Thread: Driving Licence Help

I was involved in an accident today, contacted insurance company, they then pursued a three way call with the DVLA to check licence details. To my utter shock & disbelief, the DVLA lady said that I was only on a provisional licence & gave me another number to call - the enquiry line. Called these and the lady there said that they had never received my full application and I was still on a provisional licence. I am utterly shocked and found it hard to believe that my application had never been received.

I then embarked on delving through all my paperwork, and found a letter from the DVLA dated one month after my practical test. The letter from DVLA says thank you for your recent application / correspondence which I have to return to you. Please sign the D750 form. Please supply photocopy of your passport that has not been enlarged, and signed by Mr James.

Please return this letter with your application in the envelope provided.

I have a copy of the signed and dated passport photo I then sent, which is dated five months after the application.

Therefore, they must have received my initial application form, to then write to me requiring additional information. I also have a copy of the additional information they required.

Called DVLA again, who have advised I write to them with all information I have and my case will be looked at.

Any help gatefully received. Sending letter recorded delivery tomorrow

So in summary, at the moment, do you have or have you ever had in your possesion, a FULL DRIVING LICENSE?

I am pretty sure that I was sent a full driving licence, though not 100% sure, as it was so long ago.

Also, the DVLA said that if they had not received an application from me I would have received a letter from them 6 months after test completion

Originally Posted by andie_303

Not really sure if I'm understanding this properly - they asked for further proof of ID when you sent in your provisional to change to a full licence??

And you did this but they claim they never recieved it??

I hate to tell you but you know how picky insurance companies are - chances are they may reject your claim

The signed photocopy of my passport I sent had been too large, so I had to re-send a smaller signed one. I sent this, never received any further correspondence from them regarding it.

I know how picky them may be. My main worry now is that the DVLA are saying I am only on a provisional

Originally Posted by andie_303

Perhaps it is better to wait and see what writing to the DVLA gets you then - if you have been sent a full licence and can somehow dig it out that is all the proof you need.

I fear it has been lost in a move, or maybe I never did receive it from DVLA.
Been through all my paperwork, even to find a copy of the letter they sent me thanking me for application asking for different size photo.
Maybe I just need to write to DVLA & hope for best. Otherwise don't know what I'm going to do

I am still confused. Why would the DVLA need anything else after you passed your driving test? The normal procedure is that the examiner keeps both parts of your license and sends them off for you after your test. All you keep is your pass certificate. Even if you choose not to let the examiner do it for you, then, likewise, you send it yourself to DVLA (within 2 years). You are not applying for a new or different license, it is simply being converted from provisional to full.

The only complication I can think off is if you were using an old style paper only DL, which meant when you went for your test you had to take that paper DL as well as your passport as proof of identity, then after passing you were in fact having to apply for a first issue of the new style photo DL. When did you get your provisional, i.e. before 1999? and when did you take your test? (after 1999 presumably)

Originally Posted by crem

Why would the DVLA need anything else after you passed your driving test?

The only complication I can think off is if you were using an old style paper only DL, which meant when you went for your test you had to take that paper DL as well as your passport as proof of identity, then after passing you were in fact having to apply for a first issue of the new style photo DL. When did you get your provisional, i.e. before 1999? and when did you take your test? (after 1999 presumably)

When I sent my application off, they sent me a letter asking me for the signed photocopy of my passport to not be as large, so I then sent a normal sized signed photocopy of my passport (signed by the witness).

I got my provisional in 1997, passed my test September 1998 and sent this final bit of information required by DVLA back to them in February 1999.

Checked on royal mail & DVLA have received everything I sent them. So fingers crossed now. I sent them copy of theory pass, copy of practical test pass, copy of letter they sent me regarding my application and copy of correspondence I then sent them back

I really hope you are successful on this with the amount of stuff you've been able to produce for them. However, from posts on here, past experiences of people seem to be, no matter how much you can prove DVLA are wrong, they tend to just say "tough, you'll have to take your test again".

In your case that would be doubly disasterous as you were involved in an incident that "may" result in you also being accused of driving with the wrong licence.

Originally Posted by crem

I really hope you are successful on this with the amount of stuff you've been able to produce for them. However, from posts on here, past experiences of people seem to be, no matter how much you can prove DVLA are wrong, they tend to just say "tough, you'll have to take your test again".

In your case that would be doubly disasterous as you were involved in an incident that "may" result in you also being accused of driving with the wrong licence.

I need my vehicle to get back & forth to work, so if I need to take my test again, this could be a nightmare - especially the way jobs are in the current economic climate.

I know, it's just a matter of waiting now. Am quite scared about it to be honest, as it would mean my insurance is also void, plus this particular accident - which wasn't my fault as someone went into back of me. Also, what if the police get involved also.

I am unsure how this has never been picked up on before, because I have been involved in two other accidents previously. Have always taken insurance out on vehicles, always taxed them on time.

Insurance company rang me yesterday afternoon to find out what was happening. Explained I had sent everything to DVLA, insurance company said I doubt you will hear anything until Wednesday next week, call us then.

Originally Posted by andie_303

Hi not sure what this was but I just caught something on the back end of watchdog about the DVLA making licence errors - you might want to watch on Iplayer and see if it relates or look at their website

Hi thanks for this, seen last weeks on watchdog website. Seems lots of people have problems with DVLA, that don't seem to be easily resolved. Will look on iplayer for tonights follow up. Thank you

Not available yet on iplayer, though did read some peoples experiences on watchdog website. It was an additional part to last weeks, with one person in same boat as me, being told she hadn't applied for full licence.
I suppose, I just sit, wait & hope now

Watched it now on Watchdog website. Hopefully DVLA will be in touch this week. Though I think I need more than hope, judging by what I've read about the DVLA over the weekend, on various sites, it seems they are very rarely wrong!

No response from DVLA as yet, thought they may have called. Do these things take a while?
I seem to remember having a letter through the post a few years back for a speeding offence at which time I asked for a photograph, photo came back of me in car on my own. I completed the document then with my driver number - would this licence problem not have been picked up then?

Originally Posted by Ronnie1234

it seems they are very rarely wrong!

Only according to the DVLA themselves, I think plenty of other people believe they are wrong frequently!