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Post by salopstick on Oct 21, 2008 12:28:53 GMT
recieved this on email today
dont know how true it is
1. Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence.
They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photocard licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70.
Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licences were for life.
They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed.
To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to a pay £17.50 to renew their card - a charge which critics have condemned as a 'stealth tax' and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437million over 25 years.
The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as the they start to expire.
Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding.
With another 300,000 photocard licences due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licences will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine.
At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version.
Just below the driver name on the front of the photocard licence is a series of dates and details - each one numbered.
Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means.
The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'.
Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until his or her 70th birthday.
A total of 25million new-style licences have been issued but - motoring experts say - drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years.
Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving. But the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their licence', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine.
AA president, Edmund King said: 'It is not generally known that photocard licences expire: there appears to be a lack of information that people will have to renew these licences.
'People think they have already paid them for once over and that is it.
'It will come as a surprise to motorists and a shock that they have to pay an extra £17.50.'
The AA called on the Government to use the annual £450million from traffic enforcement fines to offset the renewal charge.
Before photocard licences were introduced, old-style paper licences were valid until the age of 70.
'Many motorists still believe this to be the case with the new ones."
Driving instructor Tony Carter, of Canterbury, said: 'It's outrageous; everybody thinks their driving licence is for life.
'Why - when you have already paid £50 for your photocard licence - should you pay the Government an extra £17.50 every 10 years?
'It's another stealth tax. Drivers will be very annoyed.'
Today the DVLA said the date of expiry was carried on the new-style licences, even though the AA says this is 'not clear'.
The Agency was unable to say whether motorists were told the licences would expire when they were first issued.
It said it was issuing postal reminders to drivers whose photograph was due to expire, to get the renewal message across. But a spokesman admitted this was the limit of the DVLA's publicity.
Experts say many drivers will slip through the net because DVLA records are inaccurate and many motorists have changed address, making it impossible to trace them.
A DVLA spokesman said: 'Previous experience has shown that wide-scale publicity is less effective and can generate enquiries and concerns from those not affected. Instead, DVLA focussed on targeted publicity to ensure that we got the message to the right person at the right time.'
The Driving Standards Agency is allowing L-test candidates with out-of-date photocard licences to sit their driving tests as long as they provide a valid passport. This concession will end in January next year, raising the prospect that some L-test candidates will be turned away.
The DVLA said no one had so far been charged with failing to surrender a licence.
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Post by edinburghstokie on Oct 21, 2008 12:49:21 GMT
It is true, but the expiry date is hardly small print. It is the same size as the rest of the text on it.
To be honest they will send a reminder to your address, and if you haven't informed them of a change of address (that bit is free, as I have had 4 photocards issued now for nothing - but the expiry stays the same - 10 years from the first issue of the original photocard) then that is your own fault and you are breaking the law anyway.
It does bring into question why they need to charge so much for it. Also will they charge for a change to a UK ID card when we get them? Will they expire after a certain time?
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Post by salopstick on Oct 21, 2008 13:25:13 GMT
cheers for that info but it is a bit that shit that.
unless details change there is no need to renew anything, i would accept a small fee to update cards though
same goes for passports
it seems by putting a 10 year limit on cards, and passports the government get a guarnteed stream of income every year
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Post by Stafford-Stokie on Oct 21, 2008 13:45:17 GMT
I can see why they do it. I look nothing like the pic on mine (shaved head). I think a fiver would be enough though. It costs about a fiver for the photo booth as well.  |
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Post by Mr Wheeze on Oct 21, 2008 14:10:02 GMT
Its true and its a f**king rip off as well. But having said that, ive just changed my old paper licence to a photo one and changed my address too. Sent them the £17.50 which they ask for, and for some reason they sent me the cheque/postal order back complete with my new licence. Which was nice!  |
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Post by Stafford-Stokie on Oct 21, 2008 14:42:08 GMT
Its true and its a f**king rip off as well. But having said that, ive just changed my old paper licence to a photo one and changed my address too. Sent them the £17.50 which they ask for, and for some reason they sent me the cheque/postal order back complete with my new licence. Which was nice! You dont pay for the first change from paper to photo card. Nor do you pay for change of address. |
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Post by st0kecity on Oct 21, 2008 14:48:43 GMT
Not according to the DVLA Site: Apply online to exchange your paper driving licence for a photocard driving licence You can exchange your current British paper licence for a British photocard online if you: * have your driving licence in your possession * are a resident of Great Britain * can meet the minimum eyesight requirement * are currently not prevented from driving for any reason * can pay £17.50 by Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, Electron, Delta or Solo debit or credit card * have a valid UK passport or another form of identity * can provide addresses of where you have lived over the last three years www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Motoringtransactions/BeforeyouapplyC/DG_066954 |
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Post by edinburghstokie on Oct 21, 2008 14:52:33 GMT
well, the answer is obvious then. Change your photo at the same time as address, and send a postal order. It should confuse them enough that they might not cash it.
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Post by Stafford-Stokie on Oct 21, 2008 15:01:01 GMT
Not according to the DVLA Site: Apply online to exchange your paper driving licence for a photocard driving licence You can exchange your current British paper licence for a British photocard online if you: * have your driving licence in your possession * are a resident of Great Britain * can meet the minimum eyesight requirement * are currently not prevented from driving for any reason * can pay £17.50 by Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, Electron, Delta or Solo debit or credit card * have a valid UK passport or another form of identity * can provide addresses of where you have lived over the last three years www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Motoringtransactions/BeforeyouapplyC/DG_066954Apologies. You never used to pay. Perhaps there was a time limit for you to swap them. ??? |
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Post by st0kecity on Oct 21, 2008 15:09:15 GMT
Ahh well, I got all excited then cos I thought I didnt have to pay  I think you may be right, it could have been an introductory thing. I think Ill stick with my old paper one for now, far too mean to spend £18 on a photocard to have to renew it again anyway  |
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Post by Stafford-Stokie on Oct 21, 2008 15:32:21 GMT
Ahh well, I got all excited then cos I thought I didnt have to pay I think you may be right, it could have been an introductory thing. I think Ill stick with my old paper one for now, far too mean to spend £18 on a photocard to have to renew it again anyway Just keep your paper one until you need to change your address. ;D |
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Post by samstoke on Oct 22, 2008 0:52:02 GMT
I was wondering what happens when you have to renew your photocard. Mine expires in 2010 and time is edging closer. I was 16 when the photo on the card was taken and I'm nearly 25 now so I can see why you need to renew it, people's appearance can change beyond recognition in that period of time!
It's a bit wank charging £17.50 though, it was free when I changed address and it should be free when you have to renew your photo too! As has been said in a previous post, some of the income from speeding fines should be used to cover the cost of the renewals.
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Post by Adster on Oct 22, 2008 11:50:19 GMT
the only reason there is an expiry date on there for 10 years is for the change of photo. You must change you photo's every 5 years.
otherwise, what happens if you got ur license when u was 17 and didnt change the picture at all.
you would be the youngest looking 70 year old in the history of the universe ;D
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Post by salopstick on Oct 22, 2008 11:53:39 GMT
the only reason there is an expiry date on there for 10 years is for the change of photo. You must change you photo's every 5 years. otherwise, what happens if you got ur license when u was 17 and didnt change the picture at all. you would be the youngest looking 70 year old in the history of the universe ;D to be fair though the passport office are quite happy for my son to use his 2 week old photograph until he is 10 |
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Post by edinburghstokie on Oct 22, 2008 12:09:36 GMT
Careful Salop, someone might read that and think what a money spinner it could be....
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Post by starkiller on Oct 22, 2008 15:15:59 GMT
It's a practice for full-blown ID cards. Funding our own enslavement. We continue pay for surveillance in all its form to the elite's end of prying into and controlling every aspect of our lives. NEVER agree to ID cards under the lie it will be 'voluntary'. You will eventually denied access to services (including food) without it. It will contain biometric data and a tracking chip. How fascist does this fascist state (one-party, two sides) have to become before people realise we're in one? www.no2id.net/ |
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Post by edinburghstokie on Oct 22, 2008 15:49:45 GMT
Before it is too late I fear Starkiller
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Post by vote for pedro on Oct 22, 2008 18:47:02 GMT
GORDON BROWN YOUR A C*NT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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