DVLA

I think people just have to be more patient in general ,moaning about silly trivial things when there are so many devastating things happening in the world .Have patience with workers in all areas who have worked through Covid and are still understaffed.

Everything you seem to touch is delayed . I sent 2 LPA documents to Public Guardian mid August , cheques were cleared within a week but no return of paperwork, telephoned last week, recorded message told me many are WH and could be 20 weeks…..

Sent off the application for my renewal, over 70, driving license on 17th August. Nothing so far. I tried to do it on line three times, sending off the required info from my passport. Each time I was told the passport office did not recognise my details. In spite of having sent me a new passport pre-covid. So now I am waiting like so many other people and waiting and ...

I read something very recently (within the last few weeks) about the huge backlog in driving licence renewals.

Unfortunately, I can't remember where I read it, or even the underlying causes, but unless I am very much mistaken, it said that having put in your application, you can carry on driving for up to 12 months after the expiry date of the old one, but that some people have now been waiting so long that those twelve months are almost up!

If that's the case, and going by what people on here have experienced, it seems to be something of a lottery.

Cp43

We e just moved house my husband and i both completed DVLA On-Line form chopped up license and sent back in separate envelopes as instructed. I teceived my new updated inevwithin 2 days but 3 weeks on and no sign of hubby’s! Cant phone or contact anyone at DVLA their tracking says it is waiting for a form but god knows which form,!
Don’t know what to do .

When I renewed my driving licence online, the instructions were not to send in the old licence until I had received my new one and checked that it was accurate. I forgot to send it back though as I didn’t have a stamp at the time and it ended up in my bits and bobs drawer - ie lost forever!

We e just moved house my husband and i both completed DVLA On-Line form chopped up license and sent back in separate envelopes as instructed. I teceived my new updated inevwithin 2 days but 3 weeks on and no sign of hubby’s! Cant phone or contact anyone at DVLA their tracking says it is waiting for a form but god knows which form,!
Don’t know what to do .

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.

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.

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!

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! ?

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!

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

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.

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 .

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!

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 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.

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?

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!!!

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!

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.

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

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

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)

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?