DVLA scam

poppasmurf_bewdley

I received a letter from the DVLA last week informing me that my driving licence was due for renewal and they wanted £20 to do so with a new photo.

Being 63 years of age, but not yet senile, I can remember that in the 1970's the government decided to stop issuing driving licences every three years for £1, and charged one £10 fee for a licence until you reach 70 years of age. They evidently wanted the money all at once.

Now they've cottoned on to this new scam of wanting to renew the photo licence every 10 years and want £20 for it, saying looks change and you need a new photo.

So what if I send them another copy of the photo used in the previous licence? It's identical but apparently the photo doesn't need countersigning or anything.

It's just a way of making you pay £20.

Plus my licence still says it's valid until 2018!

CyCo_2

So you'd rather pay the equivilent of the £1 every three years you were paying in the 70's?

£1 in 1971 is worth around £11 now (based on RPI)

So every 10 years you'd be forking out £36.67, so you are actually saving £16.67 every 10 years by only having to pay £20 every time you renew your photocard

poppasmurf_bewdley

CyCo wrote: »

So you'd rather pay the equivilent of the £1 every three years you were paying in the 70's?

£1 in 1971 is worth around £11 now (based on RPI)

So every 10 years you'd be forking out £36.67, so you are actually saving £16.67 every 10 years by only having to pay £20 every time you renew your photocard

No. What I'm getting at is the fact that in the 1970's me, and millions of others, paid £10 for a licence for life. Now were expected to pay out £20 every 10 years for what we have already paid for. The DVLA have just decided they want to raise more money from the motorist, so they decide to screw them.

Even the banks don't have the audacity to charge for renewing debit or credit cards!

thenudeone

Times change. They were not to know that in 20 years time another government would decide that we should all have photo driving licences (like everywhere else in the world already had).
There are different views on the legality of the photo expiry. My take is as follows: Your are probably still licensed to drive until you are 70, but if you fail to send the old one back for a new one after the photo expires you have technically committed the offence of failing to surrender it. No-one has ever been prosecuted for that
AFAIK.

However, if you are driving abroad or want to be able to hire a car, perhaps in an emergency, or avoid the possibility that an over-zealous copper seizes your car under the (possibly mistaken) belief that you don't have a licence, It's probably best just to bite the bullet and pay for a new one.

wealdroam

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Even the banks don't have the audacity to charge for renewing debit or credit cards!

That's because it is in the bank's interest to make sure you have their credit card.
So that you can spend their money and (hopefully) pay interest to them.

If the banks charged for renewal, would you go somewhere else?
I would.

I hope you can see that driving licence photocards are a bit different.

Hammyman

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

I received a letter from the DVLA last week informing me that my driving licence was due for renewal and they wanted £20 to do so with a new photo.

Being 63 years of age, but not yet senile, I can remember that in the 1970's the government decided to stop issuing driving licences every three years for £1, and charged one £10 fee for a licence until you reach 70 years of age. They evidently wanted the money all at once.

Now they've cottoned on to this new scam of wanting to renew the photo licence every 10 years and want £20 for it, saying looks change and you need a new photo.

So what if I send them another copy of the photo used in the previous licence? It's identical but apparently the photo doesn't need countersigning or anything.

It's just a way of making you pay £20.

Plus my licence still says it's valid until 2018!

Unbelievable. If you can't understand why they want to renew photo licences every 10 years then you are beyond help.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Hammyman wrote: »

Unbelievable. If you can't understand why they want to renew photo licences every 10 years then you are beyond help.

Yes, your comments are unbelieveable, and I don't need your sarcastic comments, thank you.

I've made two main points:

1). The DVLA want £20 every 10 years for something that I've already paid for. If it's necessary, then it should be free of charge or at least not the £20 being demanded.

2). There's nothing to stop me sending in a copy of the photo I used 10 years ago. The photo doesn't need to be countersigned in any way, shape or form, so my new licence will be identical to my last one, which rather defeats the whole purpose. I could even send in a photo of my Dad and nobody would know.

So please, if you can't make a constructive comment, I would suggest you don't make one at all.

hartcjhart

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

No. What I'm getting at is the fact that in the 1970's me, and millions of others, paid £10 for a licence for life. Now were expected to pay out £20 every 10 years for what we have already paid for. The DVLA have just decided they want to raise more money from the motorist, so they decide to screw them.

Even the banks don't have the audacity to charge for renewing debit or credit cards!

actually you need to get your facts right before screamin ,the photo re-newal has been in place for years

blue_haddock

How come whenever I see a "scam" on mse it very rarely is actually a scam?

hartcjhart

blue_haddock wrote: »

How come whenever I see a "scam" on mse it very rarely is actually a scam?

Gday Blue,
that is because you engage brain first

DaveF327

Everyone's a conspiracy theorist

Driving is a privilege, not a right. There's no obligation to pay the £20; you can simply cross the second box on the D798U instead of the first. This will surrender your entitlement to drive and not only will you save £20, you won't have to pay for any road tax, insurance or fuel again. :money:

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

1). The DVLA want £20 every 10 years for something that I've already paid for.

You paid for your first licence, including its production and any security features available at the time. The fee you pay every renewal is the cost of scanning, processing, securely printing and posting your new licence, as well as securely retaining a copy thereof. Retaining a copy means you can change your address as many times as you wish without having to resubmit your photo or signature.

If it's necessary, then it should be free of charge or at least not the £20 being demanded.

It isn't necessary, it's a privilege as I already mentioned. Unlike banks who will absorb card production costs as they profit from their use, DVLA must make ends meet as they are a self-contained, self-funding government agency who receive nothing from public tax funds.

2). There's nothing to stop me sending in a copy of the photo I used 10 years ago. The photo doesn't need to be countersigned in any way, shape or form, so my new licence will be identical to my last one, which rather defeats the whole purpose. I could even send in a photo of my Dad and nobody would know.

The DVLA will know. Once they see that your photo is identical to the last one, they will reject it. They expect to see the same person with a degree of ageing, however minimal. The photograph must be a true likeness. Providing they see a reasonable likeness to your younger self, this is why they don't need the photo to be countersigned. If you try to send a photo of a completely different person, expect the police to turn up wanting a word for attempting to procure a false instrument.