What happens when your driving licence expires?

What happens when your driving licence expires?

Author
Discussion

FazerBoy

953 posts

149 months

Monday 15th October 2018
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You do get a warning if a photocard licence is close to expiry. I just received a letter from DVLA last week and my licence expires sometime in November.

It gives the date of expiry and the various ways to renew.


172

182 posts

137 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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you do everyone favour and get your kids to drive you around

RTB

8,273 posts

257 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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David9384 said:
Yes, I do
Than it's about as tricky as filling in a few fields in a form and giving them 14 quid.

grumpyscot

1,277 posts

191 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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Superhoop said:
I renewed mine a few months ago, no need to go to the post office or anywhere else for that matter for a picture to be taken, as the latest version of the website allows you to take your own picture on a smartphone, you upload it, it checks that the picture is acceptable (not as easy as you would think, as you can't have obvious shadows etc.. in the picture) and away you go.. it can all be done online in about 10 minutes..

My replacement turned up within a week.. As others have said though, you don't get any reminders to say it is about to expire
Did both my driving license and passport renewal this way. Easy peasy!

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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Mine ran out in August...oops....few clicks of a mouse and new one was on my doorstep within a few days.

essayer

9,011 posts

193 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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I had to renew mine recently and didn’t need to supply a photo, by some form of witchcraft they used the one from my passport

The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

116 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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cj2013 said:
You'd possibly be surprised at how many used to turn up at the dealer I used to work at, expecting to take a pre-booked courtesy car, then hand over an expired license when doing the usual checks.

Had quite a lot of people get aggressive and abusive about it. One was a HGV driver, who should have known better.

Not one seemed to appreciate that an expired license was an expired license - they wouldn't be insured, if the worst occurred, and would get a heavy fine if they were stopped.


Luckily I didn't have to work on a service desk for long, but this was just one of the many, many, examples of things you'd get blamed for by neglectful people.
What were they grumpy about?

Your spieling?

Riley Blue

20,915 posts

225 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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I renewed mine on line a couple of months ago, expecting to have to supply a more recent photo but the one from my passport was used - it looks less like me than the one on the expired licence.

The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

116 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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grumpyscot said:
Did both my driving license and passport renewal this way. Easy peasy!
Don't think so.

Vanordinaire

3,701 posts

161 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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cj2013 said:
Not one seemed to appreciate that an expired license was an expired license - they wouldn't be insured, if the worst occurred, and would get a heavy fine if they were stopped.
As far as I was aware, this isn't the case.
Yes, you can be fined (under section 99.5 of the RTA1988) for failing to update your details with the DVLA if your photo card is out of date, but it's a non-endorsable offence and it doesn't mean you are no longer licensed to drive.
Its one of these situations where lots of people (including police officers and insurance company employees) regularly get it wrong. People do get charged under section 97 for this, but if it went to court, you'd be found not guilty.

cj2013

1,314 posts

125 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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The Mad Monk said:
What were they grumpy about?

Your spieling?
I'm assuming this is supposed to be funny, or make sense in some way?


Vanordinaire said:
As far as I was aware, this isn't the case.
Yes, you can be fined (under section 99.5 of the RTA1988) for failing to update your details with the DVLA if your photo card is out of date, but it's a non-endorsable offence and it doesn't mean you are no longer licensed to drive.
Its one of these situations where lots of people (including police officers and insurance company employees) regularly get it wrong. People do get charged under section 97 for this, but if it went to court, you'd be found not guilty.
It was the case - the business insurance specifically stated that the driver's photocard license must be within date and clear of endorsements. It came in around the same time the counterpart disappeared and the online license checks were required.

I worked in a Volvo premises where the courtesy cars were £40k+ XC models, so you certainly wouldn't let someone drive off in one, on the off chance that some sort of loophole would keep them covered if they were to damage one.

TwigtheWonderkid

43,248 posts

149 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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cj2013 said:
Not one seemed to appreciate that an expired license was an expired license - they wouldn't be insured,
They didn't appreciate that because it isn't true. Have a look on your own certificate. I can guarantee that after it says who can drive, it'll say words to the effect of "providing the person holds a valid licence or has held a valid licence previously and is not disqualified from holding one

If your photo card has expired, you have held a licence, and you are not disqualified from holding one.

cj2013

1,314 posts

125 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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TwigtheWonderkid said:
They didn't appreciate that because it isn't true. Have a look on your own certificate. I can guarantee that after it says who can drive, it'll say words to the effect of "providing the person holds a valid licence or has held a valid licence previously and is not disqualified from holding one

If your photo card has expired, you have held a licence, and you are not disqualified from holding one.
Again, it was in the terms and conditions of the company I worked for. Not my insurance, or their insurance - the insurance of the company I worked for that owned said vehicles, which specifically stated as such.

Part of the reason would be so that someone without valid and up to date credentials couldn't drop a 240 in for an MOT, then bugger off into the sunset in a 3 week old XC60 R-Design

Pica-Pica

13,621 posts

83 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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cj2013 said:
The Mad Monk said:
What were they grumpy about?

Your spieling?
I'm assuming this is supposed to be funny, or make sense in some way?
I think the reference was to the incorrect spelling.
Namely, using ‘license’ instead of ‘licence’ as a noun.

cj2013

1,314 posts

125 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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Pica-Pica said:
I think the reference was to the incorrect spelling.
Namely, using ‘license’ instead of ‘licence’ as a noun.
Ah, spelling humour. A niche category.

Flumpo

3,685 posts

72 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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cj2013 said:
You'd possibly be surprised at how many used to turn up at the dealer I used to work at, expecting to take a pre-booked courtesy car, then hand over an expired license when doing the usual checks.

Had quite a lot of people get aggressive and abusive about it. One was a HGV driver, who should have known better.

Not one seemed to appreciate that an expired license was an expired license - they wouldn't be insured, if the worst occurred, and would get a heavy fine if they were stopped.


Luckily I didn't have to work on a service desk for long, but this was just one of the many, many, examples of things you'd get blamed for by neglectful people.
Getting aggressive with you or the dealer is out of order. But I’m not supprised they were annoyed with you.

If I had booked a courtesy car and the dealer had an onerous requirement for a valid photo card, despite that not being a requirement for normal insurance or car hire and hadn’t warned me. Well I would be pretty annoyed too.

There are a lot of myths on the photo card and a valid one is not required for most car insurance policies or to hire a car. Martin Louis did a thing in his tv show last year to remind people to check, from memory they had struggled to find anyone who had ever received a fine off the police for not having a valid one. I’m sure someone will claim they have been fined but it’s certailny very rare.

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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Cotty said:
Glad I still have the old paper one, still valid and don't have to renew
https://www.gov.uk/exchange-paper-driving-licence
Same here, however mine is held together with sellotape; I do get the odd puzzled look from "youngsters" when I produce it as a form of id.

cj2013

1,314 posts

125 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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Flumpo said:
Getting aggressive with you or the dealer is out of order. But I’m not supprised they were annoyed with you.
They had no right to be annoyed - all (like every customer) were told on numerous occasions (including booking and booking reminder) about it being a requirement, and also the conditions of insurance. A person can only be annoyed with themselves for failing to take the advice on offer, to be fair.

It's hard to do a job like that and not come out the other end with a very low opinion of people. I think you'd need to have a very thick skin and borderline sociopathic personality to survive a long term career on a service desk.

Flumpo

3,685 posts

72 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
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cj2013 said:
Flumpo said:
Getting aggressive with you or the dealer is out of order. But I’m not supprised they were annoyed with you.
They had no right to be annoyed - all (like every customer) were told on numerous occasions (including booking and booking reminder) about it being a requirement, and also the conditions of insurance. A person can only be annoyed with themselves for failing to take the advice on offer, to be fair.

It's hard to do a job like that and not come out the other end with a very low opinion of people. I think you'd need to have a very thick skin and borderline sociopathic personality to survive a long term career on a service desk.
Ah, If they had been told that numerous times before turning up, then yes it’s their own fault.





Flumpo

3,685 posts

72 months

Tuesday 16th October 2018
quotequote all
cj2013 said:
You'd possibly be surprised at how many used to turn up at the dealer I used to work at, expecting to take a pre-booked courtesy car, then hand over an expired license when doing the usual checks. WHICH WAS AGAINST OUR COMPANY INSURANCE POLICY AND NO WAY REFLECTIVE OF INSURANCE IN GENERAL.

Had quite a lot of people get aggressive and abusive about it. One was a HGV driver, who should have known better.

Not one seemed to appreciate that an expired license was an expired license - they wouldn't be insured WITH OUR SPECIFIC POLICY, if the worst occurred, and would get a heavy fine if they were stopped BY ONE OF OUR INSURANCE INVESTIGATORS.


Luckily I didn't have to work on a service desk for long, but this was just one of the many, many, examples of things you'd get blamed for by neglectful people.
I’ve fixed the above so it makes sense.