Bloody officialdom....

[Cozzer]

Had a reminder to renew my driving licence yesterday.
"Save time, do it online!" suggested the document, adding "Having your driving licence, national insurance number and passport (if you have one) details will help your online application".
Note the "if you have one" bit...

So, name and address completed, date of birth, place of birth, mother's maiden name, driving licence number, NI number...then came to the passport question. I haven't got one.
Well, I have, but it's expired.

The form says "press next" if you haven't got one.....so I did.....and that's when it confirmed that the system couldn't confirm my identity.
A bit of swearing on my part, before I started again, this time filling in the expired passport number. After all, it doesn't actually state that it must be current....
Same result.

So even though the system knows my full name, address, birth date and place, my NI, my mother's maiden name, and the fact that I'd once had a passport (for which I must've proved who I was, perhaps even with a copy birth certificate?), the system doesn't know who I am....

Apparently I now have no option to apply by post, once I've managed to buy some new photo's somewhere.

What a waste of bleediin' time....

 

[Geoff_S]

You didn't provide your inside leg measurement.

 

[HOJ]

Good luck with this, I chose to upgrade mine last year to a photo one, no real need, but fed up with being asked for ID (legal stuff) took 5 attempts of sending everything (and getting it returned) I possible could find (don't have a passport) at the end I had to ring them just to find out wtf they wanted from me, which they then accepted I couldn't prove anything else, so got it done.

What a waste of bleediin' time....

Yep

 

[RogerS]

I detest any form of site or officialdom who assume that you either have a passport or a driving licence with a photo. In fact, I will go out of my way to make them go through hoops to find a way to accept I am who I am. Not for my sake but for all the other poor sods out there who have neither.

Similar thing happened during the Covid pandemic and getting Wimbledon tickets. You needed to provide proof that you had an up-to-date vaccination. I was on a vaccine trial and the trial system wasn't joined up with the NHS Covid Pass system. Ergo no Wimbledon ticket. I politely asked why were they discriminating against people taking part in the vaccine trial. They changed the rules.

I also hate sites that assume you have a mobile phone because even if you have one, out in the sticks the mobile signal can be useless.

 

[Bingy man]

If it helps you can get your photos from main post office e . They give you a digital code that you input online . Time sensitive though . Some p/o will provide a check and send service ..

Edit I had the same issue applying for my 1st passport - n I number driving license number etc etc etc born in the uk , and attended main stream school/ and college but same result - we don’t know you

 

[flying haggis]

Had to renew my licence and as others have said the post office can do it but charge you extra. OK lets try a different route, needed a new photo, photo booth in tescos cost something like £7 for four passport size, OK take a photo with phone printed at asda and the staff use a special cutter to cut the print to the correct size £2.50! then posted it all off. New licence within a week.

why is that those of us who have lived in this country all our lives seem to have to jump through hoops when all the main agencies ie DVLA/ NHS/ HMRC etc know full well who we are and should in this day and age be able to cross check the systems.

 

[Housey210]

Had a reminder to renew my driving licence yesterday.
"Save time, do it online!" suggested the document, adding "Having your driving licence, national insurance number and passport (if you have one) details will help your online application".
Note the "if you have one" bit...

So, name and address completed, date of birth, place of birth, mother's maiden name, driving licence number, NI number...then came to the passport question. I haven't got one.
Well, I have, but it's expired.

The form says "press next" if you haven't got one.....so I did.....and that's when it confirmed that the system couldn't confirm my identity.
A bit of swearing on my part, before I started again, this time filling in the expired passport number. After all, it doesn't actually state that it must be current....
Same result.

So even though the system knows my full name, address, birth date and place, my NI, my mother's maiden name, and the fact that I'd once had a passport (for which I must've proved who I was, perhaps even with a copy birth certificate?), the system doesn't know who I am....

Apparently I now have no option to apply by post, once I've managed to buy some new photo's somewhere.

What a waste of bleediin' time....

Computer says no! All gov sites. I tried the online pension form, for forecast, and same as you. My passport too expired, took as ID to vote in May and expecting issues I had the form to hand which, as with you, did not mention if it had to be in date. They just looked at it and let in through to polling booth, glad, only 50 votes difference but got the tory out. Passport Id needed too when making subject access requests with council and police. Bank tried their best to refuse my paper driving license this year, had to put them right! Only need to change if change home address. Be wary there if swapping out those for a card as there are instances on the net where people with full bike license have lost that catagory, forcing a biker to retake a testI Advice is take a copy and send off original or claim it lost only to find again when card arrives. wonder how long it will be now for national ID cards to be mandatory?

https://laticsdrivertraining.com/bbc-watchdog-investigates-dvla-licence-blunder/

 

[flying haggis]

" wonder how long it will be now for national ID cards to be mandatory?"

and how many staff will it take to administer that ............................

 

[Ozi]

National ID cards, not a bad idea (you see I have all this spare pop corn)

 

[paulrbarnard]

I just applied for an Australian visa. One of the questions was “do you have a national ID Card?”. I answered ‘no’ and then had to write why I didn’t have one. I wonder how much longer that will be the case though.

 

[akirk]

Not really silly - the use of a current passport is to use its photo, if your passport is expired then the photo is too old so you need to submit a new photo and can’t use the same process - pretty logical really

 

[Spectric]

You get the same issues with getting onto the dot GOV site, they used to do a post office verify system which they ditched and now you need a passport otherwise they politely tell you to sod off, just want to sell more passports at £80 a time.

 

[Cozzer]

Not really silly - the use of a current passport is to use its photo, if your passport is expired then the photo is too old so you need to submit a new photo and can’t use the same process - pretty logical really

So why, pray, does it bother to state "if you have one"?!
Why doesn't it simply say "if you haven't a passport, you can't do it online"?

 

[Cozzer]

You get the same issues with getting onto the dot GOV site, they used to do a post office verify system which they ditched and now you need a passport otherwise they politely tell you to sod off, just want to sell more passports at £80 a time.

er....£93 if you apply "on paper"!

 

[Yojevol]

Had an invite to go to Amsterdam. Great. Oh dear, passports out of date. Get on to Gov website. Instructions on how to take photos with examples of good and unacceptable mug shots. Did that in a few minutes and uploaded them. Filled in all the questions in a few more minutes. Needed to send in old passports. Recommended signed-for 24hr mail. Got package label from RM online. Paid for new passports online. Walked up the road to the post box. That all took about an hour.
Well within 24hrs had notice of old passports received. Over the next 2 days had various notices of progress of new passports. Received them in 5 days. Old passports received back a few days later.
Can't complain about that.
Off to Amsterdam soon.
Brian

 

[selectortone]

Well within 24hrs had notice of old passports received. Over the next 2 days had various notices of progress of new passports. Received them in 5 days. Old passports received back a few days later.

Same here. I renewed mine last year at about the same time (October) and the whole process took less than a week. It amazes me that every year people are surprised that the waiting time is much longer just before the holiday season starts.

Actually, it amazes me less each year, as it becomes clearer how many stupid people there are.

 

[niemeyjt]

And for some, the system is even more messed up;

DVLA confirms that some over-70s licence renewals cannot be done online​

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/d...r-70s-licence-renewals-cannot-be-done-online/

 

[Mickjay]

Not really silly - the use of a current passport is to use its photo, if your passport is expired then the photo is too old so you need to submit a new photo and can’t use the same process - pretty logical really

Indeed that is the theory, but I have used the same photo for my last 3 passports since nobody has to certify it anymore. Obviously still looks like me, only less wrinkles ;-)

 

[Richard_C]

DVLA renewals are normally easy, but there is a new twist. When you applied for an old EU style passport you submitted your signature which was held by the passport office, printed on the passport and could be accessed by DVLA to print in your driving licence. The new proud to be British blue one (which we could have had all along, Denmark is an example) arrives unsigned and you sign it on receipt. That means the passport office doesn't have an electronic version of your signature, so DVLA can't access it, so you have to apply for a driving licence by post. If you had an old passport and renewed before it expired it might still work, or it might not. If you applied for a new blue one from the start it won't. This came as a surprise to DVLA, after all why should the Home Office tell the Dept of Transport that their previously linked systems would no longer work. DVLA are trying to find a workaround with no sense of urgency and are facing an unexpected surge in postal applications. Another Brexit bonus.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Over recent months I have applied for a new passport, replacement driving licence (change of address) and a further new driving licence (70 years young).

All done on line. Photos at Timpsons who know how to take an acceptable picture. All straightforward and quick despite some horror stories.

Holding on to paper licences, insisting on ones rights, denying ownership of a smartphone etc may be very principled - but simply wastes a lot of time and energy. A bit like wasting the time of a scam caller - any pleasure in so doing is offset by the knowledge I am wasting my time as well.