DVLA Shocker in the Post Today

[minesapint]

I have to renew this year, I don't need C1 but I'm wondering if I should keep it anyway in case I need it in the future.

Keep it.

I gave my C1/C1E as our van was 3500, then after about 18 months we bought a new van which was 3850, I had to go through a six month stint with DVLA medical mob and then a Stress Echo Cardiogram etc.

If I had kept it and not given it up a simple medical would have sufficed.

 

[L' Hobo]

Thats just what I did and was told the same. I applied Nov 15th last year for my HGV entitlements to be reinstated, my licence arrived this week with C1 added but C and CE missing. You just couldnt make this stuff up!!!!

Did you include in your application all the required forms, medical etc?

 

[drpeej]

Well,

Given the number of comments re time taken to renew your C1/C1E licence, made the effort to send the completed forms in after the 90 day and before the 56 day application dates.

Posted the forms on Monday the 24th Jan, checked signed for on the 25th.

New licence in the post this morning. 7 days from posting to receiving,

Well done DVLA.

Lucky you! They have managed to lose the V5C and uprating certificate I sent them

 

[fifthwheel]

Did you include in your application all the required forms, medical etc?

I did.

 

[Flairy]

How lucky can you be , still waiting since October?i

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[L' Hobo]

I did.

Then I would get in touch with the DVLA, by email then phone (email so you have a record) and enquire why? (but I suppose you have this already inhand ) Good Luck!

PS. I always take a photograph of any official documents before I send it away, it's been handy on more than one occasion

 

[fifthwheel]

Then I would get in touch with the DVLA, by email then phone (email so you have a record) and enquire why? (but I suppose you have this already inhand ) Good Luck!

PS. I always take a photograph of any official documents before I send it away, it's been handy on more than one occasion

I sent photos of my expired licence along with a covering letter yesterday showing the categories ive had for over thirty years and a photo of my driver card. Not prepared to send the licence as I know they will loose it. I have read reports of drivers having to take their HGV test again due to the incompetence of DVLA.

 

[Pausim]

Well,

Given the number of comments re time taken to renew your C1/C1E licence, made the effort to send the completed forms in after the 90 day and before the 56 day application dates.

Posted the forms on Monday the 24th Jan, checked signed for on the 25th.

New licence in the post this morning. 7 days from posting to receiving,

Well done DVLA.

Your experience confirms my suspicion that getting the D2/D4 forms in with more than 56 days left on the old license makes a significant difference to how quickly they get the new one back to you.

 

[Ex-caravantugger]

If you type “dvla delays” into google it will come up with a page that will tell you which week postal delivery they are processing for the various licence and vehicle applications. Mike

 

[K-away]

I'll be 70 in July and thought it might be wise to add C1 use just in case. But as you are supposed to return your existing licence with the application this will be a problem due to needing it for renting a car abroad in April and again in June. Anybody know if the DVLA allow you to retain your licence in this instance while they prepare the new one?

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[Monty777]

If you type “dvla delays” into google it will come up with a page that will tell you which week postal delivery they are processing for the various licence and vehicle applications. Mike

I just did that and it says it is working on 26/10/21 currently……..
I applied for my licence renewal last September since it expired 16/11/21 on my 73rd birthday. I wasn’t looking to renew my C1 since we had recently changed our van to a Hymer Exsis which weighs 2700kg unloaded so in theory has 800kg load capacity. Imagine my surprise when my license came back still with C1 on it……to be followed 2 weeks later with a letter requesting me to return the license in enclosed envelope since there was a mistake on the licence! I returned the license on the 23rd November and haven’t heard a peep since-checked against my number last night and my details still shows C1-so they haven’t got to it yet……

 

[Antique]

Lucky you! They have managed to lose the V5C and uprating certificate I sent them

Sadly drpeej I think I'll be in the same boat too. Been waiting since 7th Dec

All the best

Antique

 

[MacroMad]

I took the D4Drivers medical in June 2021 and posted all forms of to DVLA along with my photo card license.
September they rang and asked if i could do X minutes on a treadmill ? i told them yes.
October i get a letter saying they need more info from my doctor, they would write to him/her.
December i get a letter telling to make an appointment at my local hospital to arrange for treadmill tests ?
Now, I'm booked to go to France in March so I'm getting kind of worried.
I'm also thinking do i really want this every 3 years.
So, the big beautiful Carthago I'm looking forward to buying for my wife for her birthday in December is nothing more than a pipe dream.
Whats the point of buying a vehicle i dont know if i will get to use ?
In January 2022 i have no other choice but to ring DVLA, 1 hour waiting on the phone then an answer, only to put me through to a different department where i am on hold for another hour (yea seriously) where i tell the person concerned, I just want my regular driving license back, i dont want to drive 7.5t or carry a dozen people in a minibus, please just send me my license back and you can keep the fee's for my medical.
2 weeks later my photo card license comes through the post.
So, bought a 3.5t Malibu, there is only two of us, it's better for getting in and out of.
It's better for the smaller sites that we like.
That's what we are telling ourselves anyway.
Cant wait to get away in it now.

 

[Bucket]

I don't need mine with the current van but applied to renew the C1 anyway, £55 for D4 drivers ,so cheap enough. Problem is the application went in early August ,treadmill a couple of weeks ago and still no licence .

This mirrors my experience.
As 70th was last November and having gened up on here I sent off my forms, including a straightforward medical report, in August.
Finally heard in December, (via a phone call)! that I had to have a treadmill test "because of your heart condition"
That was news, I did have a small scare early in 2010 with suspected angina but that was eventually discounted.
Despite explaining this they were insistent so I didn't argue.
The appointment letter came just before christmas and I did the treadmill early in January. The doc said I was fine and there was no reason to deny my C1.
As of right now my renewed licence hasn't yet arrived, I will only start getting a tad nervous if it hasn't arrived by the end of this month.

 

[Clive Beeza]

That is incredible ,
get down the shops and buy a lottery ticket
all your planets must be in perfect alignment

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[Bucket]

This mirrors my experience.
As 70th was last November and having gened up on here I sent off my forms, including a straightforward medical report, in August.
Finally heard in December, (via a phone call)! that I had to have a treadmill test "because of your heart condition"
That was news, I did have a small scare early in 2010 with suspected angina but that was eventually discounted.
Despite explaining this they were insistent so I didn't argue.
The appointment letter came just before christmas and I did the treadmill early in January. The doc said I was fine and there was no reason to deny my C1.
As of right now my renewed licence hasn't yet arrived, I will only start getting a tad nervous if it hasn't arrived by the end of this month.

Further to the above, I have now received a letter saying I will receive my new licence within 2 weeks.
All well and good, except it goes on to say my C1 element is only valid for 1 year because of my "medical condition". So the minor and inconsequential matter from 2010 meams I have to go through this every 12 months, including another D4 medical report!
Apparently there's an appeal process so i am going down that route to see where it get's me, Otherwise I can look forward to not having a driving licence for a good 5 months every year!

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Further to the above, I have now received a letter saying I will receive my new licence within 2 weeks.
All well and good, except it goes on to say my C1 element is only valid for 1 year because of my "medical condition". So the minor and inconsequential matter from 2010 meams I have to go through this every 12 months, including another D4 medical report!
Apparently there's an appeal process so i am going down that route to see where it get's me, Otherwise I can look forward to not having a driving licence for a good 5 months every year!

I would appeal ,it's just disgraceful that someone is kept waiting for 5 months and then to be advised the C1 is only valid for a year.
I am in a similar position and having just completed the treadmill test am awaiting my licence with C1

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Keep it.

I gave my C1/C1E as our van was 3500, then after about 18 months we bought a new van which was 3850, I had to go through a six month stint with DVLA medical mob and then a Stress Echo Cardiogram etc.

If I had kept it and not given it up a simple medical would have sufficed.

You would have still had to go through the medical ,but if you had any history of heart issues for example they would still make you do the treadmill test. All this takes around 5 months with the DVLA the way it is at the moment.

 

[fifthwheel]

Thats just what I did and was told the same. I applied Nov 15th last year for my HGV entitlements to be reinstated, my licence arrived this week with C1 added but C and CE missing. You just couldnt make this stuff up!!!!

My licence arrived today taking eight months in total. I had just given up if I'm honest, I told them I couldn't work as I didn't have a licence. As far as DVLA are concerned I have been a HGV driver out of work for the last eight months, all I was applying for was my old categories to be reinstated. I thought there was a driver shortage.

 

[Puddleduck]

Straight forward renewal is easy for the brain dead staff at DVLA, it's when there are medical complications and it's passed to the medical group that they can't cope and it takes weeks to sort out

Weeks? I waited almost 2 years and then only had my license re-instated after I got the Parliamentary Ombudsman involved via my MP. Once they were on board it was sorted with hours!!!!

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[TonyEmm]

Straight forward renewal is easy for the brain dead staff at DVLA, it's when there are medical complications and it's passed to the medical group that they can't cope and it takes weeks to sort out

I’m inclined to agree with you. I did my C1E medical with D4Drivers, https://d4drivers.uk/ who filled all the medical forms in, and with no complications, had it returned in 4 days. (Recorded delivery may have helped).
i feel for those who may not be quite as fit/healthy and have minor complications…

 

[Old Gibber]

Renewed my licence few weeks back, did it online and got the new one back in just over a week!

Did mine this week, new one arrived within 48 hours!

 

[Nanniemate]

I'll be 70 in July and thought it might be wise to add C1 use just in case. But as you are supposed to return your existing licence with the application this will be a problem due to needing it for renting a car abroad in April and again in June. Anybody know if the DVLA allow you to retain your licence in this instance while they prepare the new one?

Yes you can hold onto it for training purposes however this caused me issues as they did not put all the categories .to to send covering letter with ref number and licence 3 to 4 weeks for correction .sent it in 13th last moth checked on line been corrected so expect new licence to be eating for me when I get home

 

[Shrimp]

checked on line been corrected so expect new licence to be eating for me when I get home

Hope it’s not eating too much!

 

[Reallyretired]

My renewal at 70 took 10months to process due to medical dept. I no longer need C1 as downsized so probably won't bother next time.

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[lunarman]

I can confirm that DVLA seem to have got their act together. I posted my renewal application including c1 on 2nd July and received the new one this morning. That's 11 days, and they gave me back the £17 I sent for including a new photo.

 

[lunarman]

The only thing I have since noticed is they have dated the expiry date as 3 years from when they processed it and not 3 years from the expiry date of the old licence. So I have lost nearly 5 weeks.

 

[TonyEmm]

The only thing I have since noticed is they have dated the expiry date as 3 years from when they processed it and not 3 years from the expiry date of the old licence. So I have lost nearly 5 weeks.

That happened to me too…. I lost around 10 weeks…

 

[JJ]

Last month I renewed my driving licence online and it arrived at my Blighty address four days later... (and it was free!)

JJ

 

[wiljoy]

I don't need mine with the current van but applied to renew the C1 anyway, £55 for D4 drivers ,so cheap enough. Problem is the application went in early August ,treadmill a couple of weeks ago and still no licence .

Had my medical last August followed by treadmill. Licence arrived January 3rd 2022. Quick for DVLA. I'm applying to renew it in July for receipt before December, hopefully.

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