driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, DVLA revoked licence without informing me Options

[xone]

Hello all.

Please help, I've had my car impounded for the second time this weekend. To explain. I drive a taxi for a living, I had a minor altercation with the police about me parking/picking up a fare and they are reporting me for obstruction of a carriageway, I'm not fussed about this at the moment as what happend next took me completely by surprise. The police do their usual checks and it turns out that the police national computer reckons I had not renewed my licence after a ban nearly 8 years ago. I only had a motorcycle entitlement then and have since passed my car entitlement driving test which you have to provide the examiner a valid licence, anyway, the car gets seized.

Saturday Comes around and I go to the police station with my current licence and insurance which turns out to be valid and I get the car back after paying £150 for the release. I asked the chap behind the police station desk to double check that my licence was valid and had not expired, he confirmed and said I'd not be able to get the car back without one.

So, Saturday night turns up and I go out to work in my car/taxi and 20 mins into the shift I'm pulled again and now I'm told the points I recieved last night have been totted up and I'm currently on a ban, no fixed penalty and no court ruling so how is this??!! Traffic turns up and gives me the run down as the car is being impounded again, Aparently now my licence was revoked this year in March on the 9th!! I'm to contact DVLA on Monday and sort it out, I put it to him that at the police station today I'd asked if my licence was a fully valid and legal uk driving licence and I was told that yes it was, twice, I also put it to him that I was stopped a month before for sounding my horn after 11pm and again the usual checks were carried out and there was no revoked or expired licence. Traffic cop says computer says no! So now I'm really confused and scared as my mortage won't be paid soon enough!!

I must point out that in March I had some points endorsed to my licence which I had recieved back, I was told via a letter that if I didn't send the licence that the licence would be revoked but I did send the licence and I did recieve it back with the endorsment. Could it be possible that DVLA recieved my licence but it had been delayed in the post and they decided to revoke it. I've not had any letters form DVLA telling me that the licence has expired or that the licence had been revoked!!

Can anyone suggest anything??

This post has been edited by xone: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 - 11:04

[desktop_demon]

It would not be the first time that the Police National Computer database was holding incorrect data. Of course the obvious advice is wait until tomorrow and phone the DVLA to find out what the DVLA's records say. It does seem a strange sequence of events. As AF says above there does seem to be some confusion of the facts.

What it the points history of the OP's licence? I mean what points have been added to it and when. Maybe there was a totting up ban in force - but that would be a rare thing without the OP being informed. Or maybe there was a mistake made by the BiB typing in the details on the original presentation. Difficult to say on current information.

In general only a court of law can revoke a licence or issue points that might cause a licence to be revoked. So there must be an "audit trail" of points and judgements that either prove the mistake or prove the loss of licence. The DVLA (as far as I know) cannot just decide to revoke a licence itself without a court order.

As an "aside", it would be interesting to know what remedy might exist to this "mischief" of the BiB impounding a car for no real reason. The law seems to say that the car can be impounded if the BiB just suspect a licence does not cover the driver/vehicle. So when subsequently found to be wrong the BiB are still covered against a claim becuase they "did suspect" and that would seem to be all the law requires.

At the rate things are going in the UK, I wait for the time when the BiB can deploy Predator drones to catch the guilty. Just think of the savings in cost, time and court process!

This post has been edited by desktop_demon: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 - 12:06