DVLA sometimes they get it right!

[w124bob]

Thumbs up to the licence renewal dept, went online last Wednesday and the licence arrived on Monday. Also online today to retax the car simples!

I know they can b***s up big time as I've seen evidence from other forums but credit where it's due, 2 simple jobs which have not been over complicated by technology.

[big jim]

I’ve never had an issue with them, the on line tax always goes smoothly when I do it and things like the MOT and tax check are very good too

 

Bought a new car couple of weeks back and the owner did the paperwork on line too and I got the v5 in 3 days!

[Nick G]

 and things like the MOT and tax check are very good too

 

 

 

 

You can also check if a vehicle is Insured online.

[johnd]

Taking it one step further I note that the cost of a passport is going up towards the end of March.

 

As ours expire in April I looked into renewal online.( renewals can be done up 9 Months before expire date and the outstanding period is added to the New Passport ) As we both were able to meet the criteria  for online renewal we managed to take up to date digital Photos( guide given)  completed the on line application on the Monday, Old Passports in the hands of Royal Mail (signed for service).

 

Regular TXT messages and emails showing progress. New Passports back in our hands the next Monday,. Really surprised as the service standard is 3 weeks for the new passports.

 

So the moral is if it expires in the next 9 months apply on line now and get the new Passport at the pre increase price.

Edited February 20, 2018 by johnd

[big jim]

You can also check if a vehicle is Insured online.

yeah used that a couple of times when ive seen dodgy cars out and about

[Dagworth]

Taking it one step further I note that the cost of a passport is going up towards the end of March.

 

As ours expire in April I looked into renewal online.( renewals can be done up 9 Months before expire date and the outstanding period is added to the New Passport ) As we both were able to meet the criteria  for online renewal we managed to take up to date digital Photos( guide given)  completed the on line application on the Monday, Old Passports in the hands of Royal Mail (signed for service).

 

Regular TXT messages and emails showing progress. New Passports back in our hands the next Monday,. Really surprised as the service standard is 3 weeks for the new passports.

 

So the moral is if it expires in the next 9 months apply on line now and get the new Passport at the pre increase price.

I renewed mine this month, the old one was out of date by ten years so I couldn't do the online photo part and had to get photos signed. I filled in the application and paid online, then printed the forms and got my photos and off to the post office. New passport back 8 days later!

 

Andi

[w124bob]

My wifes runs out in April, so I've just mentioned this, her reaction "but I'm still the same person".

[James Makin]

I’ve always liked that Gov website, nothing fancy, just nice and simple!

 

They have a few nifty tools mentioned above, the Tax and MOT checkers are great for nerdy car types like me...they had a cool feature which they recently tried out (but since removed), they’d show you the address of the garage where it was last MOT’d. So you could check back through all the registrations of old cars you’ve previously owned or even seen on old TV shows and not only find out the mileage & condition, but also find out where in the country they’re ‘living’ these days - most interesting!

 

Cheers,

James

[Quarryscapes]

I’ve always liked that Gov website, nothing fancy, just nice and simple!

 

They have a few nifty tools mentioned above, the Tax and MOT checkers are great for nerdy car types like me...they had a cool feature which they recently tried out (but since removed), they’d show you the address of the garage where it was last MOT’d. So you could check back through all the registrations of old cars you’ve previously owned or even seen on old TV shows and not only find out the mileage & condition, but also find out where in the country they’re ‘living’ these days - most interesting!

 

Cheers,

James

 

Very useful was knowing if it'd been to the same garage over many years, I've been looking at getting a Yaris T SPort and they all seem to get the same problems come MOT time. When advisory items that have been there for a year or two suddenly disappear then it raises questions! 

[antrobuscp]

For some routine purposes, there's no doubt that the GOV.UK site works well. Personally, I don't particularly like the style - at times I feel I'm reading a large text Noddy book, but I do understand the reasons for the large text. What I find poor, and my wife had me looking for something specific about pensions earlier this evening, is the search facility. Too many links to irrelevant(to the search) pages, and circular references, and not good if you're looking for something technical as I used to have to do with tax. Personally, I preferred the old HMRC site. Fortunately, I can now mostly keep away from it.

 

Colin

[cheesysmith]

The DVLA are good when it comes to something simple and routine that results in removing monies from you that used to be free (licence renewal with photo cards now costs you and has to be done every 10 years or address change, whereas the old paper ones didn't, or is this just the gov's way of getting a ID card in the back door?). But if you have to deal with a human, which professional drivers have to do, it is a different DVLA. We have had a number of drivers on the short end of how good they are (or not) when it comes to things like diabetes, where to keep your license you need regular tests and stats to prove you are safe. There has been several times we have had to have drivers doing nothing, which hurts their income, do to the DVLA loosing information sent in, or ever questioning stuff sent in by the recommended doctors, even some of the best specialists. The DVLA attitude seams to be one of where they have to make a decision they want to make sure their arse is covered, so if anything goes wrong it never comes back to them. Unfortunately this seams to be all too common attitude with civil servants nowadays. They seam to forget that they work for us, the public.

 

Or the number of times they will suspend a driver license several weeks after they have returned to work AFTER being cleared by specialists, usually the first time anybody finds out about it is when they send a letter through the post to the driver. Then to get the license back required test and information they already have had, or the times said information goes missing. The DVLA from this side, where us who make a living from driving, not the general public side, where most of it has been automated, is a different one.

[alastairq]

 

 

Unfortunately this seams to be all too common attitude with civil servants nowadays. They seam to forget that they work for us, the public.

 Civil Servants work for the  State.  Not the 'public'. Civil Servants are subject to a code of conduct unknown in the so-called 'private sector'.

 

They must work within very strict guidelines, laid down by Government.

 

Can hardly blame them for 'covering their backsides' when it is the public [bless 'em] who have taken on the current litigious attitude.

 

Cannot imagine the personal outcome if a Civil Servant is fired for simply 'doing what they thought was the right thing' for a customer....?

 

I have been in the same vocational licence issues regarding 'health'...and found no real problems.   Much of the delay is frequently created by medical professionals not complying correctly with providing relevant information...so, much 'to-ing and fro-ing' results.

 

DVLA themselves don't have an opinion on medical information...that is left to the  medical board used in the process.......which doesn't meet every day!  So if a doctor or specialist doesn't provide the correct info [or rather, their own admin staff?} then delays occur.

 

A delay in reinstating a category must be preferable to the public at large, than the usual recriminations when a disaster occurs, and the first thing everybody wants to know is, how come DVLA [!] allowed them to still be driving?

 

Health [and eyesight]  are very much  issues that need protecting and allowing for, if earning a living using a vocational licence category.  Such a pity the industry rewards don't allow for this?

[cheesysmith]

I personally know f a driver who had medical issues with his license, who the DVLA passed as fit to drive. Then he got a letter through the post 3 weeks later saying his license was suspended. The same information as was sent in the first time was then passed to the DVLA 3 times, and a phone call involving the top specialist in his field, before the DVLA reissued his licence. Nothing new was involved to say nothing of the stress to said driver, and nothing changed. But it raises the question of why did it take 3 weeks for the DVLA to suddenly decide said driver was unfit to drive? What would have happened if he had a accident in those 3 weeks, and the said letter turned up after a accident, would the DVLA be liable in law for allowing him to drive?

 

Another example, I had a Mondeo that blew it engine. I SORN`ed it to decide if it was worth repairing. The problem was the alloy sump, a piece about as common for the Mk1 V6 engine as spares as unicorn dung. I then sold it to  a scrapper, and informed the DVLA. A year later, I got a letter through the post of a £40 fine for the SORN expiring and not renewing or taxing said car. By the DVLAs own records it was shown as scrapped. I eventually paid it to stop the threatening letters. But if the DVLA were right in the first place, why have I not received any more fines every year for the 7 years since?

 

And as civil servants work for the gov, that is elected by us, to run the country for us, doesn't that make them employees of the public? gov appears to be more and more a case of not "what can the gov do for you to make things better" to a state of " we are the gov, you will do as your told". Gov nowadays treats people as drones, that have to be healthy and the nanny state interfering in their lives more and more, just to ensure you work in poorly paid jobs with just enough cash to pay bigger bills to keep the multinationals in higher profits. Even the labour party, born from roots of common people, appears to be more and more run by a elite class of people who`s only skills seam to be getting elected to run the country, and anybody who doesn't fit this ruling class and come from the right schools gets so much bad press to make them unelectable.

 

sorry, rant over. This comes from having several bad experiences at work and home of dealing with civil servants, social services, and nanny state policies where because if you don't fit into a nicely defined box they can tick off they don't appear to understand.

[F-UnitMad]

 

sorry, rant over. ....

Your view of Politicians Etc is neatly summed up in your Profile Picture.     

 

Saw a similar situation once somewhere I used to work, where a Driver turned up at the start of the week, only to be told he couldn't go out, as DVLA hadn't updated his license, despite it having been sent in for renewal in plenty of time. IIRC, he was in the yard all that week. At least he didn't lose any wages over it.

[alastairq]

 

 

And as civil servants work for the gov, that is elected by us, to run the country for us, doesn't that make them employees of the public? 

 

Sorry...you've not read what I said.

 

Civil Servants work for the STATE......which is a different entity to 'Government'. 

 

Also, regarding health issues and licences?

 

It is primarily the licence holders responsibility to ensure they only drive if fit to do so. That is the Law!   DVLA have no responsibilities in this issue.  DVLA simply respond to information received [from whatever source]....so if, in the intervening period before proper notification drops through the letterbox, the licence holder with the medical issue continues driving....and has some sort of incident......that is solely down to the  licence holder, for  not complying with the conditions of issue of the Driving Licence .

 

Being aware that many licence holders refuse to voluntarily comply with the  Law in this respect,  the NHS has issued Doctors [and other Health Professionals] with the 'advice' that, should they have reason to believe a licence holder is driving , after being advised to cease, for health reasons [usually pending investigations into the problem].......then the Health Professionals no longer need to consult or inform the licence holder before notifying  the DVLA  of the medical situation.    This is particularly in the case of suspected Strokes.

 

{However, the NHS do advise Health professionals to negotiate with the  Licence Holder/patient first, to sort the issue locally]

 

This information is freely accessible on most Surgery websites that have news updates.

 

Changes can be made to the systems..by the use of one's vote, political campaigning,, etc...as with everything.  All it takes if effort?

[Edwin_m]

When they sent me a reminder to renew my licence, which expired two months hence I think, I renewed in good time.  Only to find I had been penalised for doing so, as the renewal and expiry date on the new licence matched the date of them receiving the renewal, not the expiry date of the old one!  I don't understand why you should get that sort of extension on a MOT and a passport but not on a driving license...

[mjkerr]

Thumbs up to the licence renewal dept, went online last Wednesday and the licence arrived on Monday. Also online today to retax the car simples!

I know they can b***s up big time as I've seen evidence from other forums but credit where it's due, 2 simple jobs which have not been over complicated by technology.

Standard procedural processing is easy

Sometimes the services are briefly offline, but it is usually not more than two hours

 

The main issue is when one-off events occur

As an example my Driving Licence number was entered by a court in error, and although the DVLA were following the request correctly it took nearly two years to correct

When the letter arrived from the DVLA I contacted the court and they advised I could ignore it and they would correct the error

A second letter arrived from the DVLA, but again advised to ignore it

A third letter arrived (on a Saturday morning) from the DVLA that my Driving Licence was suspended

To make it worse I was using my car at the time, so was stranded over that weekend

On Monday morning it took two hours for both the court and DVLA to confirm the error had been corrected

However, the error still shows on my DVLA file; Licence Endorsed - 0 points, £0, 2 days revoked