And my new licence arrived yesterday, so one week after them saying they did not receive the old one. Grr.
And tThe European flag has been replaced by the letters UK. Hmph.
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Driving Licence Renewal
- Thread starter JJay
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And my new licence arrived yesterday, so one week after them saying they did not receive the old one. Grr.
And tThe European flag has been replaced by the letters UK. Hmph.
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Glad yours has arrived now @Becka
I noted that change on my renewed license too. Gave me a little twinge of melancholy. Not that I’ve driven abroad more than about twice in my life!
Summary
I suspect the paperwork approach to contact the dvla is especially suffering from the final frontier, space-ing reqs creating an insufficiency of capacity to deal with demand. This hits the public, especially IT avoiders or the dig id denied and thus represents a disequitable systematic bias against those people. Its a highly frustrating setup with the responsible hidden behind online accounts and phones. One must compress their expanded feelings of Dickensian fustian discombobulation, or so i'm told.
Although finally i sent a letter of complaint highlighting what i wanted, what i'd experienced, areas of inadequate service and suggestions for improvement, i doubt this letter resulted in my receipt of letter inviting to choose a specsavers for an appt as it came just 1 day later. However i think important to raise a complaint even after a solution has been found so that the organisation can consider whether and how they can respond to such problems. Clearly the more people who write, the more likely they are to rake action to resolve a situation.
The Alliterative History of DaDucky dealings with the DVLA - an Exercise in Weariness
My dealings with as they say in Liverpool, div la. started in Nov 2020, having asked the opthamalogist a few questions, i decided to check the dvla had the most uptodate info.
Month (M1) dvla 0300 790 6806 8am-7pm, couldnt get thru. Tried numerous times at times of day over the next months
M1-1.5 tried to register for online submission of forms. But bcos i have no loans eg mortgage, and try to limit websites scraping my data, i have a ltd online presence associated with my name. So they did not confirm my id, despite my provision id doc scans. The gov id caper is a farce.
M2.5 posted dvla D1, D42, Diab1, gen 1 + license to DVLA
M2.5-3 i wanted to know if they'd rcvd my paperwork. Tried calling the dvla x3 and sent of emails to eftd, no answer
M3.5 i spent 4 hrs calling the dvla to check on fate of my paperwork. Finally i got thr. Yes they told me, at M2. I explained i had spent the time between posting the paperwork + this call worrying about whether it lost in the post/ delayed or some other fate. I wd hv appreciated the courtesy of their acknowledging receipt. I was told "This isn't how they they operate". I responded this isn't how the DVLA chooses to operate.
[In this day +age, this shd really an automated occurence].
M5.5 .DVL A wrt to me stating i needed an fov test, but there was a delay. [The dvla provided no indication what they were doing to manage the delay or indication of constraint on the delay ie i could persist licenseless indefinitely]
M6 wrote ltr of complaint to dvla(see below if you'd to do the same)
M6+1 day rcvd ltr from Specsavers asking to chse a shop. I would need to arrange with them.
M6.5 appt with SS
M7 received renewed license
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Ltr of Complaint
https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/complaints/capture_transaction
DDMMYY
Dear Sir/ Madam
This is a letter of complaint regarding the service i am receiving from the DVLA.
On the DDMMYY, i posted an application to renew my medically ltd driving license.
On DDMMYY, i received a letter from the DVLA stating i needed a field of vision test and there would be a delay, but the dvla would be in touch.
My complaint concerns:
1) the lack of constraint on the delay.
With the lack of information provided, i may have to wait licenseless indefinitely, an unequitable situation. Even prisoners are given constraints to their sentences.
Its not clear to me why there is a delay- beyond the uninformative catchall "COVID...delays...sorry...". [ i didn't say this, but it wd hv bn useful to know whether the delay was a DVLA or a Specsaver capacity problem or both and what they are doing to solve it e.g. holding up their hands and sighing, oooh woe is me!]
I note my local Specsavers (...) is open.
2) the administration of FOV appts by the DVLA seems to be a pinch point.
Perhaps a better method would be to issue candidate drivers a voucher to be redeemed at any optician who met the DVLA standards and registered with the DVLA, where such opticians would be listed on the dvla website, thus broadening the supply base and not limiting supply of FOV tests to one supplier of appointments.
3) That i have not been able to reach a human in the dvla medical section in regard to understanding when I might get an FOV appt. [i didn't say this as i'd lost count but i had tel'd numerous times without success]
I believe you need
I still await a FOV test date having posted all my forms on DDMMYY, over a third of year ago[, licenselessly].
Yours faithfully
I suspect the paperwork approach to contact the dvla is especially suffering from the final frontier, space-ing reqs creating an insufficiency of capacity to deal with demand. This hits the public, especially IT avoiders or the dig id denied and thus represents a disequitable systematic bias against those people. Its a highly frustrating setup with the responsible hidden behind online accounts and phones. One must compress their expanded feelings of Dickensian fustian discombobulation, or so i'm told.
Although finally i sent a letter of complaint highlighting what i wanted, what i'd experienced, areas of inadequate service and suggestions for improvement, i doubt this letter resulted in my receipt of letter inviting to choose a specsavers for an appt as it came just 1 day later. However i think important to raise a complaint even after a solution has been found so that the organisation can consider whether and how they can respond to such problems. Clearly the more people who write, the more likely they are to rake action to resolve a situation.
The Alliterative History of DaDucky dealings with the DVLA - an Exercise in Weariness
My dealings with as they say in Liverpool, div la. started in Nov 2020, having asked the opthamalogist a few questions, i decided to check the dvla had the most uptodate info.
Month (M1) dvla 0300 790 6806 8am-7pm, couldnt get thru. Tried numerous times at times of day over the next months
M1-1.5 tried to register for online submission of forms. But bcos i have no loans eg mortgage, and try to limit websites scraping my data, i have a ltd online presence associated with my name. So they did not confirm my id, despite my provision id doc scans. The gov id caper is a farce.
M2.5 posted dvla D1, D42, Diab1, gen 1 + license to DVLA
M2.5-3 i wanted to know if they'd rcvd my paperwork. Tried calling the dvla x3 and sent of emails to eftd, no answer
M3.5 i spent 4 hrs calling the dvla to check on fate of my paperwork. Finally i got thr. Yes they told me, at M2. I explained i had spent the time between posting the paperwork + this call worrying about whether it lost in the post/ delayed or some other fate. I wd hv appreciated the courtesy of their acknowledging receipt. I was told "This isn't how they they operate". I responded this isn't how the DVLA chooses to operate.
[In this day +age, this shd really an automated occurence].
M5.5 .DVL A wrt to me stating i needed an fov test, but there was a delay. [The dvla provided no indication what they were doing to manage the delay or indication of constraint on the delay ie i could persist licenseless indefinitely]
M6 wrote ltr of complaint to dvla(see below if you'd to do the same)
M6+1 day rcvd ltr from Specsavers asking to chse a shop. I would need to arrange with them.
M6.5 appt with SS
M7 received renewed license
---
Ltr of Complaint
https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/complaints/capture_transaction
DDMMYY
Dear Sir/ Madam
This is a letter of complaint regarding the service i am receiving from the DVLA.
On the DDMMYY, i posted an application to renew my medically ltd driving license.
On DDMMYY, i received a letter from the DVLA stating i needed a field of vision test and there would be a delay, but the dvla would be in touch.
My complaint concerns:
1) the lack of constraint on the delay.
With the lack of information provided, i may have to wait licenseless indefinitely, an unequitable situation. Even prisoners are given constraints to their sentences.
Its not clear to me why there is a delay- beyond the uninformative catchall "COVID...delays...sorry...". [ i didn't say this, but it wd hv bn useful to know whether the delay was a DVLA or a Specsaver capacity problem or both and what they are doing to solve it e.g. holding up their hands and sighing, oooh woe is me!]
I note my local Specsavers (...) is open.
2) the administration of FOV appts by the DVLA seems to be a pinch point.
Perhaps a better method would be to issue candidate drivers a voucher to be redeemed at any optician who met the DVLA standards and registered with the DVLA, where such opticians would be listed on the dvla website, thus broadening the supply base and not limiting supply of FOV tests to one supplier of appointments.
3) That i have not been able to reach a human in the dvla medical section in regard to understanding when I might get an FOV appt. [i didn't say this as i'd lost count but i had tel'd numerous times without success]
I believe you need
- The medical section expanded now/ASAP - covid been going on a year now so it hardly constitutes a new situation any more +
- That the medical section be expanded to match demographic and associated clinical burden, chiefly aging, for the future.
I still await a FOV test date having posted all my forms on DDMMYY, over a third of year ago[, licenselessly].
Yours faithfully
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T
There used to be local.dvla offices, largely for driving license tests i presume. I dont know if such has been phased out in place of virtual driving to Amazon warehouses for example, but if they did, i wonder whether one might get more movement on your question having touched base with them. Worth a try maybe?
I didn't know that. Will have a google. I thought the local places were just test centres.
So....just rang DVLA again for an update. Last time i was told they were working through December's backlog, that was back in March. Today ive been told my licence has expired (that happened February) that they had a huge backlog and there were thousands like me!!! All very helpful.. not! Still wont give timescale, just saying they will contact me when its being looked at. I'm so frustrated
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This is ridiculous @freesia - lots of other members on the forum are having their renewals processed in a timely way, or with just a slight delay.
It can’t be right that yours is taking this long??? Why are some caught in this mysterious backlog and others arent?
It doesn't make sense. He also said "As my colleague told you back in March...". It doesnt help being told there are thousands who are also stuck in this system, it doesnt give me much hope. I know there is a pandemic, people working from home etc but they can't give me any reason for the delay apart from "theres a backlog". I read the other day that staff at the DVLA were wanting to strike as they didn't feel it was safe to go back at this time. Boris said that 2,000 tests had been carried out and they were all negative so theres no reason why they shouldn't go back. My OH has worked all through the pandemic with others, socially distanced, so why can't the DVLA.
The problem is....there is nowhere i can go for any help to get anywhere with this.
- Relationship to Diabetes
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And I suppose now that your licence has expired you can’t even “switch it off and on again” by just starting the process again and hoping you get your response in a few weeks as others have here
Exactly, i'm stuck in the system with nowhere to go. I just don't know what else i can do.
And I suppose now that your licence has expired you can’t even “switch it off and on again” by just starting the process again and hoping you get your response in a few weeks as others have here
mark king
Well-Known Member
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- Type 1
Bump.................. ref my post #41 of March 18, 2021.
Still not had any Renewed Licence posted out.
* In November 2020 My Licence and medical forms were returned to them.
* In March 2021 they confirmed they have all the eye test information from Boots and that I am in a pile to be processed.
* Now end of May 2021 and still no Licence. Recently not been able to get through on phone as they are on random strikes or no one will pick up.
* I want to inflict pain on them as they just seem to be a lousy lot of shirkers.
* Who can I complain to?
Best
Still not had any Renewed Licence posted out.
* In November 2020 My Licence and medical forms were returned to them.
* In March 2021 they confirmed they have all the eye test information from Boots and that I am in a pile to be processed.
* Now end of May 2021 and still no Licence. Recently not been able to get through on phone as they are on random strikes or no one will pick up.
* I want to inflict pain on them as they just seem to be a lousy lot of shirkers.
* Who can I complain to?
Best
I emailed my MP complaining, its a gov dept. I had a reply back from him with a copy of a letter he had sent to the DVLA. My licence crossed in the post with his letter.
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A message to DUK mentioned that some of the planned strike actions were called off
Update on the latest developments of the proposed industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).
Previous communication of 12 May informed of potential industrial action for weeks commencing 17 and 24 May. Update of 13 May confirmed PCS had agreed to postpone industrial action for the week commencing 17 May.
PCS has also agreed to postpone the industrial action planned for the week commencing 24 May, while talks continue between DVLA and PCS.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
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- Type 1
Been a lot of talk about licencing on our Moho forum - and getting your own MP involved does actually seem to work wonders - so I seriously suggest you do email yours.
goodybags
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Terrible service
if I was you I’d definitely email your MP make them aware of the situation,
I did the same regarding not the DVLA but another government department, as we were waiting to long
our MP replied informing me he couldn’t get directly involved but he mentioned if he happened to see the minister responsible for that department,
he would ensure they were aware of our delay, the very next day the matter was promptly resolved
if I was you I’d definitely email your MP make them aware of the situation,
I did the same regarding not the DVLA but another government department, as we were waiting to long
our MP replied informing me he couldn’t get directly involved but he mentioned if he happened to see the minister responsible for that department,
he would ensure they were aware of our delay, the very next day the matter was promptly resolved
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Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
So - I had my documents returned, but they need to sort out what is going on with my sleep apnoea, so I am just waiting for the office to open and give them a ring.
I can't do anything on line as I do not have the required documentation to prove that I am me.
They have seen my birth certificate and the various documents which track my changing surname over time - but they are not good enough.
So - fingers crossed, I will be able to convince them that I am not a danger on the road and gain an accepted form of identification for the future.
I can't do anything on line as I do not have the required documentation to prove that I am me.
They have seen my birth certificate and the various documents which track my changing surname over time - but they are not good enough.
So - fingers crossed, I will be able to convince them that I am not a danger on the road and gain an accepted form of identification for the future.
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