Disqualified for 12 months!
 

Apologies for the long post...

I received a letter today from the DVLA, thought it odd as I have no tax due and not sold or bought anything. I was a little surprised to open it and find that they are asking me to surrender my license as I'm disqualified for 12 months! The letter all looked very official and proper, but I suspected it was possibly a scam to get people to log on to a website listed in the email, and harvest personal details. So I opened google and went to the DVLA check my license page, and was even more surprised to find that far from being a scam, they have actually got me listed as disqualified from 25/04/22.

Now wondering what the hell was going on I phoned the DVLA, 'sorry all our operators are busy please call again later'. Tried several more times and managed to get in a queue, estimated waiting time, 40 minutes (I should add, this was around 11am, I'd been awake since 2pm yesterday, at work all night, so was fairly tired).

While waiting for the seemingly single member of staff at DVLA to answer the phone I have another read of the letter. Very few details on there, but one interesting thing, I was apparently sentenced at Bodmin magistrates court, 282 miles away from me, and not been to Cornwall since last summer.

Still listening to the awful DVLA hold music, I decide to google to magistrates and give them a call on the other phone.

At last, someone who has someone to answer the phones! The courts phone rang twice and then someone picked up. I explained the rather odd situation of getting a letter stating I'm disqualified, and to send back my license, due to the offence committed (which having checked my license online I now knew was drug driving), but that I'm not in that area, have never had as much as a speeding ticket, not been to court, and this was the first I'd heard of it all.

She took my name and date of birth, and agreed that I was right, I hadn't been in court there, they had no record of my name or DoB at all. After about 5 minutes of discussing details and things, she's figured out that there was a case dealt with on that date, of drug driving, ending in disqualification, and that the person convicted happened to have the same first initial, and surname as me, and also happened to be the same age as me (though didn't say if the DoB was exactly the same), and what seems to have happened, is somehow my driving license number has been put on the paperwork for his conviction! FFS! Does no one check the details are correct?!

She's sent an urgent request to DVLA to get it removed from my license and put on the convicted drivers file, and also sent me an email explaining what has happened should I get stopped while driving.


I later phoned DVLA and actually managed to speak to a human after a mere 25 minute wait. Explained it all to him, and that it had been found what had happened, but was there a way they could speed up getting it sorted. Not overly helpful, they take 3 days generally to process court requests, it could be sooner, but could be longer. Annoying but not the end of the world, because I've got the email from the court to cover me if stopped, right? No, 'sorry sir, but you technically don't have a license at the moment until the system is updated, if you're found to be driving before the system updates you can be fined etc, if you have an accident your insurance is invalid'.

So now if they don't get it updated by close of office on Friday, it's going to cost me a days holiday, as I'll have to book Saturday off. If it's still not done by close of office Saturday afternoon, it costs me another 2 days holiday as I'll have to book Sunday and Monday too, as I start at 6am so long before they'd possibly do anything about it!

Absolutely ridiculous, surely someone there can have a look for the request from the court and process it manually to speed it up. I've done nothing wrong and stand to potentially lose 3 days holiday, or about £600 if I take it unpaid, as I don't really have 3 days holiday to burn!

Try phoning the court again saying would you be able to claim money lost from taking time of work due to their incompetence dealing with it from the start.

Surely you should be able to claim from someone court or DVLA ?

That is scary. The consequences don't bare thinking about
If an insurance company ever asks if you have been banned from driving, what is the answer?
Just as well you checked, a lot of people, me included, may well have thought scam and binned the letter.

let us know how long it takes to get your license back..... you naughty naughty boy :)

macafee2

Absolutely right, my thoughts also.

Well done Derrick for being on the ball, good luck. I do think there will be something available to claim recompence , but that will require more effort I am afraid.

Yep.
 

I spent a weekend in the cells because of an error like this so it comes as no surprise. My only regret is I didn't take legal action against the Police and CPS at the time.

Blimey what a nightmare position to be in through their incompetence :eek:

I am sorry to hear of your trouble, I hope you resolve things quickly. I am afraid this is indicative of a country falling apart, by incompetence, and complacency of others ordinary folk have to run around sorting problems created by morons, and then held responsible when things remain unresolved. Britain at its worse, incompetent civil servants, unaccountable politicians, can't make it up. Good luck.

Derrick, Forward a copy of your post to your MP. Dont throw your toys out the pram, Just include a covering note asking for their help and assistance, Send a copy of the relevant parts to the DVLC, and another to the relevant Court. Keep details of the times, date of these actions. Include in each the fact you have sent copies to all those mentioned, May not do anything but you may feel a bit better. Best of luck, Chris S.

An excellent strategy, may be also include your local paper.

If I might make a small suggestion; the details of times, dates, responses etc. would be useful on a spreadsheet, rather than narrated in paragraphs.

Easier to add to, and easier to see the complete picture.

If your MP wants some brownie points, the easier he / she can get to grips with the problem, the more likely that they will run with it.


Mike

Thanks all, I had considered my MP and possibly seeing if local press were interested in a story of public servant incompetence...

I phoned the DVLA again today, still not been updated, and apparently the way their system works means they can't possibly search manually for the request from the court and speed up the process...

I'm in 2 minds who is more to blame, the courts initially getting the paperwork wrong and requesting the record on my license number. Or the DVLA for applying it to my license number, when the name and address of the offender were different! Surely there should be someone either double checking these details at the court before they get sent off, or the DVLA dept. should be able to question the information if it's mis-matched?

Next phone call is to the courts to find out how I make a complaint about the whole situation.

I've also spoken to the local police force, who have said if I was stopped for anything and they checked and it showed I was disqualified, as long as I could show the email from the courts clearly stating it was a mistake, they wouldn't arrest me or anything. But on the other hand, they said they're not sure how it would stand should I be involved in an accident or something, and that I'd have to check with my insurer whether my insurance is still valid!