al_yrpal wrote: ↑25 Nov 2022, 7:27pm
thirdcrank wrote: ↑25 Nov 2022, 9:00am
al_yrpal wrote: ↑25 Nov 2022, 8:49am
After a year of faffing about my wife had to get her MP to sort her driving licence. 3 weeks later it came. DVLC - useless!
Al
Apart from anything else, I presume from what I remember of your posts that her application included a change of name on marriage and a change of address. These are presumably changes which require some form of verification by a human being and so, vulnerable to industrial action or covid-related precautions. On top of a reputation for inefficiency, particularly at the former DVLC
TC, she hasnt changed her surname for official purposes we both reckon its too much hassle but, we did change address.
Anyway our MP got it sorted pretty quickly.
Al
What I was trying to say was
any of the listed changes would prevent an immediate online renewal of the type I described. I guessed at a couple and you confirmed there was one. And I presume that means some sort of human intervention at the DVLA.. I presume the extent of the delays affecting an individual application must depend on different causes. Simple things like a documented address change will only depend on the rate at which somebody can check the documents and enter them into the computer system. Medical conditions seem likely to involve much more cautious resolution. eg Deciding whether somebody with deteriorating health should continue to drive isn't just a civil liberties issue.
AFAIK, MPs or rather their offices, have always had a special postcode for their Swansea correspondence, which ensures it goes to the top of the pile. ie Writing to your MP will jump the queue. And fair enough. Apart from that, I suppose the level of complaints gives them a "tip of the iceberg" idea of the problems. Industrial action probably adds another layer of complication.
Overall, the emergency simplifications introduced during lockdown seem to have been formalised.