sent driving license off for change of address. they returned it with a big fat canceled stamp and an application form for a new license. informed over the phone that my license was revoked in 2004 (reason unclear, it wasn't me gov) and re-instated in 2008 after i was convicted of a speeding offence! they can't tell me why its been canceled? anyone work there and know WTF could be going on?

So were you unknowingly driving without a licence for four years? 😯

anyone work there and know WTF could be going on

Apparently not

GrahamS – yes. Never had any word from DVLA that license had been revoked, never committed an offense other than the 08 speeding one, which seems to have unrevoked the license! woman i just spoke to at DVLA didn't know anything as her computer had nothing on my file relating to a canceled license! she told me to apply for a new license – £50 please! fk right off.

Nothing medical in 2004?
Doctors can write to DVLA recommending licences be revoked can't they?

mmmm, tricky one – if you challenge it too much and they (in their eyes) legitemetly cancelled the licence would you then be done for driving with no licence?

nope nothing medical either

mmmm, tricky one – if you challenge it too much and they (in their eyes) legitemetly cancelled the licence would you then be done for driving with no licence?

Can't see how, if they haven't informed him. I suspect that if they are going to revoke a licence you have to sign to say you agree to it (much like when they crush your car you have to sign to say you hand it over to them).

Joking aside tribalchief, I have known situations where someone's DVLA record can show as licence revoked and they have no idea. Information could have been put on the wrong record perhaps? I would be making a fuss until they got it sorted ASAP, especially if you have to drive. If you're stopped by the police and the DVLA system says you don't have a valid licence, they can have your car off you.

they did this bloke.

Just drive without one 💡

There's been a lot in motorcycle news lately about dvla returning licences without bike entitlement and sometimes even adding hgv by mistake. It even happened to a police motorcylist and even with a letter from his boss they wouldn't admit their mistake. I bet a lot of people don't realise the photo licences have an expiry date either.
Graham

wwaswas – that's just another case of what we see here, not a correct license removal and is just a random thread with no outcome and no details.

expiry date is 2013

"not a correct license removal"

I was tring to illustrate that they don;t need you to sign anything to take it away. which makes sense you coudl just refuse to sign and therefore keep your licence.

DVLA are just utterly cr@p.

it took me ages to sort out problems i had with them. They'd written my new car off on the records instead of the old one that actually crashed.

They didn't sort it out for 8 months, and only finally sorted it when i was due to pay my VED (suprise!).

Three years ago when I bought my van there was no tax disc so, like a good boy, I went out and bought one. A week or so later, whilst fitting a stereo I found a valid disc behind the dash, along with £20 and a hundred or more sweet wrappers. I then sent the new disc back for a refund with a covering letter to explain why including the serial no of the found disc. Four months after that they sent me a penalty letter for keeping the vehicle untaxed for that time. When I sent a letter back recounting the events and pointing out that they had duty to inform me if the found disc had been declared lost they relented but didn't make their letter sound anything like an apology.

So were you unknowingly driving without a licence for four years?

I shit you not, my mum, "unknowingly"* drove for around 15 years without one 😯 Only found out after a little "bump" in stop start traffic when she had to go and find her details, stored away in the same drawer for all that time. She just assumed it never ran out. So, at around 60 years of age, she had to take lessons and redo her driving test. She passed first time too (better than her son!!)…that's my mum!

* that's her story anyway

I sent my license back for a change of address. When it came back everything was correct bar the photo was of a blonde lady (I'm not blonde and I'm a bloke, called Dave). I of course sent it back pointing out their error but ended up fighting tooth and nail not to pay for a new license. After many phone calls I eventually got through to somebody useful and they sorted it out straight away.

I've had some serious problems with the DVLA once. (They owed me money, surprise surprise!)

I heard about the motorcycle entitlements being taken away too, and when Mrs PP renewed hers, we scanned it just in case they fekked up….

They have very, very bad customer service.

I was tring to illustrate that they don;t need you to sign anything to take it away. which makes sense you coudl just refuse to sign and therefore keep your licence.

Again though that doesnt illustrate anything other than they have made mistakes before, not that the license removal procedure doesnt include you knowing about it. When the police take your car off you (to impound it) they have to get you to sign it over to them, it's part of their procedures. When you get fined you get a letter telling you. I'm sure that they get people who refuse, I'm sure that there's a way around it (like arresting them). I can't imagine that the DVLA routinely just revoke licenses without letting people know, I know people can be stupid at times but I'm fairly sure that they're smart enough to have spotted that problem coming.

Now imagine this extended to your whole identity…

slightly scary thought there simon

Guy down our road bought a car off his son, who'd bought it new. When he tried to have ownership changed he was told that the car had been scrapped, and there was no car legally in existence. The only solution they could offer was that he take his car to some government depot and have it examined – £150 fee to you sir! At the same time they told him it was illegal to drive it anywhere because it didn't exist. They wouldn't explain the contradiction. Eventually guy got local MP onto it and he sorted it out. Took 2 months though..

DVLA = CRAP

I bet a lot of people don't realise the photo licences have an expiry date either.

I know mine up in March (because of a thread on here), but I've actually had a letter today from the DVLA informing me of the fact, so even if you don't realise it, you are informed.

so even if you don't realise it, you are informed

unless they sent the letter to some blonde lady who isn't you…

I can't imagine that the DVLA routinely just revoke licenses without letting people know

I can. Easily 🙁

The only solution they could offer was that he take his car to some government depot and have it examined – £150 fee to you sir! At the same time they told him it was illegal to drive it anywhere because it didn't exist. They wouldn't explain the contradiction.

I don't see any contradiction?

I've not changed to a photo driving license because I refuse to get into the cycle of photos>updates etc etc

What I suspect happens is they send out letters and the post people lose them. I've had approximately 6 credit card statements vanish in 3 years, seeing as I rarely use it and often just file the unopened statement of nothingness I often forgot until the next statement when I got a fine for not paying the min amount. The credit card company insist they sent it out and got very upset with frequently having to refund fines, eventually telling me I was lying and they wouldn't do it again. I've stopped using that card.

OP- Were you a new driver within your first two years of driving?

If you acrue 6points in your first two years of passing your test your licence is automatically revoked (no appeal) and you have to retake your test.

grim168; There's been a lot in motorcycle news lately about dvla returning licences without bike entitlement

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/04/dvla_removing_license_entitlem.html

Now imagine this extended to your whole identity…

If only simon, if only… 😆

hora – no, passed car and bike tests in 1984!

problem now is, am I knowingly driving without a valid license?

how can they cancel a license but have no record of why they canceled it?

fktards

Now imagine this extended to your whole identity…

ID cards, anyone?

Speak to your MP- get down to his local office asap etc. You cant carry on driving incase it was on a legal technicality that you actually missed- dont chance it.

Government department crass arrogance shocker

Speak to your MP- get down to his local office asap etc

Make sure you take the bus though…

they've now changed the story. the license was canceled in 2008 as the points hadn't been put on it. i pointed out that they had, it was given into the court, who added the endorsement and returned the license. the person who canceled it would have seen the endorsement plain as day. i read the full details of the endorsement and she said that's what should have been on the license. i said it was, i'm looking at it now. she didn't know what to do. she had to ask another less dim civil serpent. now i have to fax the license, which I sent them last week, to show them the endorsement that they were incapable of noticing last week. i should be allowed to drive by these fine upstanding citizens later today.

Now imagine this extended to your whole identity…

Ever seen Brazil? 😯

Sam: It's a refund, actually. There was a mistake.
Mrs. Buttle: Mistake?
Sam: Yes, they don't usually make mistakes, but, uh, well, I suppose we're all human…Actually, you know, my coming here is rather unorthodox, bringing you this check as any payments are normally made through central computer, but, uhm, well, as there were certain difficulties, we thought, well, rather than cause delay, uh, we'd let you have it now – you know, it being Christmas and all.
Mrs. Buttle: My husband's dead, isn't he?
Sam: Uhm, I do assure you, Mrs. Buttle, the Ministry is very scrupulous about following up and eradicating any error. But if you do have any complaints you wish to make, I'd be, well, only too happy to send you the appropriate forms.
Mrs. Buttle: What have you done with his body?…
Sam: Uhmm, I don't know anything about that, Mrs. Buttle. I'm really just delivering the check. So if, uhm, look, if you wouldn't mind just signing these two receipts, I'd be only too happy to, uh, to leave you in peace…
Mrs. Buttle: He hadn't done anything. He was good! What have you done with his body?

I bet a lot of people don't realise the photo licences have an expiry date either.

Mine ran out last month….I knew it would…yes the photo has expired but when I last read about this I understood that you were still good to drive, but nobody would accept the licence itself as id so no ability to rent etc….Don't think this has been tested yet ?
[off to photo booth to get a renewal pronto !]

Ever seen Brazil?

Brilliant film. You may also enjoy visiting the Franz Kafka International airport.

OP – might be worth a visit to your local CAB for help in dealing with the DVLA over this.