all errors are avoidable and an
organisation will make the number of errors the leadership are
willing to accept.
Change the leadership and the errors will stop.
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I've had the unfortunate "pleasure" of experiencing DVLA mistakes a couple of times now. I would advise anyone that needs to correspond with/send the DVLA their licence that they keep copies/send by recorded delivery!
First time was 2006, I had moved and sent my driving licence to the DVLA for them to amend the address. I unfortunately was caught speeding a week after and could not produce my licence as the DVLA had it. The policeman provided me with a producer and said I could produce it at my nominated station.
Three weeks later, I still had no licence. I advised the police that I could not produce as I did not have it in my possession.
Contacted the DVLA to be told that they didn't have it, but of course they hadn't lost it, I just hadn't sent it to them. Only when I provided the reference number for the recorded delivery did they acknowledge that they had actually received my licence (what would have happened if I hadn't got a reference number?).
They sent it back about 2 weeks later but by that time, the case of my speeding offence had been filed and prepared for court.
I then had to compile all the evidence of correspondance/phone calls I had had with the DVLA to prove that the only reason I hadn't produced and paid the fine was because I didn't have my licence and not because I was disputing the offence. The court accepted my evidence and placed the original fine/penalty notice on me.
As part of the proceeding I had to forward my licence to the court and they then forwarded my licence to the DVLA for endorsement.
I then received 2 letters off the DVLA (both with the same address but different postcodes) saying that the court had advised them of an offence and that I needed to surrender my licence for endorsement. I contacted them to advise them that the court had contacted me to say that they had forwarded my licence to the DVLA. The DVLA's response was that they hadn't received it and would not take my word for it that it had been forwarded to them. I then had to contact the guy at the court who was looking after my case so that he could contact the DVLA to find out where my licence was. It just so happened that the DVLA changed its tune when the court contacted them, it was then "oh we've had a lot of post and a bit of a backlog so it must be in there".
Two weeks later I received my licence back.
I have just changed my address again and have had to send my licence to be amended again (of course by recorded delivery!) I was amazed when it was sent back to me within about a week and a half. I couldn't believe it had been sent back so quickly! Well, until I looked at the address which stated the city/county before the number and road name. I have also noticed that the expiry date is next year. I have contacted the DVLA to enquire if this is for photo purposes or whether this is an error and to enquire whether my licence is valid with this error on my address, a week ago ... and guess what, still waiting for a response ...
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I can not believe it i have just finished watching this and thought (just out of interest) i would check my licence, and guess what my expire date is aug 2010 it should read 2051 as stated on my entitlments on the back. I have tried calling dvla however they are closed, anyone know what i should do?
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i must be a bit dim but i have been driving 7.5ton vans for a long time can i on my licence categorys b,be,f,k,l,n,p
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After watching the DVLA part i cant bleave how Nicky Campbell let the guy off so easly when thay have proof that thay DO get things wrong. So are staff are lying or dont thay care he was only just given a slap on the wrist by Nicky. If he was being asked the same things by dom littlewood or ann robinson he would have gotten off so easy i somehow dout it.
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Last year I contacted the DVLA regarding the fact that I had noticed that my motorcycle intitlement had been removed from my licence at some stage. I supplied as much detail as possible about my motorcycle test pass, only to receive a reply from them to the effect that as my test pass was during the period of the Red book licences and that these were supplied by an agency other than DVLA, they were unable to help me. They suggested that I take my test again. On reading the other blogs, I feel that I can not ever have confidence in sending any of my documentation to the DVLA. What should be done to make these people at DVLA take their jobs more seriously and stop playing games with peoples lives.
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This problem with the DVLA has been going on for many years and needs to be addressed.However I do not believe that Watchdog will achieve anything when,after at last getting the Chief Executive on the programme he is allowed to simply churn out statistics to try to justify the performance of the DVLA. We are not interested in those they get right,but we do need to know when errors are made how they propose to correct them,and bearing in mind that their systems are grossly inefficient,what action we need to take before we send existing licences to the DVLA for renewal etc.in order that we may be in a position to protect our driving entitlements.
The item should have been given much more time on tonight`s programme and the CE should have been Questioned more aggressively over the fact that all the complainants had been dealt with by the DVLA in an arrogant and offhand manner.I suspect he felt he had an `easy ride`and little will change.
Too many important issues are not given sufficient time to be dealt with adequately on Watchdog this is one of them.
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I was involved in an accident thursday. I contacted my insurance company, gave them all the accident details and was put through to another division, who again took all my details, they then pursued a three way call with DVLA to check licence details. To my utter shock & disbelief, the lady at the DVLA said that I was only on a provisional licence & gave me another number to call - the enquiry line. Called the enquiry line and the lady there said that they had never received my full application and I was still on a provisional licence. I am utterly shocked by this. The lady said I would have received a letter six months after my test pass explaining that I hadn't applied for my licence. I never received this letter, but that is probably due to the fact I had applied for my licence.
I then worriedly embarked on delving through all my paperwork, and found a letter from the DVLA dated one month after my practical test. The letter says thank you for your recent application / correspondence which I have to return to you. Please sign the D750 form. Please supply photocopy of your passport that has not been enlarged - this I then did.
Therefore, they must have received my initial application form, to then write to me requiring additional information. I have posted copy of theory pass, copy of practical test pass, copy of letter received from them & copy of photo I sent back to them.
I am now extremley concerned and worried about this, because as far as I was aware, my licence had been issued after the last piece of information had been sent to them. I thought I had lost licence during a move.
Am so worried about this now, as from some of the horror stories i've read I'll have to take test again, this could interfere with my job also
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Having watched you programme this evening I checked my licence. I renewed this when I became 70 so my licence should have been for 3years but find that it does not even last 2 years. Is this so they can try an make us pay more as I believe we have to have new photo's taken each time?
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I think there must be many more than 1000 errors a year, when you consider the number of people who watch watchdog, and the tiny percentage who've bothered to check their documents and post about it on here, then the huge percentage of people who don't watch watchdog and don't bother to check their documents! Their figures on errors may well change after today...
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i had my driving lience for 4 yrs and then i got a six mth ban which was up in oct 07 and thay sent me provisional though saying i have to do it again i phoned and emailed and wrote and had no joy all thay said is nt our thought so i should of had it bk after my ban cause i only got 6 points in the 3 rd yr of havin my lience what can i do
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My Dad had one of those red book icences and had it upgraded when we moved -I'm all for Civil Servant bashing when its appropriate, but is Lynne saying she hasnt moved for 42 years ? I'm kinda thinkin if she had done what she was meant to some time ago, there would have been a computer record for her ...
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sorry i have just been looking at leaflet INS57P and as i past my test before 1st of january 1997 my licence should show entitlements D1,D1+E AND C1, C1+E BUT NO THAT IS NOT THE CASE, its time to sack some staff, now i have to take time out of my day and my money making phone calls, stamps, and the price of recorded dielvery to get this sorted. what a sham or is that scam
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It isnt just driving licences they cant get right.
Just over 2 and a 1/2 years ago, my son bought a 51 plate car from a friend, who has had it from brand new. He gave it to me in February this year and when I went to change the keeper and tax it, I was told by DVLA it had been scrapped in August last year!
They took my tax money, so I can at least drive it, but the woman at DVLA told me I would have to pay to prove it wasnt scrapped! She also said mistakes like this were often made.
The letter said to go to Trading Standards as someone had obviously sold me a scrapped car, which is a load of tosh as my son had owned the car for almost 2 years at the supposed date of scrapping.
I am now trying to get a copy of the certificate of destruction to check whose car was destroyed as it certainly isnt mine, but I am still waiting.
I am worried that they will take so long that next time I try and tax they will say this is an ex-car and I will be car-less, especially as I have mobility problems.
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We checked our licences too after tonight's programme, and like others, were surprised to see expiry date of 2010, when licence valid till 2035!!
Have checked the DVLA website, and it does say although the licence is valid till your 70, the photo is only valid for 10 years (and costs £20 to update!!)
I wasn't aware of this, I guess the photo licence hasn't been in for long enough yet for renewals to be due?
Details on this link - worth letting viewers know it does need renewed. Good news (?) is that it does say that they'll send a renewal pack 2 months before it's due. Given your stories though, I'll be taking a copy of mine before I send it off to make sure it comes back with all the same entitlements!!!!
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/NeedANewOrUpdatedLicence/DG_078070
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If the DVLA are charging for licences and calling drivers 'customers' then they should be subject to the same consumer laws as any other company as they are effectively acting as a 'company' with or without the government alliance.
I was really shocked that they had hitherto been acting is such am arrogant cavalier manner to their 'customers'.
And never mind penalising innocent drivers whose licences are void through no fault of their own but through a fault of the DVLA, what about making sure that any driver who kills a pedestrian loses their licence for life? That would make dangerous or drug and booze addled drivers think twice.
The biggest moral duty of the DVLA should be keep killer drivers off our roads - for life - and demand higher penalties for the dangerous and drivers.
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l would like to draw to anyone visiting this site's attention , something that has just happened to me...l have become the victim of an anonomous letter written to the DVLA's medical department, claiming that l am medically unfit to drive a car..now whilst l think its a good thing to check out any such claims...l am appalled that something of this nature is legal given that it is open to abuse ...in that it could be used as a method of harassment...l shall send back the appropriate forms ,filled in with the help of my doctor, and then post the results, if anyone else has come up against something like this with the DVLA , l would like to hear how they faired
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The recent survey with the DVLA shows them in an excellent light. One mistake in 30,000 - do you own Maths for the .oo answer! In a recent discussion with quite a large group of people not one had experienced difficulties, in fact considering the number of transactions the small numbers throughout Britain it is remarkable. Yes there will be mistakes and no doubt they are sought out. One wonders about SOME of the complainants and how much blame is in that area. Watch 'Dom' and learn how to complain and the follow up procedures and as important learn how to give praise where necessary.I feel watchdog was quite vindictive and the figures/percentages do no warrant such persecution - no I do not work there!
Watchdoog
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I recently bought a second hand Peugeot 106 Diesel, and last month had to buy a new tax disc. As it's a 1527cc Diesel engine I was expecting to pay the lower price (as it was) of £120 for the year. When I got to the Post office I was suprised to find they actually wanted to charge me £185 for the year, as the DVLA have incorrectly recorded the engine size as 1587cc instead of 1527cc. From speaking to Peugeot I've been informed that the Peugeot 106 never came with a 1587cc engine. Unfortunately the DVLA won't change my V5C log book until I have written confirmation from Peugeot Head Office that the DVLA have made an error on the registration document. The DVLA have informed me I can then go to the local DVLA office with my MOT, insurance and existing tax disc (which they want me to remove from the car, hopefully I won't get a fine for failure to display a valid tax disc), pay for a new tax disc, and post the old one back to them for a refund which I'm told can take several weeks. I asked if I could phone the local office to book an appointment, to reduce the amount of time I'm going to have to leave the car with no valid tax disc displayed, and was advised that the local offices don't have phone numbers. One small typing error that I presume has caused previous owners to also inadvertantly pay £65 a year more for their road tax. It personally seems that the process the customer has to take to fix a mistake the DVLA has made is made as difficult as possible.
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a good tip before sending licence for update take a copy of it.
i tried to get a refund of road fund tax, sent all relevant documents and tax disc etc, waited then got a blanket letter saying no refund as i had not met all the requirements. tel to dvla spoke to a person who said they may have lost documents, on asking to speak to supervisor i was denied this right. an email of complaint acknowledged after a few days but no further reply. on further phone call they had now found my documents, eventually got said refund. It shouldn't be this hard.
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What's happened to Watchdog's teeth? Have they been pulled?
I was looking forward to seeing the Chief Executive of the DVLA get a good hammering for his organisation's unbelievable arrogance over their licence mistakes, which were not acknowledged, let alone corrected. Instead, he got a "grilling" from Julia Bradbury, which was about as ferocious as being "savaged by a dead sheep", to coin Dennis Healey's famous retort.
The guy never answered Julia's questions, just waffled on about how many licences they deal with etc. etc.. We know all that, and Julia really should have cut to the chase and asked him why his staff are so arrogant in not accepting their errors, and whether any of them are going to be held to account, or "retrained" for causing such misery and expense to thousands of drivers.
She should also have pressed him on the very justified question of reimbursement of drivers' expenses and lost earnings etc. as a direct result of their incompetence. There was no statement of regret or apology from the Chief Executive, to those who have already suffered, and you can bet there never will be in the future.
In short, Watchdog let the DVLA off with nothing more than a limp slap on the wrist. NOT GOOD ENOUGH !!
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I've just looked at the renewal form I've been sent by DVLA. One side of it says the renewal fee is £17.50 , the other side says £20.00. Help !!!
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I agree with many blogs as it seemed the response of Mr Monohan, head of DVLA reflected exactly the problems people have had with the DVLA. They clearly don't listen. He kept saying how many millions of liscences they process which just reinforces the likelihood of mistakes being made.
Tim Shallcross is right about DVLA having no process in place to correct errors if they believe they can process 40 million documents without mistakes. People understand mistakes being made so long as they take responsibility, clearly a word DVLA have never heard!
Mr Monohan didn't even acknowledge the people shown on the programme to have suffered from the DVLA's errors. On primetime TV with millions watching, thinking this guy is a fantasist! How on earth did he keep his job? This makes him look very deluded. This is clearly the behaviour of an organisation with power but no regulation. A law unto themselves.
Government must stop giving power and money to unregulated agencies that micro-manage us, spend our tax money on expensive TV ads (whatever happened to public service announcements) and start listening to us, educating us with real information to make the right choices and therefore working with us to get this country on its feet again.
Then it won't be Untied Britain but United Barbarians!
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They removed my husband's entitlement to ride a bike too - and he does this for a living - they told him to retake the test! £85 for CBT - £31 for theory test and £700plus to do his direct access - who will pay for this because we certainly can't afford to?
DVLA - you DO make mistakes, so stop lying and put things right, this is peoples lives you are playing with.
If they destroyed paperwork after 10 years that's their fault, why should we pay for THEIR mistakes - it's ludicrous.
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My Husband is disabled with diabetes and kidney failure and he has to renew his licence every 3 years. The DVLA failed to send the reminders despite their being adanat it was sent. This is very important so we would not have missed it if it had been sent. We sent off the paperwork once it arrived in January and waited for 3 weeks for the medical forms to arrive. They are always the same medical forms so why not send them in with the original application form?
Now, we are still waiting for his licence to arrive. He failed an eye test in February but a week later had new glasses which resolved the problem. Despite numerous calls for a new eye test, it still took the DVLA over 5 weeks to advise that he had actually failed his test and he would need to apply for his licence again from scratch, as the original application had expired. No wonder when the original application was made in December. How long will it take for him to receive his replacement licence and will it have the correct details on I wonder?????
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just a question to see if anyone can help, I recently passed my motorbike test but have safely stored my documents away in case anything does go wrong with my licence, however my dad passed his bike test over 20years ago and now not only have they no information that he ever passed they have told him he has to pay to have his licence back because he had the previous paper style licence and also would have to re-sit his bike test which only recently cost me nearly £700 to take, is there any way they will be able to reclaim lost information and sort this out because at the moment paying for a retest is not an affordable option, he has had points on his licence before so surely there should be some sort of record of which entitlements he would of had when issuing these points
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I saw your programme last night and checked my licence only to find that he expiry date says 2014 yet on my paper licence part it states 2038 ........... I'm really worried about getting it changed now!
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DVLA
After watching your prog last night I checked my driving licence to find that the green paper one expires 2025 and the photo one expires 2012.
Had not noticed this after sending it way for change of address
Will be contacting DVLA with regards to same
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I had Sent away For my Provisonal Licence waited only a few days and then it arrived! I looked and Found Out it was spelt wrong, I called them and they asked me to return it to them and they will correct it, i sent it with the the correct spelling, and waited 4 weeks later (after being told it would be 7 days) it finally arrived and spelt correctly however i wernt found on the system so a further week before i could do any lessons.
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After watching WatchDog last night I looked at my Driving Licence only to find that they validate for 6 years not the 10 years most licences are valid for. I will now need to pay the the renewal price 4 years earlier.
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Following the programme yesterday, we checked our driving licence photocards for accuracy because we returned them to the DVLA in December 2005 after we moved house to get our address changed. Guess what......they have only been validated until 08/2011 when in fact it should have read 02/2027!!! So much for the DVLA spokesman saying mistakes were very rare and now ,do we return them and risk losing the right to drive at all ???
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I moved and then got divorced a month later so thought I would change the details in one go. This took me at least 4 months to do! I sent in my birth certificate, past port and CRB certificate which was current, old driving licence detail and my degree absolute four times, costing me an arm and leg in recorded delivery costs and still they would not believe it was me, even though on each occasion I contacted them by phone after and asked them what else they need, they had said i was already sending in more than i needed to and they would make a note on the system . They said that they would put all my details and problems I had on the system and they had received much more evidence than they needed. Finally I got my licence through, but now is only valid for two years, lets hope it doesnt take as much time money next time I have to get it up dated!!!!
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Julia Bradbury let the Chief Executive of the DVLA off very lightly.
After the usual waffle expected from spokespeople about how many times they get it right - he said that any mistakes they made were corrected: yet there were several examples given of people who had come up against a brick wall when complaining to DVLA about mistakes that had caused them severe difficulties.
I'm about to scan our driving licences.
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I have also checked my licence!!! I have moved every year for 5 years now, so basically I have to sent the DVLA for a new licence every time. I was shocked to see that the new licence that the DVLA issued me is expiring in 11-09!!!! I checked in the booklet D100 what you need to know about driving licences. It states that the licence is to be renewed when one reaches 70 years old. I am NOT 70 years old. I am 47.
It is crazy. I am trying to reach them but the phone gets cut off each time.
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I was told by court that i had to re-take my test after a ban. when it was up i received a full license without the test. I called DVLA and explained i need to take my test first and to book it, they told me I had a full license and cant take the test volunterally. After many calls and arguements i was told by DVLA to drive and if any problems get the police to call them for verification.
Low and behold, when i was stopped and explained all this to the police, guess what. court, 8 points, fine. driving whilst banned, insurance void as no license. Had both in my hand in court.
The police computer and DVLA are not synced, the police have 2 computers and the police one said i'm banned till test passed, DVLA's one at the station said full. why have 2 computers to do 1 job. they are supposed to reduce man power, so 2 people had to enter 2 versions about me.
Due to the mess up and points i lost my license again for 1 speeding fine. I will be in exactly the same situation when i apply to get it back in july.
I technically have a lifetime ban abd a valid license in my name. confused.com
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I've just received a second tax disc for my car!I renewed the disc at the end of April and received a new tax disc then. I have just phoned the DVLA and they tell me that they have an error on their system and this has happened to a number of people. So do they now have two errors -one for driving licences and another for tax discs? How come that they didn't have any errors last week and now they have at least two? Sounds like their system needs an update.
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My petition to the PM has been approved. [unsuitable URL removed]
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I've just received a second tax disc for my car too! Also renewed for the end of April as per a previous post. Excellent work for an organisation that does not make mistakes.
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I moved house five years ago and sent my licence back to DVLA for a change of address, no problem there and i thought all was ok till my wife saw Watchdog, after the programme she checked my licence and found that my motorcycle entitlement was missing and the expiry date was wrong, as far as i was aware a full licence lasts for life or until 70 yrs old, i'm not too sure actualy, but acording to my licence i only have six years left!! so mine will expire when i'm the grand old age of 45! Laughable if it wasn't so stupid.
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How many people know their Photo licence expires after 10 years? Hope the notification process is working OK!
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i have applied for my licence and received it although it was 15 pound short which they never notified me of i then moved sending my licence back to change address and didn't get it back.
I then phoned to find out what the problem was and was told i needed the number of the recorded delivery so i phoned them back with it and was informed of the shortfall so i paid the 15 pound and got told that my licence would be with me soon. So i waited the 15 working days they say they need and returned the call as my licence didn't show and the only information they have is the fact they got the money and nothing else and when asked they wanted the recorded delivery number which i have misplaced which i gave them already and really don't know what i can do. Do i just pay for the lost licence or is there another route i can take? please help!!!
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I have just checked my licence and it doesnt say united kingdom it says Ayr the town i was born is this ok
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I got my licence changed over to photocard when we moved house 2003, thought everything was ok but after I saw problems on watchdog checked the paper copy to find I can only drive categories A, G and H the photocard however correctly shows B. Anyone had this problem before got to ring DVLA just wondered how I stand any help/advice would be great. Thanks
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I also have received 2 tax discs for my car. Applied for on-line in April first one received 2 weeks ago, second one today. How much are all these mistakes costing the already hard pressed taxpayers.
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Further to my last posts, I got in touch with the DVLA and was told that my licence was only valid for a year due to the photograph becoming 10 years old in 2010 and that my licence would need to be renewed due to a new photograph beng needed next year. I guess that now means that nobody's licence is going to be valid for more than 10 years from the date of a new photograph.......it's strange how they never informed anyone about this. I am very scepticle and will wait to see what happens if I get pulled up by the Police.
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After reading some of the comments it would seem that the DVLA chief got off lightly in the toothless watchdog (or was it a puppy dog ?) interview. Where are you Anne Robinson when you are needed? What did Julia Bradbury do at Swansea other than being a taxi driver to the two ladies, at the licence payer's expense? It is disgraceful that someone who fails the driving test should be given a licence. Everyone who takes the test is nervous and many fail. Why are they not given licences?
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I had a grey van repainted black and white, and returned the document to register the change of colour, with the word "Grey" struck-out and replaced by "Black/White", together with a covering letter. Imagine my surprise when DVLA returned the same document with "Black/White" crossed out, and "Grey" written in!
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I applied for my motorcycle road tax in early April (expired end of April) and was most impressed with the speed and efficiency of their operation. I received my tax disc within days. However ............ I have just received another tax disc in the post this morning. Fortunately they have only taken payment for one.
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I have not been able to drive for over 9 years now after I moved house. I sent my licence to DVLA to change the address with all the relevant forms only to get the old one back with my old address.
As a proffessional driver I have not been able to work.
I have since tried to add HGV provisional to my licence and renew my psv as well only to be told my birth certificate is not proof of who I am even though they had medical certificates signed by my doctor and photo's and documents signed by my local councillor.
So far they will not budge on this matter and I have lost thousands from not being able to work.
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I had a look at my licence after watching the programme, and what do you know. Apparently I am a resident of the 'UNITED KINDOM'!!
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I applied for a tax disc for my motorcycle, I was sent one then mysteriously was sent another exactly the same! Yes, I've checked and they've only taken one payment.
Surely there's enough fraud involving copying of tax discs around without having the DVLA try and assist !
Seldom make mistakes .... don't make me laugh !
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Hi,
My boyfriend sent away for a replacement driving licence whic was returned without his motorbike entitlement on it.
I emailed the DVLA recieved an autoreply saying my complaint had been passed to the correct department and I should recieve a reply within ten working days.
Three weeks later I was still awaiting a reply, so I emailed the correct department and still have yet to hear anything!
The DVLA are causing chaos, they are affecting peoples lives and livelihoods, when are they going to admit to and rectify their mistakes?
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Slightly different - I have been sent 2 tax discs for my car from DVLA- all details the same. I paid on the 11th April and received the 1st tax disc within 4 days and yesterday 6th May received the 2nd one dated as being issued on the 11th April!
No Mistakes - they are having a laugh at our Tax Payers money expense!!
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I recentely received a new V5 from the DVLA for a personal registration which had absolutely nothing to do with me. When I reported it to the DVLA, saff were unhelpful and rude asking me if I was sure that I had not applied for the cherished number plate, naturally I was worried about identity theft and the fact they may be a similar car driving around with those plates on. I was told someone would get back to me, 6 weeks later and 4 more phone calls the issue still had nt been resolved. I was told they were pulling up the origianal microfilm - Why this takes over 6 weeks i do not know !.
I eventually saught advice from my local police staion as I was worried about my insurance and tax being invalid and worried about getting pulled over for driving on invalid registration plates. I then contacted the DVLA again at the advice of the local police and quoted the data protecion act and data retrival guidelines at them as well as letting them know that i had take advice from the police and low and behold 2 hours later I was contacted to be told the matter was now fully resolved and that It had been an error at data entry, no appology though !
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got another company that needs looking into for keping you on hold further a lenghy time that is DVLA Also The ladies in dispute with DVLA. Can they use a PC if so and they can drive how about developing thier own licence? Just a thought, may cut down on lengthy waiting processes. Another thing that annoys me is the amount of unnessary waste this country still produces. IE issuing bus tickets when we have free bus passes. When they were first issued they didn't do this. Also I've been involved with Charies that run buses that don't have such machines as they run from donations and it reduces the amount of paper and ink which goes to help produce wallpaper newspaper.
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I was a bus driver and so have or rather had a bus driving category on my license.
I asked if their downloadable form for a medical would be acceptable. was told yes take it to your doctor. i went to my doctor Warfield green practice who charged me £154 for the medical. I sent in the license and medical to revalidate my license [bus licenses have to have a valid medical to remain current]DVLA said it was wrong and I must resubmit the details on another form. My doctor said it would mean another medical at £154. I told DVLA to send me my license back as i needed it to drive abroad in 2 weeks. DVLA sent me a new driving license with no bus driving category.
Result NO JOB!!
Thank you DVLA
result i canno use the printed form
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I was sent a form to complete, and returned my driving licence, inlcuding counter part, as the photo has expired. I was the first year of passing (1999) when photo driving licenses were introduced.
I telephoned DVLA on 27th April. Having received a new liscene with the expiry date incorrect. I had returned it to the 'Case' department as requested, on 7th April. I was told I am licenced to drive. That they were dealing with the issue that day. The expiry had been input incorrectly when it was originall issued. I was told I would receive my licence no later than 8th May, taking into account Bank Holiday on 4th.
I spoke to DVLA on 8th May 9am. The licence has not be processed yet, and the system shows I am not valid to drive. They are waiting for the licence to be sent from 'Court' department to 'Case' department where it can be amended. They are'not sure' how long this will take to process.
I requested a call when complete and gave my mobile number. They assured me that someone would contact me. I highlighted my concern and wastold, there was no way they could assure me that I was valid to drive!
I am extremely concerned that I currently do not have a valid driving licence.
I have yet to receive my new driving licence, so phoned and spoke to the DVLA this morning.
They have yet to process it! But more concerning, their system is currently showing my licence as expired. When I phoned last week, this was not the case, I was assured that my record on DVLA was valid.
Apparently this has featured on Watch Dog recently.
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I don't know who'se worse DVLA or Royal Mail! I surrendered my license to be endorsed with 3 points for using my phone whilst driving (stupid I know but I was late for an appointment & getting directions from a colleague & in slow moving traffic). Between the police station I surrendered it to, Central Ticket Office & DVLA, although the cheque for my fine has been cashed & the endorsed license being supposedly despatched I'm still not in receipt of one. After various e-mails to all parties concerned, and a fairly magnanimous e-mail from DVLA insisting that it had been posted, I was advised by Central Ticket office to get the appropriate form from the Post Office to send to them, for them to complete & then send to Royal Mail. Imagine my hilarity/frustration/despair when I then get a letter from the Royal Mail saying that they no longer hold the monopoly on Postal services and can't guarantee that they were the carrier, despite DVLA assuring me that it was posted care of Royal Mail. I'm driving round with the "producer" slip in my wallet, & if the Police stop me and ask where my driving license is I'm going to find it hard to resist the retort "I'm hoping you can tell me?!". Central Ticket office's stance is that I have to pay the £17.50 required to get a duplicate, I'm unemployed currently & can't afford it, but I'm running low on photographic id because my passports expired & I can't afford to renew that either. And while we're talking about "Stealth taxes" I'd go back to working as a "Door Supervisor", for which I am licensed but since the introduction of the Security Industry Association (SIA) I can't afford the £280.00 required 3 yearly to renew that either (possibly thats another episode of Watchdog?)
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When I moved I updated DVLA and then my new Licence came through with the right first name and surname but completley random middle names. I sent it back with a copy of my bc, came back with one of my middle names and my motorcycle entitlements wiped off [had a full mc licence before my car] so sent it back, got my names right now [took close to 2 years] and in that time also got married, but won't give me my motorcycle entitlement because I lost my test certificate and they can find no record of me ever taking the test. The centre I tested at has been gone nearly 15 years now. Will have to redo my bike test at a cost.
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I'm another that has received a duplicate Tax Disc. I'm scared to phone them in case they cancel the main record!!
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I also have issues with the DVLA - and VOSA too. Back in 2007 I bought an ex-Czech OT-90 Armoured Personnel Carrier and, whilst it was in transit to the UK asked both DVLA and VOSA what was necessary to get it registered for use on UK roads. DVLA passed me off onto VOSA who told me it would need resilient material fitted to the tracks, UK spec. lighting, amber beacon due to a restricted speed and a rear view camera as the turret obstructed the rear vision. This was in Sept 2007. Getting this lot fitted by the firm importing the vehicle set be back £11,500 inc. the dreaded VAT. I never got the chance to confirm these requirements in writing as a couple of weeks after the phone calls I was involved in an RTA that left me in hospital for the rest of the year. When I was finally fit enough to see about getting the vehicle registered around Q2 of 2008 I went to my local DVLA office (at Chelmsford) and presented the necessary paperwork - only to be told "Sorry, you can't register this, it's too wide. VOSA changed the rules in January 2007 such that nothing over 2.55 can ge registered for use on UK roads. Nothing I said would change their attitude despite pointing out no one told me this little gem in Sept 2007, 9 months after this change, the clerk just sat there repeating this parrot fashion. So now I am £11,500 out of pocket due to these two agencies incompetence that would have paid for a LOT of low-loaders to move it. (This is another one of the crazy things about this case - I can't register it to move under it's own power BUT it can be moved on a low loader - yet the width is unchanged at 2.9m. So a trip that would have cost about £50 in diesel now costs me over £300 in haulage costs, yet in transit it occupies the same width of the road and causes more damage as, instead of the weight being distributed over it's tracks that are designed for extremely low ground pressures, the whole 12 tons plus the weight of the wide trailer required to carry it is point-loaded on the trailers tyres!)
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Re-comment no 81 -A letter from the DVLA arrived today.
so I am now the proud possessor of a letter from the DVLA admitting they made a mistake and apologising too.I hope everyone gets their DVLA messes sorted out as quickly as my error
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Since my first comment, I have sent letters of complaint to Noel Shanahan, Gordon Brown,David Cameron, Watchdog and the woman at DVLA who wrote and told my husband they had no record that he had ever had a driving licence and would have to take another test. He passed his test in 1964! We are both pensioners, I am disabled and rely completely on my husband to take me shopping or anywhere else. Now we are unable to get out at all without paying for taxis. I cannot even walk as far as a bus stop. I appeal to EVERYONE to send in their complaints, as I have done. Finally, I too feel that Julia let Shanahan off very lightly and got nothing out of him to remedy our distress, let alone reimburse the costs to us for their mistakes.
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The DVLA are like ostrich's with their head in the sand! My son and I moved house this year, and as the law states duly sent our driving licences off at the same time, mine came back without problems, my son's did not. I was concerned about this, the 2nd week watchdog featured them and yet when he phoned up about it, guess what! its his fault according to them. Because he didn't send it registered post they are saying its lost in the post and that he will have to pay £20 to get another one, poor lad only passed his test a year ago, thank god he still has his pass certificate! He is about to start university so hardly has the spare cash, incidently aren't the DVLA raking it in cash wise with all these 'extra payouts' people are having to make, when the DVLA states categorically that you have to send it registered post on their forms they can use that excuse, I sure hope they are ready to employ someone to stand at the door and sign for every single one they receive as they will need it. DVLA stop making money out of people by charging time and time again for your own mistakes, the guy on the show has got to be kidding if he thinks this is a minor issue, about time they were held accountable and stop penalising people for their incompetence.
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My other half was reissued a licence last December. He sent it off to the Traffic commissioner to have his class 1 put back on the licence. Now he has been stopped by the police, has a court date on 14th.., for charges of driving without a licence and without insurance (we have insurance but without a licence its not valid). The DVLA say there is no record of £75 being received or the licence being reissued but we have both seen it and held it in our hands before sending it off to the traffic commissioner. We have now three days to sort this out, still waiting for a copy statement from his bank to prove the cheque to the DVLA was paid and it looks like my other half is going to have these charges against his record. We phoned the DVLA yet again, checking that copy statements would be sufficient proof and if we could call in the DVLA offices in Swansea before the court date but they said we couldn't. They said they'd give us a priority address, which is going to do us no good at all. With the slow way everyone but the courts work, its very much an injustice. And we can't stop it.
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It looks like driving licences are not the only thing that the DVLA is getting wrong at the moment. They are also sending out duplicate tax discs. If you get one, DON'T send back the original as described on the back of the duplicate but the duplicate tax disc as it is the duplicate they are cancelling. If you do what the instructions tell you to do (and send back the original), you have to give DVLA a ring to get yet another one sent to you. Do the DVLA know that most of us haven't got the time to chase after their mistakes?
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