DVLA scam

Marvel1

Paying £20 is good for every 10 years, it costs more than that in petrol for a week.

flashg67

Appears I might be in the minority here, and actually somewhat agree with the OP. I passed my test in the 1980's and my paper licence was valid til I was 70. It does seem harsh that they can decide to change the rules and make you re-apply.

I agree that the future couldn't be foreseen, eg having photo licences etc, but - surely it doesn't cost £20 to issue a new licence? IMO it would be fairer to charge it at 'cost' as a maximum, after all, we didn't decide to change the rules. If Tesco suddenly said 'let's have photo clubcards and it's a tenner to renew them every few years', how many people would vote with their feet and use Asda etc etc. Why should governments be able to act with impunity, when we have no choice but to obey...

Strider590

It's not a scam.... Or at least it's not the scam they were aiming for.

Originally the "small print" stated you had to renew your license when it expired, however the DVLA weren't going to warn us of this and instead fine us £1000 a pop for not renewing (I found an article on this 3 years ago). All under the guise of a threatening letter stating your driving without a license and your insurance is invalidated. The photo licence does not state "expiry date", just "4b".
What apparently happened was 100's of complaints forced them to start telling people when their license were due and before they could get to business issuing fines.

So instead of this nice juicy income earner, they turned instead to the £20 renewal fee's.... Which will still net them a nice £500 million a year.

Marvel1

Also just be glad it doesn't cost £80 like the passport.

societys_child

"Driving is a privilege"

I never understand when people say that. You pass tests, pay all that money and it's a privilege?

molerat

What's a photocard licence ? I have an ancient pinky green piece of papyrus, with 3 points scribbled on it in crayon from 1990, which says it is good for another 13 years (if it doesn't disintegrate before then)

Coveredinbees!!!!

molerat wrote: »

What's a photocard licence ? I have an ancient pinky green piece of papyrus, with 3 points scribbled on it in crayon from 1990, which says it is good for another 13 years (if it doesn't disintegrate before then)

I would too but I moved house and they made me have one

DCFC79

Its been like this for years, its hardly a scam, you can choose not to renew your licence and just not drive,

Inactive

Hammyman wrote: »

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

Why?...I don't have a photo licence.

I agree with the OP.

Why should the OP be forced to pay out just because he/she moved home?

AnythingButChardonnay

How is the OP being unreasonable? The DVLA (well, actually like most things, the EU) changed the rules of the game halfway through. That is retrospective and is therefore not fair.

I've only ever known photo licences, but people who got theirs before the rules changed shouldn't be expected to fork out for one just because they've changed address or lost theirs.