DVLA have no record of my Licence App??

[Wilcock79]

I passed my test (04/01/1999)
I applied for my (paper) licence.
I bought a brand new car right away but have since sold it on & not owned a car since (That was about 2001/2002)
I now want a new car & was thinking of applying for a photo licence but have realised I have lost my paper one!

MY BIG PROBLEM!

I have contacted the DVLA to report my licence as lost.

The DVLA have a record of me passing my driving theory & practical exam but......
Have NO record of my application for a Driving Licence?????

They advised this needed to be done within 2 years of me passing my test & as it has not been done I need to re-take my test, theroy etc etc again!

They are denying me ever holding a paper licence (I would love to find it now)

Do I seek advice from my Solicitor over this or is there ANYTHING I can do??????

Thanks for the help & advice!

[Rob S]

Wilcock,

Can you clarify the situation as what you are saying isn't quite clear. You are saying that DVLA have a record of the fact you passed your driving test and theory test but they are also saying that you should have sent in your test pass certificate within 2 years of passing your test. I intepret the chronology of events as follows:-

Applied for provisional licence
Took theory and practical test
Sent in test pass certificate with provisional licence
paper licence sent out to you with new full licence category added
paper licence now lost

If you can clarify this it would help.

[Wilcock79]

Yes paper licence lost.

I have contacted the DVLA for a replacement & they have said I never sent off my application for a licence.
As this needed to be done within 2 years of passing my test I now need to re-sit the whole thing again???

I have explained I did apply & did actualy receive a paper licence that I have realised I have lost.
But they say they have no recoed of this & my pass is void????

[Rob S]

Wilcock,

How have you been corresponding with DVLA, by phone or in writing?

And when you talk about your "application for a licence" are you referring to the test pass certificate that was given to you by the Driving Standards Agency examiner when you passed your driving test? If this is what you mean, and you didn't send it to DVLA to validate your licence within 2 years of passing your test then you will have to retake the theory and practical tests again. This has happened to 2 people I know. It is also covered here: -

Claiming a driving test pass : Directgov - Motoring

But if your situation is that you did send in the pass certificate and DVLA issued a full licence in response to this then I would suggest you ask DVLA for a subject access request under the Data Protection Act to see what information they actually do hold on you. You will need to write to them to request this and they may ask for a fee of £10 to cover their costs. This would be the first starting point on what could become a drawn out saga.

[danny_kiernan]

Hi Wilcock,

You have 2 options open to you:

1) Accept the DVLA's decision and retake your test

2) Take them to court for breach of contract, I assume you have witnesses, who can say you have a licence?

Kind Regards

Dani

[Wilcock79]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I have been in contact with the DVLA by phone.

Yes the DVLA are claiming I never sent off my test pass papers & under the above rule need to re-take my test.

I did send this off (within 2 days let alone 2 years I was so exited I passed) & I did receve a paper licence.

I have read on hear that approx 10 years ago the DVLA did loose a lot of records some how?

I just cannot beleve the situation I am in over there mistake. Let alone the further expence (going into there pocket) I now need to take my theory, practical etc again.

Luckily I dont depend on driving for my job, or was not pulled over by the Police.

I think a letter to a national newspaper in needed along with a trip to see my Solicitor.

Thanks again everyone!

I will keep you posted hear (if you dont see me in the Dailly Mirror first lol)

[buzby]

Unfortunately with the DVLA being the gatekeeper, the fact others have found their licences somehow disappear or have classifications of entitlement 'drop off' (more usual) and then have to battle to get them back, doesn't place you in a better situation.

What you need to do is provide proof of the information they say is missing. What was the date time and test centre you sat the test. (They still may hold a record of your pass), Did you keep a copy of your pass certificate that you signed after completing the practical? Have you a note of your Driver Number?

IF you planned to take them to court, then any of the foregoing would be adequate proof you had indeed passed your test. Without them, it is only your word against the DVLA's, and without this corroboration, I don't see how a judge could ever rule in your favour.

There was a case around 10 years ago (prior to photo licences) when a guy lost his licence and was told on application for a duplicate he hadn't one, only a provisional. They wouldn't budge. 3 Months later it had turned up in his sons bedroom, and he went back to the DVLA to query his status, to be told the same thing. THIS time he sent a photocopy of his licence, and was told their records had been 'corrected'.

[danny_kiernan]

Its as Buzby says - the DVLA are a law unto themself, which in my opinion shouldn't be the case. There is no regulatory body controlling the DVLA or the passport office or the registry office, who all release identification documents to the public. There should be one - as otherwise who do you believe, a document proving the agency is lying or the agencies computer records?
The DVLA/ PAssport Agency and registry office will probably rail against this, but it is actually in their best interests to support an ombudsman.

Dani

[gizmo111]

[quote]

Originally Posted by Wilcock79

The DVLA have a record of me passing my driving theory & practical exam but......
Have NO record of my application for a Driving Licence?????


They are denying me ever holding a paper licence (I would love to find it now)

quote]

Why would have a record of you passing but not receiving a licence - surely one goes with the other? Any where you could look for the original - attics old filing cabinets etc - have you moved and its got stuck in a box - I found my passport after using it for ID behind the microwave - have you ever used licence for ID - to open a bank account etc where it may have been copied for their records?

Originally Posted by buzby

What you need to do is provide proof of the information they say is missing. What was the date time and test centre you sat the test. (They still may hold a record of your pass), Did you keep a copy of your pass certificate that you signed after completing the practical? Have you a note of your Driver Number?

IF you planned to take them to court, then any of the foregoing would be adequate proof you had indeed passed your test. Without them, it is only your word against the DVLA's, and without this corroboration, I don't see how a judge could ever rule in your favour.

.

No question over him passing just applying for a full licence.

[teeach]

i had a similar experiance where i sent off my pass results about 2wks before the 2yrs was up due to other circumstances and they got lost/held up in the mail and they recieved it 2days after the 2yr cut off even though the application was dated 2wks before the deadline they sent my provisional back to me stating i need to resit my tests even though he said he could see i had passed my test andthe date the time but they needed to recieve the application- in other words they wanted the £15 charge to send the new full license.

here is some correspondence from dvla regarding my complaint

Dear Mr Jones,

Thank you for your e-mail of 29 March to Mr Broom, about your
difficulties in obtaining full entitlement to drive. I have been asked
to reply.

I should say from the outset that there are legal implications, which
prevent DVLA issuing you with a full licence.

By law a valid application to claim entitlement must be received at
DVLA within 2 years of the date of a successful test, otherwise the
entitlement must be regarded as having lapsed, and a further test
(including the theory test) will have to be taken. This is specified in
Section 89(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended) and the
requirement is spelt out clearly on all test pass certificates. DVLA has
no discretion to vary the statutory period in individual cases.

I was concerned to note your statement that when you contacted DVLA
after you had your provisional licence and 'test results' stolen,
you were advised to contact the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) to get
the exact "time and date" you passed the test. All staff dealing
direct with our customers are aware of the statutory period an its
implications. It is surprising therefore that you were offered this
advice, as your driver record clearly confirmed that you passed a
driving test on 16 February 2004. A search of your record shows that our
staff accessed your record on a number of occasions between October and
November 2004, which indicates that you did contact DVLA. Regrettably,
due to the volumes of call receive daily, conversations are not
routinely taped. It is not possible therefore to confirm what was
discussed at that time.

I can also confirm that in October 2004 we received a signed 'fee
paying enquiry mandate' for the release of information from your
record. This mandate contained a current address in Ferndale, with a
previous address in the Rhondda.

However, the critical factor here is that between the date you passed
the test and 15 February this year * the statutory 2-year period,
there is no evidence to confirm receipt of a valid application to claim
this entitlement.

p.s the examiner now sends off for the full license at no cost