DVLA Medical High Risk Offender Licence Application Timescale

Convicted Driver Insurance
So just an update called my GP today they received my forms from Dvla on 24/6 up until today it hasn’t been completed as it’s not classed as a priority, what a joke I’m fuming, so in my case it’s my gp not Dvla, so chase your g.p if your waiting guys
 
So just an update called my GP today they received my forms from Dvla on 24/6 up until today it hasn’t been completed as it’s not classed as a priority, what a joke I’m fuming, so in my case it’s my gp not Dvla, so chase your g.p if your waiting guys
Mine was done and returned in 2 days
 
I've been checking my licence online every day since the medical! Debating if it's worth chasing up again. It's painful when there's a car and more work waiting for me! It's costing a bomb in taxis just to get back from the supermarket ect.

I've been checking my licence online every day since the medical! Debating if it's worth chasing up again. It's painful when there's a car and more work waiting for me! It's costing a bomb in taxis just to get back from the supermarket ect.
Make a compliant!

I made a stage 1 complaint on the DVLA website on the 19th July and I had a response on the 28th making my case a priority and I was able to drive from the 29th July!!!!

I was polite in my complaint and expressed my frustrations towards the waiting for this nightmare to end. The email I recieved back was apologetic and obviously helpful. If I hadn't of complained then I would still be waiting as apparently my case had slipped through the cracks!

I URGE EVERYONE who has been waiting for more than 4-6 weeks for any form of correspondence to make a complaint, make it personal to yourself and your own situation and be polite despite any frustration, it seemed to be the only way to get heard.

Good luck xx
 
Make a compliant!

I made a stage 1 complaint on the DVLA website on the 19th July and I had a response on the 28th making my case a priority and I was able to drive from the 29th July!!!!

I was polite in my complaint and expressed my frustrations towards the waiting for this nightmare to end. The email I recieved back was apologetic and obviously helpful. If I hadn't of complained then I would still be waiting as apparently my case had slipped through the cracks!

I URGE EVERYONE who has been waiting for more than 4-6 weeks for any form of correspondence to make a complaint, make it personal to yourself and your own situation and be polite despite any frustration, it seemed to be the only way to get heard.

Good luck xx
I'm still waiting on an acknowledgement of my level 3 complaint as the response to levels 1 and 2 were nonsensical. (Despite being informed TWICE by the relevant court, DVLA still insisting I am banned.) Supposed to happen in under two weeks, coming up to two months now. So fed up am going straight to level 4 which has to have my MPs involvement but will be strongly encouraging them to contact the dire DVLA directly. It's so frustrating. Add on the three-ish month wait for the medical results to be processed and I've lost just about a year of being licensed which is having an extremely negative impact on job searching.
 
Morning everyone

I've just been reading some of the recent comments on here and it does bring back some painful memories for me from late last year.

The DVLA situation has been flagged up a few times recently in the press and media. There was an edition of the BBC One Show earlier this month where they raised the issue of the DVLA waiting times for driving licence applications. There was no specific mention of HRO's - I'm sure raising sympathy for drink drivers on a prime time BBC One programme isn't a wise move!?!?!?!

The general issue is that the DVLA are taking industrial action with their employers over the unsafe environments they have forced people to work in during the Covid pandemic. The BBC One Show seem to suggest the 'standoff' is likely to rumble on for sometime, so it isn't great for those of you reaching the end of a drink driving ban who need a HRO medical.

I've been through the grinder myself and waited a further month beyond the end of my ban to finally get back on the road.

Just some tips for those of you presently in this situation -

- The DVLA Medical Team number is a friggin nightmare to get through on. If you ring it - an automated voice states lines are busy and to call back later. If you just constantly hang up and redial, you will eventually 'trip' onto a waiting system where you will be in a 'queue' for friggin ages before getting through to one of the Swansea team.

I've never understood why the DVLA line does this - if you just repeatedly ring the Medical Team number, you should by the law of averages, just get onto the queue system. Please just set aside some time and leave the phone on loud speaker, while you potter about the house. The DVLA can have you waiting in a queue for over thirty minutes before someone answers.

- When the DVLA allocated me a HRO doctor in Preston, the surgery receptionist stated they could not make an appointment for me for the foreseeable future. Through the help of another forum member on here, I found an alternative DVLA approved doctor in Southport who had a diary with available appointments. However, the DVLA would not let me 'switch' doctors - I complained to Tim Burton (who is the DVLA Medical Team Manager) via e-mail and I was then allowed to change DVLA approved doctors.

The UK is not subject to any Covid restrictions anymore, so in theory there is nothing to stop HRO's travelling to the other side of the Country to have their medicals. People waiting to renew their licences can usually drive under Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, but as a HRO coming to the end of a ban you do not have that luxury.

What the Medical Team at Swansea don't really appreciate is that many of us can be put in precarious positions by keeping us off the road longer than necessary. In my case, my job was at risk and it was prolonging unnecessary inconvenience for my 65-year-old mother who was having to drive me to work at 6 O'clock in the morning!!!! Therefore, it is vital that you put a good case across to Tim Burton explaining your personal issues concerned and the impact on others.

- When the DVLA write to your GP - please, please, make contact with your GP, go through the questions with them and most importantly of all - make sure the GP has sent the form back to Swansea!?!?!?!

I had a telephone appointment with my GP in mid December 2020, where she went through a few of the questions. She then stated she would then return the form to Swansea. Because the DVLA Medical Team have a Christmas break, I re-contacted them the second week in January 2021 to be told they were still awaiting contact from my GP, so could not move forward with my case.

I then rung my GP surgery and after a couple of difficult phone calls - I was advised my medical form was still in the GP's correspondence tray!!!! What I was told by Price1367, is that GP's have a 4-6 week time frame to complete your medical questionnaire, so the point I'm making is please make sure your GP has returned the form!!!! It does feel like you become a thorn in the side of your GP surgery, but it is imperative that you keep on at them to get this done as it can delay your case.

I hope I have shared some useful points on here of my own experience of the DVLA Medical Team. Good luck to those of you on here waiting to get back on the road. It is a horrible experience, but in an adverse way - it does re-enforce the message that none us want to ever find ourselves in this situation again.

CJ
 
Make a compliant!

I made a stage 1 complaint on the DVLA website on the 19th July and I had a response on the 28th making my case a priority and I was able to drive from the 29th July!!!!

I was polite in my complaint and expressed my frustrations towards the waiting for this nightmare to end. The email I recieved back was apologetic and obviously helpful. If I hadn't of complained then I would still be waiting as apparently my case had slipped through the cracks!

I URGE EVERYONE who has been waiting for more than 4-6 weeks for any form of correspondence to make a complaint, make it personal to yourself and your own situation and be polite despite any frustration, it seemed to be the only way to get heard.

Good luck xx
I had my MP get involved and they've now apparently written to my GP on the 28th July! Finger's crossed it won't be much longer!
 
Make a compliant!

I made a stage 1 complaint on the DVLA website on the 19th July and I had a response on the 28th making my case a priority and I was able to drive from the 29th July!!!!

I was polite in my complaint and expressed my frustrations towards the waiting for this nightmare to end. The email I recieved back was apologetic and obviously helpful. If I hadn't of complained then I would still be waiting as apparently my case had slipped through the cracks!

I URGE EVERYONE who has been waiting for more than 4-6 weeks for any form of correspondence to make a complaint, make it personal to yourself and your own situation and be polite despite any frustration, it seemed to be the only way to get heard.

Good luck xx
Actually, I made a complaint on DVLA website on 28/7. On 29/7 the licence checker said licence issued . I truly think that was coincidence though as it was too quick for the complaint to have had any effect .
 
Actually, I made a complaint on DVLA website on 28/7. On 29/7 the licence checker said licence issued . I truly think that was coincidence though as it was too quick for the complaint to have had any effect .
I made a complaint beginning of the week, but haven't had any response so I think they're even behind on that part as well. They're probably getting just as frustrated as us with all the extra work load! I'm just hoping that now it's been sent to my GP, the next strike doesn't effect it too much!
 
The strikes at DVLA have been targeted at different areas over the past few months, even calling those working from home out on strike.
But the PCS union have decided to target their Main efforts at targeting the medical applications department (including HRO’s) because they have identified that delays in those applications have produced the most number of complaints to MPs and ministers, therefore targeted action to delay them is the best way of putting pressure on the government to force action for what the union want.
That seems very cynical. Yes it is probably right that medical applications produce them most complaints, but that is because it has the biggest impact on peoples lives with an already lengthy process they have to go through.
I do not know what their working conditions are like, but the union say that 1 death and 600 cases of Covid have happened there which is the worse anywhere…….
There was a report in the local paper saying that when the strikes were starting 5 months ago after the Covid flare up at DVLA before Christmas: “Cases of Covid-19 among DVLA staff remain low and currently there are just five positive cases, including those working from home, out of a workforce of more than 6,000.”
I am sure there are places with much worse numbers that that, but they are not striking!
 
The strikes at DVLA have been targeted at different areas over the past few months, even calling those working from home out on strike.
But the PCS union have decided to target their Main efforts at targeting the medical applications department (including HRO’s) because they have identified that delays in those applications have produced the most number of complaints to MPs and ministers, therefore targeted action to delay them is the best way of putting pressure on the government to force action for what the union want.
That seems very cynical. Yes it is probably right that medical applications produce them most complaints, but that is because it has the biggest impact on peoples lives with an already lengthy process they have to go through.
I do not know what their working conditions are like, but the union say that 1 death and 600 cases of Covid have happened there which is the worse anywhere…….
There was a report in the local paper saying that when the strikes were starting 5 months ago after the Covid flare up at DVLA before Christmas: “Cases of Covid-19 among DVLA staff remain low and currently there are just five positive cases, including those working from home, out of a workforce of more than 6,000.”
I am sure there are places with much worse numbers that that, but they are not striking!
I did see an article that said the Swansea office was a lot safer than visiting a tesco because of the new measures that are in place in the office, but with a lot of thing's it could of been fake news...
 
how much did it cost you in total to ie dvla fee,,,,plus medical fee please
Ive been convicted of drink driving in 2010 which is now expired and dangerous driving in 2017 which is also expired. When Ive gone to reapply I’ve been told I need to pay 90 quid for a provisional. Is that right? The judge ordered me to take an extended retest but he didn’t say anything about being a high risk offender. Thanks
 
Ive been convicted of drink driving in 2010 which is now expired and dangerous driving in 2017 which is also expired. When Ive gone to reapply I’ve been told I need to pay 90 quid for a provisional. Is that right? The judge ordered me to take an extended retest but he didn’t say anything about being a high risk offender. Thanks
What was the conviction for? Fail to provide, or over the limit….In which case what was your reading in breath / blood?
 
What was the conviction for? Fail to provide, or over the limit….In which case what was your reading in breath / blood?
My first conviction was for a DR10 over the limit for which I had a medical and the second was for dangerous driving DD40. It says online a high risk offender is someone who has drunk drove twice or refused a breath test within a 10 year period, I didn’t, I complied and took a blood test and a breath test on the second ban.
 
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The question was
‘What was your Reading in breath / blood ?” You can be a high Risk offender on one conviction if your reading is 88 or above.
Also, not clear on you saying: “ took a blood test and a breath test on the second ban.” do you mean you have had a second ban for drink driving? If so, when was it?
 
The question was
‘What was your Reading in breath / blood ?” You can be a high Risk offender on one conviction if your reading is 88 or above.
Also, not clear on you saying: “ took a blood test and a breath test on the second ban.” do you mean you have had a second ban for drink driving? If so, when was it?
I had to have a medical on the first ban because it was drink driving and I blew 96mg. The second ban was for dangerous driving and I had to have a breath test and blood test after my arrest, I was never charged and convicted of anything other than a DD40, I’m not sure what’s confusing about that.
 
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It isn’t confusing once it is realised that you took a breath test and a blood test ‘on the second ban’ that was under the limit…..
You are right to say that you will be issued a provisional licence after a dangerous driving conviction and take an extended test, but the correct fee should be £65 not £90. A DR40 certainly does not trigger the HRO process.
Have you applied with paying £65? Not clear who has told you the fee is £90…. If DVLA have said that, they are either mistaken or the one other thing is if you were actually convicted of drink driving as well in 2017. Check your driving licence record and see if a DR10 shows up from then.
 
I had to have a medical on the first ban because it was drink driving and I blew 96mg. The second ban was for dangerous driving and I had to have a breath test and blood test after my arrest and I was never charged and convicted of anything other than a DD40, I’m not sure what’s confusing about that.
It isn’t confusing once it is realised that you took a breath test and a blood test ‘on the second ban’ that was under the limit…..
You are right to say that you will be issued a provisional licence after a dangerous driving conviction and take an extended test, but the correct fee should be £65 not £90. A DR40 certainly does not trigger the HRO process.
Have you applied with paying £65? Not clear who has told you the fee is £90…. If DVLA have said that, they are either mistaken or the one other thing is if you were actually convicted of drink driving as well in 2017. Check your driving licence record and see if a DR10 shows up from then.
Yeah that part is confusing, I applied for a provisional and received a letter asking for a cheque for £65 pounds. I posted the cheque back and it’s been returned with a new fee for £90 pounds, this is what’s confused me.
 
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