View Full Version : MCN is your licence valid
Check your licences
MCN this week is carrying a piece relating to how the DVLA has managed to 'mistakenly' delete the motorcycle entitlement off the licenses of hundreds of riders who sent their licenses away to have their details changed.
Legally - if it's not there you can't ride. It has affected ordinary riders, motorcycle instructors, and even police riders!
Check your license, if it's not there you have to re-take your test!
The DVLA are not budging on that one
And if you licence does not show the right entitlement, you will have to retake your test.
Check MCN this week
sexysi
:shock:
This is similar to what happened my my mate Matt (the one with the Duc 748 that got stolen).... he had to retake his CBT, and DAS from scratch, again! :evil: :shock:
... I'll be buying it at lunchtime!
Apauling. Their mistake and you have to cough up. Checked mine and it's ok. Feel sorry for any one who has to retake though. That really sucks sweaty donkey balls.
Check your license, if it's not there you have to re-take your test!
Thats well harsh! :shock:
But I guess if they werent hard on it it could lead to any old Tom, **** and Harry saying that they did have full motorcycle entitlement...
Fingers crossed mine comes back ok from the DVLA!! :roll:
Carsick
29-04-05, 11:02 AM
http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.php?t=22128
creamerybutter mentioned that he had asked when he spoke to the DVLA recently. They say it's not true. Admittedly, they would say that, but I'm still not convinced. There should be a trail of some sort to show that you did have the category, therefore it can just be replaced.
Ceri JC
29-04-05, 11:02 AM
MCN this week is carrying a piece relating to how the DVLA has managed to 'mistakenly' delete the motorcycle entitlement off the licenses of hundreds of riders who sent their licenses away to have their details changed.
Be interesting to see if someone affected tries to do them under the data protection act. I can't remember if they're one of the organisations which is exempt (lots of government ones are), but if they aren't, they have failed in their duties :?
I think I have some photo copies of mine somewhere... and my old pass sheet from when I'd taken my test surely that would show I was entitled.
Not that its a problem for me as I've got all mine still.
In the article a Police motorbike rider and an advanced instructor have both had to retake their tests :shock:
sexysi
creamerybutter
29-04-05, 11:05 AM
As I said in my thread about licence addresses the DVLA representative said that wasn't true but then she also told me that to replace a lost licence was free but to change address was £19 so I am inclined to believe her.
If the take my bike entitlement off me I won't have any entitlement at all :shock:
creamerybutter
29-04-05, 11:08 AM
I think I have some photo copies of mine somewhere... and my old pass sheet from when I'd taken my test surely that would show I was entitled.
Not that its a problem for me as I've got all mine still.
According to the article and advanced motorcycle instructor who lost his and had all the copies but he still had to retake his test as did a policeman who had copies of his certificates on file at the station, he re-did his test on his police bike :o.
Matt's situation was interesting.
He'd sent his pass certificate to the DVLA.... and then subsequently spoken to them when he'd not received his licence.
They confirmed that they knew he'd passed his test, and that it was applied to his licence.
But it wasn't.
More than two years passed...
He applied for a new driving licence having never received the revised one back.... Oh, Mr Denney, you've not claimed your motorcycle entitlement, oops... more than two years, too late! Sorry!
Despite having records of the phone calls.. they hadn't noted what they were about. Month's of appeals, and it emerged he had to retake everything. Even though the record of him having passed his test in 2000 was still visible!
Biker Biggles
29-04-05, 11:16 AM
Sounds like a case of maladministration and extreme bureaucratic arrogance to me.One of the big organisations(AA,RAC,BMF,MAG)ought to take them to court and sort them out.
Nick762
29-04-05, 11:46 AM
Ludicrous if true, their data management team needs to be taken out and shot (or have their wrists and ankles tied to four different Triumph Rockets which are then slowly ridden off towards the four cardinal points of the compass.)
I can't believe that there is no papertrail, electronic or otherwise :shock:
Imagine if they did this with car drivers but then we're only bikers so it's obviously our fault :(
Ceri JC
29-04-05, 11:47 AM
Sounds like a case of maladministration and extreme bureaucratic arrogance to me.One of the big organisations(AA,RAC,BMF,MAG)ought to take them to court and sort them out.
Yes, I absolutely hate it when government organisations say "sorry, that's the way it is" purely because they are the only 'company' you can deal with that provides that service and you have no choice in the matter. If it was a business, it wouldn't last 2 minutes with an attitude like that.
Privitisation is certainly not without its flaws, but things like this make you realise some of the good points. :?
Flamin_Squirrel
29-04-05, 11:54 AM
Hmmm. Only if the conditions are right. Just look at the companys that run congestion charging, or parking control. They have all the bureaucratic nonsense of a government organisation, but with the competance to truely screw everyone over.
Ceri JC
29-04-05, 12:15 PM
Hmmm. Only if the conditions are right. Just look at the companys that run congestion charging, or parking control. They have all the bureaucratic nonsense of a government organisation, but with the competance to truely screw everyone over.
Ha ha, I work for the company that does the congestion charge (albeit in another division)! Not to defend them unduly (everyone hates their boss/employer, right?) but a hell of a lot of the ****-ups that private companies that take on government contracts are blamed for are actually due (at least in part) to the government. They're an absolute nightmare for changing the specifications of what they want, often only a few weeks from a deadline, yet are then utterly unflexible with consequently extending the deadlines to take account of these changes.
Case in point, they brought the deadline for a new aspect of the criminal records beaureau system forwards by 3 weeks or so (only about 2 months before the deadline), purely because of political pressure as a result of the Soham tragedy. Unsuprisingly, it wasn't properly finished on time. Naturally, it's the company that gets slated in Private Eye, not the policy-makers :roll:
And the congestion charge has been a comparative success story. Few of the fears were realised (remember the scare stories saying it would be a basic no go area, thousands of people being charged twice, etc?) and most of the complaints I have seen, relate to things like there being talk of bikes being charged, which again, would be due to changes in government policy, rather than shortcomings of the company itself.
Having worked both for local government as well as a company that deals almost exclusively in government contracts, I can say that whilst it's not as out and out corporate/competative as a standalone company, it is a damn site more efficient than a purely government run one.
Still, 'British Rail' is now a joke, eh? :wink:
All just my opinion/experience, of course :D
Flamin_Squirrel
29-04-05, 12:34 PM
There's a saying, "Thankfully we don't get all the government we pay for".
creamerybutter
29-04-05, 12:54 PM
Well I've sent off for my replacement licence and hopefully it will still have Cat A on it when it comes otherwise legally it will only let me walk down the road legall :shock:
For those that don't have it, the ariticle reads:
100's disqualified in licence ****-up
Admin errors by DVLA mean you may be riding illegally without knowing - and you'll have to pay for a retest!
By Tom Rayner
If you've moved house or got caught speeding and had your driving licence changed, go and check NOW that it still says you're allowed to ride a bike.
Why? Because the body in charge of vehicle licensing - the DVLA - has messed up big time. We've been contacted by riders who've had category A (the entitlement to ride a full-size motorcycle) mistakenly deleted from their licence after they'd sent it away to change their address or other details.
But because they didn't spot the error quickly enough the DVLA has refused to reinstate the entitlement and they've had to take their bike test again - at their own cost.
MCN contacted 20 training centres and all had seen at least one rider in the last year who as retaking their test because category A had been wrongly deleted by teh DVLA. And that's just people who spotted an error. It's likely hundreds more are riding illegally right now without knowing.
The DVLA is full of excuses - it blames riders for not checking their returned licences carefully, it blames the Driving Standards Agency for destroying pass certificates every two years and even blames a fire at its Swansea offices a decade ago.
It said: "The onus remains with riders to ensure they have the right type of licence."
If the DVLA does delete your Category A entitlement, the only advice it gives is "to consider re-sitting the appropriate tests."
How you could end up fined or banned
If the police stop you and your licence doesn't show the right entitlement to ride a bike, the consequences are serious.
One PC told us: "The officer would have no choice but to present you with a summons, and if found guilty you could face a fine of up to £1000 - or disqualification."
Worse still, if you're involved in an accident then your insurance won't be valid, even if the prang is not your fault.
A UK broker said it would be sympathetic to anybody who unwittingly had their bike category deleted but urged all MCN readers to double-check their licences.
If you think the DVLA has lost yoru bike entitlement call them on: 0870-240-0009.
Innocent Victims
Tony Allen from Chatteris, Cambridgeshire is an ex-motorcycle training instructor and victim of the DVLA's blunder.
He told MCN: "When I came to insure my new bike, the insurance company spotted I didn't have a bike licence. I thought they'd made a mistake but when I checked, they were right.
"I appealed to the DVLA but its attitude was 'hard luck mate' - even though I had a copy of my instructor's licence and there's no way I could have been a qualified instructor without a full bike licence."
Allen had to retake his test, including the theory test, but is now legally riding his Yamaha FJR1300 again.
A Police motorcyclist who didn't want to be named told us exactly the same happened to him.
It didn't matter he was a copper or had a photocopy of his original licence from the official station records, the DVLA wouldn't budge. He had no choice but to re-sit his test, which he did on his police bike. The examiner thought it was a wind-up.
I've got to get mine changed... My parents moved and that's my UK address for my lisecnce... Maybe I'll say I lost it at the same time and if they miss my bike on it I'll conviniently find my old one...
Also I have it in Dutch records that I have a bike lisence (I have an registered UK lisence so I don't need a Dutch one). I wonder if DVLA would accept that?
Stu
454697819
29-04-05, 04:31 PM
but surley, when u pass ur test station will have records of who passed and who didnt!
Which under the data protection act you get get hold of ur details couldnt you??? just a thought!
I called them to ask if i had to hve the 33bhp catogary taken off and they said no!! so im happy!
As I said in my thread about licence addresses the DVLA representative said that wasn't true but then she also told me that to replace a lost licence was free but to change address was £19 so I am inclined to believe her.
If the take my bike entitlement off me I won't have any entitlement at all :shock:
Isnt this wrong? Its free to change address and £19 to replace a lost/stolen licence... just done mine recently and cos I couldnt find the old one I had to pay £19 for the duplicate not for the change of address....
Already said several times Lyn ;)
wheelnut
29-04-05, 07:02 PM
This happened to a friend of mine with his HGV licence
He has sent it away to be changed, and when it came back he had lost his HGV LGV entitlement and could only drive a 7.5 tonner.
Because he passed his test over 20 years ago he couldnt prove he had a full licence.
Fortunately for him he failed his medical so would have lost his licence anyway, so it is a bit of a blessing for DVLA as he cannot apply again until they find a cure for diabetes
mine doesnt have my car entitlement on it :shock:
:shock: :shock:
creamerybutter
03-05-05, 09:14 AM
As I said in my thread about licence addresses the DVLA representative said that wasn't true but then she also told me that to replace a lost licence was free but to change address was £19 so I am inclined to believe her.
If the take my bike entitlement off me I won't have any entitlement at all :shock:
Isnt this wrong? Its free to change address and £19 to replace a lost/stolen licence... just done mine recently and cos I couldnt find the old one I had to pay £19 for the duplicate not for the change of address....
Sorry meant to put inclined not to believe her in my original post :oops: as we established she was talking ****.
leatherpatches
03-05-05, 03:41 PM
Just to get this straight - a person would normall have the following if they had passed their car and bike tests (not under 21, or restricted, or automatic car etc.), right?
A, B, BE, C1, V1E, D1, D1E, f,k,l,n,p
RenamedMonkey
03-05-05, 03:46 PM
They're an absolute nightmare for changing the specifications of what they want, often only a few weeks from a deadline, yet are then utterly unflexible with consequently extending the deadlines to take account of these changes.
I'll drink to that. They have no clue about procedure and timescales, it's just "well, we want to do it this way now" "Yea okay, but that will a) cost more b) take longer to setup and c) is a stupid idea anyway!" :roll:
sticky-dizzle
03-05-05, 05:21 PM
passed me test last August, still aint sent off me pass slip to have it applied to me licence, might hang ona bit longer until this **** up is sorted - at least i have my pass certificate, which clearly says i have 2 years to get it sorted - i.e. get it put on to my licence. no arguing with that surely - i got tugged shortly after me test, told the copper why the bike bit was'nt there. he did'nt even bat a lash.
Dizz - being a lazy barsteward may have finally paid off.
Just to get this straight - a person would normall have the following if they had passed their car and bike tests (not under 21, or restricted, or automatic car etc.), right?
A, B, BE, C1, V1E, D1, D1E, f,k,l,n,p
No, not necessarily...
After February 2002, anyone passing their normal car test got just that - entitlement to drive a car. Nothing else.
vBulletin® , Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.