How to contact DVLA

madge1981

How to contact DVLA , licence hasn’t arrived after 2 months!  New photo licence needed for 70th birthday on June 5th! No phone lines open! Application was made by post so now have no licence at all! Thank you!

Marvel1

2 months is roughly the time in lockdown, so I'm guessing it's waiting to be processed.

https://www.gov.uk/contact-the-dvla

If you’re a key worker (for example you work in a hospital or supermarket, or you’re a lorry driver) and you need your licence urgently, call or email the DVLA.

It’s taking longer than usual to process driving licence applications because of coronavirus (COVID-19)

AdrianC

https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence-at-70

Driving while DVLA has your licence

You can drive while your licence is being renewed if you meet all the following conditions:

• you have the support of your doctor to continue driving
• you had a valid licence
• you only drive under the conditions of the previous licence
• your application is less than a year old
• your last licence wasn’t revoked or refused for medical reasons
• you’re not currently disqualified
• you weren’t disqualified as a high risk offender on or after 1 June 2013

Read the guidance ‘Can I drive while my application is with DVLA?’ for more information.

ivybank

I sent my v5 , mot certificate,pip letter,and postal order( I get 50%discount) in early April to pay for car tax. Then a letter arrived at the end of April to say my tax was due! Paid it in full over the phone
so effectively paid it 3 times, still no documents or refund back after 3 months, and impossible to contact them, nightmare

AdrianC

Did you not notice the bit on their website from late March until early June, saying "DO NOT POST US ANYTHING, WE AREN'T OPENING IT"? They changed it in early June to say "Huge delays to anything postal".

John_Gray

Those over 70 who are waiting for their renewed driving licence back from DVLA may be interested to know that the "Visual Field Test" which I had to do three years ago at Specsavers prior to the reissue of licence has not (yet) been restarted, and Specsavers have heard absolutely nothing from DVLA about when (or even if) it will be performed in the future.

I can't speak for the whole of Specsavers, just the local branch.

MinuteNoodles

John_Gray said:

Those over 70 who are waiting for their renewed driving licence back from DVLA may be interested to know that the "Visual Field Test" which I had to do three years ago at Specsavers prior to the reissue of licence has not (yet) been restarted, and Specsavers have heard absolutely nothing from DVLA about when (or even if) it will be performed in the future.

I can't speak for the whole of Specsavers, just the local branch.

What a pity. It should actually be a full medical the same as I've just had to undergo for my LGV licence because it's not just your eyesight that can make you unfit to drive but your mobility too. For example if you can't turn your head much how can you safely negotiate a give way or roundabout when you can't look to the left or right sufficiently? I pulled my neck yesterday, got in the car with the wife to go pick something up, went to look left and couldn't turn my head enough, not more than 45 degrees, and told her she was driving.

John_Gray

I can further report that I have [at last] received back my renewed three-year over-70 licence, without having to do the Visual Field Test which was required at the previous renewal in 2017.  Perhaps DVLA were so impressed with 120/120 last time, or that I've had both cataracts done, or just that it was expedient to get another licence out the door as soon as possible...!

Marvel1

ivybank said:

I sent my v5 , mot certificate,pip letter,and postal order( I get 50%discount) in early April to pay for car tax. Then a letter arrived at the end of April to say my tax was due! Paid it in full over the phone
so effectively paid it 3 times, still no documents or refund back after 3 months, and impossible to contact them, nightmare

Do you mean twice? 

One by post and another over the phone.

StephenM_2

ivybank said:

I sent my v5 , mot certificate,pip letter,and postal order( I get 50%discount) in early April to pay for car tax. Then a letter arrived at the end of April to say my tax was due! Paid it in full over the phone
so effectively paid it 3 times, still no documents or refund back after 3 months, and impossible to contact them, nightmare

I did the same thing on behalf of my wife. Sent off the PIP etc in late April. We received a letter in May saying it wasn't taxed and were unable to contact DVLA. However we then received the PIP etc back in June with confirmation the car is now taxed backdated to 1 May. They still haven't cashed the cheque though

StephenM_2

Marvel1 said:

ivybank said:

I sent my v5 , mot certificate,pip letter,and postal order( I get 50%discount) in early April to pay for car tax. Then a letter arrived at the end of April to say my tax was due! Paid it in full over the phone
so effectively paid it 3 times, still no documents or refund back after 3 months, and impossible to contact them, nightmare

Do you mean twice? 

One by post and another over the phone.

No they mean 3 times. You can only get the 50% discount by post. They would have paid 100% over the phone. So they paid 150% in total instead of 50%