Steampowered - thank you for such a swift response. That is very helpful.

I am part way through a claim for Psychological damage in the workplace, which is being funded via a CFA. I have seen one expert witness, whose report was very favourable to me, with regard to the cause of my mental health. The defendants have now requested that I see an expert witness appointed by themselves, which is due to take place shortly, and I am happy to do so. The mental health team, who have been working with me for the last 3 years, are confident that the 2nd expert witness will not find an alternative reason for my illness, either via my medical notes or discussion with myself. I was rather surprised to receive a letter from my solicitor, suggesting that he makes an offer to the defendants under Section 36. This offer would be for 60% of the lowest amount which I would be likely to be awarded if successful in Court. At this stage, I had not anticipated that we would be offering a low settlement figure, as my solicitor had indicated that we have a strong case, with paperwork and witness statements from colleagues to evidence what happened. My own thinking is that it is better to wait a couple of weeks for the 2nd expert witness report, as this is likely to strengthen our case. As this case is funded via CFA, do I have to agree with the action proposed by my solicitor, or risk losing the CFA funding? Thank you.

Having sourced the actual paperwork - for which I apologise not doing in the first place, as I am obviously past being able to rely on my memory :- Test passed - April 2005 Ban - January 2006 Applied to have licence returned (fee £100) around May 2010. Reason for the time gap was as he is abroad quite frequently, and did not have regular access to a car when in this country, so it seemed pointless paying out the £100 before the licence was required.

Apologies - I should not post things late in the evening - I was obviously stuck in a time warp - my son passed his test in 2007 (not 1997!) Thanks to supermancss for mentioning the 15 year time gap - which flagged up my error! After a bit of research I have found out that:- If a new driver is convicted of: DD - this is an offence where disqualification is obligatory. They will NOT have their drivers licence revoked under the new drivers act because of the disqualification imposed upon conviction of these offences. The new drivers act only applies IF the new driver accumulates 6 penalty points or more on their driving licence within the 2 year probationary period. ************* So it is definitely the question of could he be out of the time limit for submitting his paperwork for the full licence, if the paperwork was in the hands of the DVLA?

Thanks for the replies. I have checked, and the ban was imposed in January 1997 - which I think was before the New Drivers' Act came into force. The reason cited by the DVLA was the fact that the period of 12 months to submit the Pass certificate and Provisional Licence to apply for a full licence had expired. I'm not sure this is watertight as they were in possession of the paperwork from the 8th month onwards. Hence my query. Supermancs - please be assured that we are both eternally grateful that this lesson has been learned without anybody coming to harm by his stupid action.

9 months after passing his test, my son (stupidly) received a 24 month ban for DD. At that time he had not sent the paperwork off for his full licence, as he was still within the 12 month timescale for submitting your provisional licence and Test pass certificate. Hence he surrendered his Provisional Licence and Pass Certificate at the time of the ban. When the ban expired, he was abroad for long periods, and did not have access to a car when over here, so did not apply to get his licence re-instated immediately. He had attended the re-hab course, and been told that there was no time limit as to when you can apply to get your licence back when the DD ban expires. A couple of years later, he applied to have his licence re-instated - as a Full licence, as he had passed his test. Sent off the form and fee of £100, waited several months and heard nothing from the DVLA, and it took several e-mails before they said we would here from them shortly. The next thing that happened was that a provisional licence arrived in the post. The DVLA stated that they could not issue a Full Licence because the 12 month period allowed for application following passing the driving test had expired! Surely the clock stopped ticking at 8 months, when my son surrendered the paperwork to the DVLA at the point of the ban? How could he apply for his full licence when they were holding the paperwork, and, also he had been told that it is up to you when you re-apply to get your licence back when a ban comes to an end. I assume that the DVLA did not really know how to deal with this one, as they took so long to get back to us. Any advice gratefully received!