Driving licence turn around

[DT]

It does seem a huge mistake to have one centre located in Wales. At the very least the government should operate a mirror image site out of a second location in the event of a catastrophic event such as Covid.

 

[joinerderby]

Has anyone sent off there licence? If so what time scale before it came back.
Need to send a medical form with it .
But don't want it lost or stuck in a pile as I want to go through France in January

Only took a week for mine to come back

 

[glenn2926]

Only took a week for mine to come back

You’re the fastest so far. Mine took nine days. Nice to see a post from someone that has had good service. We generally only see post from those having poor service.

 

[Littlewheels]

It does seem a huge mistake to have one centre located in Wales. At the very least the government should operate a mirror image site out of a second location in the event of a catastrophic event such as Covid.

When we had them in major cities we never had this problem and as you say one breakdown in the system and everyone suffers.
My view is that it’s an infringement on your freedom of movement, l am in the final chapters of my life and wish to follow the Sun and warmth and yet the DVLA is stopping me, not the Government as in COVID but the DVLA,it’s diabolical and so many of us Funsters and many others are suffering the same restriction.

 

[laurieash]

. You are more than welcome to as many truck driving jobs as you want. Never say never but it would be a cold day in hell before I go truck driving again.

A few hours Local or even Bus driving. lots of companys want to train bus drivers.

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[joe and sue]

Now received a letter stating that i need to have an examination / consultant with a diabetic specialist, as i use very small amounts of insulin.
Have already had a second eye test, with their chosen optician, who confirmed that all is fine,
Had a second medical with my own GP, at DVLA expense, which confirmed that all is OK,
Now the letter states "A report by any GP is not acceptable" so why send me for the second appointment with my GP???????????
You could not make this up
DVLA is not fit for purpose.
Joe

Now got the letter telling me that i need to book a video consultation with a consultant at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. Have never done a video call and do not intend to make something as important as this my first, which will certainly go wrong.
Phoned DVLA Medical section, they have a different number and only held for 20 mins.
Explained as above and asked for a face to face appointment, yes can do but at KIngs Lynn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Had a discussion about why this is needed when my GP, consultant at West Suffolk Hospital, Diabetic nurse team, and 2 opticians have all sent back positive results, and reported no issues, and asked that after this one will my licence be issued, only to be told that the data will be reviewed and the final decision will be made by DVLA.
I then asked what medical qualifications the persons making that decision hold, to be told, "NONE" they review the data and base their decision on their interpretation of that.
Makes Yes Minister look like a political documentary

 

[L' Hobo]

Now got the letter telling me that i need to book a video consultation with a consultant at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. Have never done a video call and do not intend to make something as important as this my first, which will certainly go wrong.
Phoned DVLA Medical section, they have a different number and only held for 20 mins.
Explained as above and asked for a face to face appointment, yes can do but at KIngs Lynn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Had a discussion about why this is needed when my GP, consultant at West Suffolk Hospital, Diabetic nurse team, and 2 opticians have all sent back positive results, and reported no issues, and asked that after this one will my licence be issued, only to be told that the data will be reviewed and the final decision will be made by DVLA.
I then asked what medical qualifications the persons making that decision hold, to be told, "NONE" they review the data and base their decision on their interpretation of that.
Makes Yes Minister look like a political documentary

I think 'Yes Minister' is now used instead of training films, got to watch the pennies don't you know!

 

[tjay]

It took the five months and several GP calls and a cardio ECG test ( run on treadmill) for 9 mins , that I passed easily to get my new licence and its only valid for one year to drive motorhome, three years for the car and motorbike.
They are a bloody joke , blame everyone and everything for their delays.
I was able to drive as my GP confirmed that Iam fit and able to do so under “rule 88”

 

[cyberyacht]

That's naff all use if you want to go abroad though.

 

[Littlewheels]

There’s an excellent piece in the Daily Mail today about the DVLA that’s well worth a read it breaks down the problems in a very clear and formative manner.

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[amarch]

Mine took 6/7 weeks, sent in early April and it arrived on 1st June just before we left for a big tour of Scotland. Impossible to get through to them to check on progress so I really thought it had gone missing but it came through in the end. Hang on in there. Best to send registered since at least you know that it has arrived at the destination.

 

[BILL 875]

The delay should be split into counties and Swansea for the Welsh only, should be done at each counties main offices, in Florida you walk in with old licence pay the fee wait 10 or 15 mins photo done, 5 minutes and walk out with new plastic card licence all done easy.

 

[Pirahna]

I did a change of address online on Tuesday afternoon, new license arrived in the Saturday morning post. In a separate envelope was the vehicle log book I'd changed at the same time.

When I did the license change I was charged £14. I did exactly the same process the following day for my wife's license and wasn't charged. I'll post again when hers arrives.

 

[gwyntaxi]

Has anyone sent off there licence? If so what time scale before it came back.
Need to send a medical form with it .
But don't want it lost or stuck in a pile as I want to go through France in January

Has anyone sent off there licence? If so what time scale before it came back.
Need to send a medical form with it .
But don't want it lost or stuck in a pile as I want to go through France in January

Hi laurieash,
I sent my application Off in plenty of time after I received it with medical form completed list of medications etc, no serious problems such as heart or blood pressures, however, it took the DVLA 10 weeks before they decided that they would grant my license for over 70, only arthritis in hips knees etc and the related medications for these, DVLA are a law unto themselves who don’t even see you but decide whether they will allow you to continue driving a Motorhome which you were fit enough to drive yesterday but not anymore despite any change in your health, as I live about 7 miles from the godforsaken building I went there twice to try and get things moving but no joy, their response to my query was, we have 170,000 applications waiting, this clearly says to me that
the DVLA is no longer fit for purpose, not that I think it ever has been, On a brighter note a friend of mine recently told me he had his 1st over 70 license returned door to door in 16 days, must be a record, oh and my application was long before Covid was heard of and I was hoping to go in the January to Portugal, but it arrived in time, good luck my friend.

 

[Squeak]

Has anyone sent off there licence? If so what time scale before it came back.
Need to send a medical form with it .
But don't want it lost or stuck in a pile as I want to go through France in January

Take a photocopy of it. Some yrs ago the DVLA were sending licences back with bits missing I.e the ability to drive a motorbike or a 3.5 ton vehicle. With this photocopy u have proof of what ure able to drive, without it & any mistakes they might make could possibly mean u having to retake certain aspects of ure license

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[glenn2926]

Take a photocopy of it. Some yrs ago the DVLA were sending licences back with bits missing I.e the ability to drive a motorbike or a 3.5 ton vehicle. With this photocopy u have proof of what ure able to drive, without it & any mistakes they might make could possibly mean u having to retake certain aspects of ure license

As far as I’m aware photo copies are not acceptable as proof of entitlement. Only the original licence. Which is why I keep advocating not sending your old licence with your renewal application. There is a box to tick saying it is missing, lost.
I know two police motorcyclists that had theirs returned with motor cycle group missing and one HGV driver that had his returned withe C+E missing. All could not prove previous entitlement for these groups so had to take new tests.

 

[IanFraser]

And al

But remember you can't drive on section 88 abroad

And also after watching article on rip off Britain think anything subject to a medical decision stated the same ie. section 88 didn’t apply….sadly it also stated these are the subject of months of delay being processed which is what the segment was about in the first place.

 

[Dallyman]

Thanks for the DVLA links sent by Mountain Biker. I was able to use them to check if my C1+E, sent in July, has been renewed. It has. Just have to wait for it to arrive

 

[gwyntaxi]

The delay should be split into counties and Swansea for the Welsh only, should be done at each counties main offices, in Florida you walk in with old licence pay the fee wait 10 or 15 mins photo done, 5 minutes and walk out with new plastic card licence all done easy.

Totally agree with you, however, that’s too much like logical thinking for our backward powers that rule. Just sayin......

 

[racerdave]

. You are more than welcome to as many truck driving jobs as you want. Never say never but it would be a cold day in hell before I go truck driving again.

I drove HGV1 for 21 years I surrendered my HGV this year. Hell would have to freeze over, or get chucked out by my wife before I drove for a living again

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[TheDogMan]

I submitted my check up with their named company, all good, then nothing except another department sent a form asking about all the health problems I had, that was fine except I had no health problems in fact I cannot remember the last time I had to go to the doctors so it was a nil on everything. time was going by and my licence was finished for everything on 17 august, I rang the DVLA Medical department, a Nice guy answered and told me alls fine and he was just waiting for a response from my doctor he wanted her to advise if I was fit enough to drive, I did say to him if i cannot see her to she had not much chance, I mentioned about my Licence running out and he told me about the 88 rule so I do not have worry as I can use the expired one, I asked and he sent me an e-mail with the info in case I get pulled, this week I had 2 envelopes one containing a new licence for one year the problem was C1 was missing and a number of others including towing a heavy trailer, six pound for a return envelope with a list of the missing and informing them that i have had a letter from medical dept stating I am fit to drive, also decided I was not not going to accept an incorrect licence so I sent it back and asked for a replacement. so here I am am on Friday I am of to a dog show at the South of England show ground driving my 7.2 ton motorhome, god knows how long it will take. I had better get the contact details for my local MP I might need him

 

[Emmit]

As far as I’m aware photo copies are not acceptable as proof of entitlement. Only the original licence. Which is why I keep advocating not sending your old licence with your renewal application. There is a box to tick saying it is missing, lost.
I know two police motorcyclists that had theirs returned with motor cycle group missing and one HGV driver that had his returned withe C+E missing. All could not prove previous entitlement for these groups so had to take new tests.

A photocopy of ones D/L might not be acceptable to DVLA, BUT, (BIG BUT!) If one includes a photocopy of ones licence with the real one along with the application, it might just sink into the person dealing with the application that YOU have taken a verifiable copy and, should there be an ommision or inconsistencies, one has taken a record that can be used.

 

[glenn2926]

A photocopy of ones D/L might not be acceptable to DVLA, BUT, (BIG BUT!) If one includes a photocopy of ones licence with the real one along with the application, it might just sink into the person dealing with the application that YOU have taken a verifiable copy and, should there be an ommision or inconsistencies, one has taken a record that can be used.

Haha, you are crediting these people with a modicum of common and hoping for the best. Schoolboy error. .
I now have three plastic licences as I keep miraculously finding the lost ones once the new one comes back.

 

[Emmit]

I submitted my check up with their named company, all good, then nothing except another department sent a form asking about all the health problems I had, that was fine except I had no health problems in fact I cannot remember the last time I had to go to the doctors so it was a nil on everything. time was going by and my licence was finished for everything on 17 august, I rang the DVLA Medical department, a Nice guy answered and told me alls fine and he was just waiting for a response from my doctor he wanted her to advise if I was fit enough to drive, I did say to him if i cannot see her to she had not much chance, I mentioned about my Licence running out and he told me about the 88 rule so I do not have worry as I can use the expired one, I asked and he sent me an e-mail with the info in case I get pulled, this week I had 2 envelopes one containing a new licence for one year the problem was C1 was missing and a number of others including towing a heavy trailer, six pound for a return envelope with a list of the missing and informing them that i have had a letter from medical dept stating I am fit to drive, also decided I was not not going to accept an incorrect licence so I sent it back and asked for a replacement. so here I am am on Friday I am of to a dog show at the South of England show ground driving my 7.2 ton motorhome, god knows how long it will take. I had better get the contact details for my local MP I might need him

I wouldn't wait for them to have another go at making a faux pas.

I'd get in touch with your MP now.

 

[Marian Lightfoot]

I needed my C1 mid last June (2020) and applied in mid May. I had to get my MP involved before they sent it to me - I got it back in July. But it looks as though the timescale is getting worse now. They did not answer the phone on the ‘correct’ button and I got sent is a loop trying to speak to the robot on line, so I tried another ‘button and eventually spoke to someone who told me they could not even tell me if they had got my application as it would not be registered on their system until the application was opened and they had ‘thousands’ to get through and the staff were working from home. Why was working from home so much less efficient in this day of computers???

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[Bessy765]

Sent mine off beginning of June got it back 10 weeks later told as I hadn’t sent a photo they could not process it. When I renewed it in 2018 I sent a new photo and they are valid for10 years. Told it will take another 6 to 10 weeks if I am lucky!!

 

[MacroMad]

Their (DVLA) website says 8-10 weeks.
I sent my application off early July after taking the mandatory medical for over 3.5t and as of today i am still waiting.

 

[joe and sue]

Their (DVLA) website says 8-10 weeks.
I sent my application off early July after taking the mandatory medical for over 3.5t and as of today i am still waiting.

Only waiting since July!!
You are way down the queue, I started the process at the beginning of March, and still no licence.
Not letting it get to me now, just let it run it's course.
But, MP is aware, and just waiting for a face to face meeting, with the whole file and timeline, should be an interesting chat
Joe

 

[Pirahna]

I did a change of address online on Tuesday afternoon, new license arrived in the Saturday morning post. In a separate envelope was the vehicle log book I'd changed at the same time.

When I did the license change I was charged £14. I did exactly the same process the following day for my wife's license and wasn't charged. I'll post again when hers arrives.

My wife's license arrived this morning. That's both licensed turned around within a couple of working days.

 

[gwyntaxi]

Now received a letter stating that i need to have an examination / consultant with a diabetic specialist, as i use very small amounts of insulin.
Have already had a second eye test, with their chosen optician, who confirmed that all is fine,
Had a second medical with my own GP, at DVLA expense, which confirmed that all is OK,
Now the letter states "A report by any GP is not acceptable" so why send me for the second appointment with my GP???????????
You could not make this up
DVLA is not fit for purpose.
Joe

Very true DVLA is definitely not fit for purpose, it’s workload is much too large for it to deal with effectively competently and in reasonable time, DVLA in Swansea should only be for Wales applications, there should be a separate DVLA for each of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Northern & Southern England, I feel this will be the only way to have an effective system capable of handling the millions on applications in UK. I had to wait nearly 11weeks for my 1st over 70 licence renewal due to being scrutinised by the “medical team” because of medications, nothing really serious just widespread arthritis and it’s related painkillers and this was despite 2visits to the DVLA offices, not a problem as I live only 7miles away but this was over 2 years ago long before Covid 19 was ever heard of, and I was getting anxious as I was hoping to go abroad for the winter in the January, so I am hoping the striking and Covid excuses will be sorted out by autumn next year, we’ll see......just sayin...

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