DVLA

My understanding is that if you tell the police your licence is being altered and it’s with the DVLA they will accept that , they can check if they want to.

For a job if it’s for identification most people could use a passport instead. I do agree it’s a long time to wait. No doubt it’s because of Covid which is how most bad service is now explained!

My husband is in a similar boat, renewed his PSV (bus) licence and we were advised by the doctor doing his medical that the DVLA had a 3 month backlog due to working from home etc during lockdown. The police can definitely check for a valid licence as my DH has to go to certain locations with security clearances etc and they are checked online somehow. DH had his medical on July 4th and we got his new licence through this week!!

The DVLA seem to me to be totally incompetent. I had a 3 year medical licence after an eye operation and this had to be renewed on the 1st April 2021. I applied at the beginning of March to make sure. After wasting time filling in the forms online I was told I had to send in a paper form so I started all over again and posted it. At the end of March I received a letter telling me I needed a visual fields test which they were not able to arrange because of Covid. From the end of April with no further progress I began telephoning every week, sometimes no response, or a recorded message saying they had a backlog, and several industrial actions (I don't blame the poor workers!) By August I was offered a ring back service but when I tried it was not available! I tried online, writing letters and emails - nothing, except that one online chat person said 'try a private eye test'. I know that was useless as originally they would not accept my own optician's report or any of my regular hospital opthamology reports which said my vision was fine. It had to be Specsavers. I rang them and was informed they could not do a test without the form from the DVLA.

Finally at the beginning of September I finally got through and was told in person about the delays and difficulties they were encountering (yes I know!) and told me I could drive under Section 88 ( I know but was uncomfortable about that in case of insurance problems should I have had an accident). The lady was charming and patient and I wished her well with the industrial action. Then a few days later I had a letter inviting me to take the test, not at my local Specsavers but in a town several miles away and difficult to get to because only a limited number of branches have the right equipment now. The test, by the way, was far easier than the ones I regularly have at the hospital!

Within a week on the 8th September I received a letter with my licence, the same letter from the Medical Department and a response to my complaints with the same backlog excuses. What a waste of postage after waitingover 6 months from my application.

Now my family are relieved that they don't have to listen to the continuing saga and you can all have a taste of it.

That's odd to me.

Here in Canada, at least in my province, you don't normally send in paperwork of that sort - you would go to a registry office. (A registry office here isn't where you go to get married; it's where you go to get civil documents such as your marriage license, birth certificate, driver's license, vehicle registration renewal, etc. And yes, they do the driving tests if you're just being licensed for the first time.) If you need a replacement license due to renewal, yours being lost, etc., they'll give you a temporary paper license. The only caveat is that it does not have a photo, so can't be used as photo ID. But it is a completely legal license. You get your official card in the post later.

Much to my surprise, renewing my driving licence was a pretty slick procedure. I'd read all the bad press regarding this and decided to apply well ahead of my deadlinr. Did it all online and, bingo, new licence arrived in post in a couple of days. Nobody was more surprised (or delighted) than me.

Have just read in the Times, your driving licence and Car Mot, will be on an App within the next few years or sooner. So should be quicker?

I had the same thing. Got it back after three minths and then I had to send it back for a change of personal details they had got wrong! All for an updated photograph! I have changed my job in the meantime and you can use a birth certifucate for proof of right to work in the UK (I don't have a passport as foreign travel is not for me so don't see the point in paying for one)

The massive backlog at DVLA because of Covid has been well publicised.

The massive backlog at DVLA because of Covid has been well publicised.

No, it isn't because of Covid and it's inexcusable.

My daughter passed her driving test recently and immediately sent in the form for a new full licence which she had back by return.
She also applied for Child Benefit for two new adopted children, providing extra info when required. The limit for the three months back-payment came and went so she would be losing money that she was owed, and she chased (again) and quickly received an telephone apology. Apparently nothing at all had been done with her application since she send the extra info and they are back-dating the benefit for the full period since her application.
I think that people are using Covid as an excuse for any delays, incompetence or mistakes.

My driving license was due for its 10 renewal by the end of September but I wasn't able to renew it online because my passport had expired during COVID. I tried many times to call DVLA but, like everyone else, I couldn't get through. Their live webchat was disabled too. They eventually sent me a stern letter, warning me that if I didn't renew my driving license by */*/****, I would face a £1000 fine and my insurance would be invalid. I had to take the letter to the post office, pay them £21.50 and hand in my old license. It took less than a week for the new one to arrive. I'll have to go through it all over again in 2 years when I reach 70. There must be a better system than this!

My son has been waiting for a log book from DVLA since he bought his car on 11th June - the notification of new keeper was sent to them that day by the garage and I also sent off the form with the new keeper slip on 23rd August but still nothing heard.

I appreciate it's not as important as a driving licence but I am so fed up now of companies/organisations blaming Covid for rubbish service and delays on anything from answering the phone to sending out important documents - they need to get a grip!!!

aren`t most Government departments incompetent?
hence the civil servants, so the media tells us/me, they want to continue to work from home.

why should it slow down requests etc?

I sold my car last month and also transferred my personal number plate onto
a retention certificate. The refund of my road tax, the new log book and the retention certificate all arrived in the post within 3-4 days. Somebody in Swansea must be working.

Grandaughter sent off to change number plate to a personal one in April still not sorted as they are supposed to be on strike???

I've got to renew my driving licence in February when I turn 70. You can bet I'll be starting the process in November because you can start within 90 days of your birthday. The government website reckons it'll arrive within a week of applying on line! Luckily they allow a year to get it done so that'll give them fifteen months altogether. It might take that long!

Esgt1967 . I bought a car last Sunday and had the logbook through for it on Wednesday. 3 days! I’d write to them about it if I was you , it sounds as though yours has gone missing . The delay won’t be because of covid I don’t think .

TwiceAsNice

My understanding is that if you tell the police your licence is being altered and it’s with the DVLA they will accept that , they can check if they want to.

For a job if it’s for identification most people could use a passport instead. I do agree it’s a long time to wait. No doubt it’s because of Covid which is how most bad service is now explained!

Agree with that, any organisation failing miserably for whatever reason will reel out covid to blame. It feels as if Tories have literally unpicked the country systematically since they got in. We could have coped better in pandemic if the place was maintained and run as it should have been. I think only thing keeping civil servants from leaving jobs is the security of it in scary times. They must be well cheesed off no wonder they can't be contacted run ragged, no pay rise for 10years. Pensions messed with and now worth zilch...when we allow greedy people to run the tuck shop , they simply scoff the stock leaving nought for the rest of us.

Covid is being used as an excuse for everything. The police should accept the explanation but they are on a power trip too since the pandemic! During the first lockdown there was a police car on every corner but where were they when it came to solving real crimes. You could write in a complaint to DVLA

To put the other side, lizzypopbottle, I had read about all the problems with delays, so when I had to renew my licence recently before I turn 70, I did it online, expecting to have to wait for months. It was very straightforward and my new licence arrived very quickly and I won't even be 70 for over a month yet.

Good luck!

My son gets half cost road tax but instead of just paying half price (much simpler) he has to pay full, send everything in then they send a cheque out- he sent his letter in, it was'nt right, they wrote back, he needed proof sending, he sent up to date PIP letter, they returned it, he needed a copy of ORIGINAL one, hes waiting for that sending from DWP, to send it back to DVLA, for them to send him (hopefully) the cheque.What a pallaver! No wonder everything takes ages! If there was a section online to pay/choose half cost road tax for disabled drivers in first place, with maybe providing N.I number to check- then would save loads of time! ?

Thing is its not first time he's done this he's been driving 4 yrs! And they could at least shorten time/make less work for themselves by just refunding to bank account!

Ive had trouble with tax credits too- i told child benefit other sons still in education (college) back in august, and they said, not to worry tax credits get info automatically- i heard nothing then other saturday (when they're closed) got 2 letters, one said no tax credit payable, other said i owe them money(a lot!) Rang them monday very upset, turned out its the operators error- one lady rang me 3 times to try sort it, but on the friday she was 'moving to a different sector' someone in technical team would correct it she promised.I heard nothing then got first letter again, saying i owed a lot of money, rang up, a man,who sighed and muttered, 'for Gods sake' under his breath, said its just that computer generates same letter whenever anyone adds any info to the claim-but its still not sorted and its like being on groundhog day! And none of it is my fault! Covid is no excuse for incompetency.If they work in Government bodies there's no room for these mistakes.

My SiL works at DVLA Swansea - I know for a fact that some departments had low staff availability for quite long periods. Some of the staff who were able to work at home had to work very hard to try to keep on top of things.

Swansea had very high levels of Covid early on in the pandemic, and currently has the highest level in Wales I believe, and (unsurprisingly) many of the staff both live and work in the area. Even if the DVLA staff haven't got Covid themselves there is a high chance that some are having to isolate, and not all can work from home.