1m+ overpaid for their driving licence in past three years - MSE News

Former_MSE_Callum

More than a million drivers have paid more than they needed to when applying or renewing a licence in the past three years because they've done it by post rather than online, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal...

Read the full story:
'1m+ overpaid for their driving licence in past three years'

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Herzlos

Is this really news? That doing something online is cheaper than via snail mail?

Joe_Horner

All well and good if you have a current passport. But buying a passport just to save £3.67 (don't forget the stamp!) on your licence renewal is a bit of a false economy!

wavelets

1m+ overpaid for their driving licence in past three years - MSE News

Have to agree with above posts.

Paying the going rate is not overpaying.
If I overpaid at Tesco, I'd ask for the overpayment to be refunded ... which they would do.
But Tesco won't refund, just because I found the same item for sale at Asda cheaper.

The above article relates to 2 different services; the consumer chooses the service and pays the price stated for that service.
There is no overpayment.

What next from MSE? British Courts shocker! HMCTS demands claimants to overpay for filing their small claims. :cool:

If MSE want to write a report suggesting ways people can save money via online applications, rather than traditional paper/postal methods - that's fine, but please leave out the Daily Mail style sensationalisms, please!

Joe_Horner

wavelets wrote: »

Paying the going rate is not overpaying.
If I overpaid at Tesco, I'd ask for the overpayment to be refunded ... which they would do.
But Tesco won't refund, just because I found the same item for sale at Asda cheaper.

Although to be fair, if Tesco started charging different prices depending on your payment method they'd be (rightly) hammered for it, even if those methods incurred different costs to them.

For a government service to penalise those who don't happen to have internet access + scanner + passport (by a pretty hefty 21%) is questionable.

Also, if Tesco did try that you could always shop at Asda. You can't get your driving licence anywhere else.

Car_54

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Although to be fair, if Tesco started charging different prices depending on your payment method they'd be (rightly) hammered for it, even if those methods incurred different costs to them.

For a government service to penalise those who don't happen to have internet access + scanner + passport (by a pretty hefty 21%) is questionable.

Also, if Tesco did try that you could always shop at Asda. You can't get your driving licence anywhere else.

21% sounds alarming, but we’re talking about £3. That is a trivial amount, and probably less than the cost of the extra manual processing.

glider3560

I chose to pay the extra to apply by post.

My old driving licence was issued at age 16. Passport at age 17.

Renewed driving licence at 26.

Doing it online, they'd use my passport photo of when I was 17. Which meant I've have a 19 year old photo when I'm 36.

Paid the extra couple of quid to apply by post and get a new photo.

wavelets

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Although to be fair, if Tesco started charging different prices depending on your payment method they'd be (rightly) hammered for it, even if those methods incurred different costs to them.

For a government service to penalise those who don't happen to have internet access + scanner + passport (by a pretty hefty 21%) is questionable.

Also, if Tesco did try that you could always shop at Asda. You can't get your driving licence anywhere else.

This isn;t about choosing how to pay (although lots of suppliers charge different prices depending on how you pay e.g. many utility suppliers charge less if you agree to pay by direct debit), but about choosing the service you want ... and for which the price is made clear beforehand.

Btw, its cheaper to apply for a passport online too

Herzlos

Joe_Horner wrote: »

For a government service to penalise those who don't happen to have internet access + scanner + passport (by a pretty hefty 21%) is questionable.

You could do it at a public library if the £3 difference was too much of an issue. Or you could post it to an office and have someone to the admin part for you (which would cost you more than the £3). It's a total non-issue.

Joe_Horner

Herzlos wrote: »

You could do it at a public library if the £3 difference was too much of an issue. Or you could post it to an office and have someone to the admin part for you (which would cost you more than the £3). It's a total non-issue.

Only if you have a passport - or a library come to that. Good luck finding one within £3 of fuel (bus fares start at a fiver) around here!

This is just one example of pushing government functions online at the expense of people, usually either lower income or elderly, who may not be equipped to deal with that.

Of course for anyone posting on here it's likely to be a "non-issue" but government of the country is not supposed to be for the benefit of active MSEers at the expense of others, and people in a civilised society shouldn't only be concerned about issues that directly affect themselves.

So, yes, it is an issue.

tori.k

Actually Online cost me more, changing an address should be free but when doing it online they charged me for £14 for changing my photo and address, when my photo on my driving licence is the same as my passport, when I phoned DVLA to complain I was told tough luck and send a email to GOV/complaints which didn't do diddly swat, if I had done it by paper It would have only cost the price of a stamp.