Apply for Your Driving License (sic)

[Wander00]

I see a banner advertisement has appeared leading to website of one of the companies that charges you to do something that you can do on the Government website for free. I am sure that allowing them on is as much an error as their spelling of "license" which in this context is a noun, and should therefore be "licence"

[Courtney Mil]

English English vs American English? It's OK, I keep getting adverts here to become a captain with some Chinese Airline. They clearly don't know me, but the site gets paid every time I see that ad.

[Wander00]

IMHO slightly different: site (address in Plymouth UK) by implication can deceive the unwary into thinking it is an official site - even uses the same green colour as the DVLA site and tries to charge for something we can do for ourselves free of a service charge - a bit like firms offering to pursue PPI claims. My last word on the subject, unless I feel particularly grumpy tomorrow. Mind you PPrune subscribers are all probably old enough to have driving licences anyway, so they are wasting their money - ho, ho!

[Wrathmonk]

PPrune subscribers are all probably old enough to have driving licences anyway

Although of course EU/UK licences have a 10 year validity on them now....and it costs £14 via the gov.uk site to renew (unless you're >70...)

[Lordflasheart]

If the implied "service" proved to be genuine, it would represent a growth industry in parting us from our money for stuff that the government (currently) provides for less money or for free. Passports, land reg, Tax refunds etc.

However, the general composition, spelling and grammar employed in this ad, suggest it is yet another crude attempt to harvest our personal details for criminal gain. The content reminds me of the many scam emails I regularly see, purporting to come from almost every financial institution going, The only fun bit missing is the 419 style "Hello my dear how are you today would you like a million dollars ........."

If they want this ad to be taken seriously they should hire a GCSE English graduate to proof read.

LFH


............

[MPN11]

My licence is 10 years and £40 from the Parish of St Helier :(

And no discount for being old and [assumedly] incompetent, either.

[camelspyyder]

Ha!

My UK licence was free because I used to hold one issued by the Parish of St Helier.

Until I got banned there...

That was when I took advantage of the UK rules :)

[Pontius Navigator]

Like my EHIC renewal but i was pleased to see a genuine NHS and Gov site were tops with EHICrenewal.com lower down.

[thunderbird7]

But top tip! Check the expiry date of your UK licence because when you get pulled up for speeding, the fine and ban are a bit of a surprise if it has expired!!! ;)

[ian16th]

If you are resident outside of the UK when your 70th birthday happens, you cannot renew your licence.

[Pontius Navigator]

Bummer if you live in South Africa?

[DON T]

As a non Eu person you have to apply for an eu licence within 6 months if you are a resident. I believe South Africa has reciprocal arrangements with Uk for driving licences. So if you are British and live in South Africa you can exchange your licence for a South African licence by surrendering your British licence. You then become part of their system and not the British system. So when you want to return to uk you do the reverse and end up with a uk licence.

There are also sites that will book your theory test or driving test for a substantial fee. Ask some of my pupils who have been caught out. Keep calm become a driving instructor.

[olympus]

When I lived in Dublin back in the 80s I applied for an Irish licence based on the reciprocal rules. Imagine my surprise when the new Irish licence arrived accompanied by the original British licence which I thought would have been returned to DVLA for cancellation.

This was very handy and I kept the Irish one going as long as I could after leaving the Republic (with the help of an Irish friend).

[ian16th]

I believe South Africa has reciprocal arrangements with Uk for driving licences. So if you are British and live in South Africa you can exchange your licence for a South African licence by surrendering your British licence. You then become part of their system and not the British system. So when you want to return to uk you do the reverse and end up with a uk licence.All the above is true.

There was a loophole that I slipped through when I came out here. I had been informed that the SA authorities would accept an International Driving Licence as issued by the AA. So I got an International one and when I arrived, swapped it for a SA licence.

This way I kept both licences. My work caused me to travel a lot, and the UK licence was more useful overseas.

Since reaching 70, my lack of a UK licence has not hindered my life as I don't get about much anymore! But losing my UK licence because of where I live, strikes me as inequitable.