The seven-month extension does not apply to drivers who are renewing their entitlement to drive - this means the over-70s are excluded from the seven-month extension. The extension only applies to the photocard, which must be renewed every ten years. This means that if a driver’s entitlement to drive is due to expire and they wish to continue to hold a valid licence, they will need to renew this entitlement in the normal way: www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/coronavirus/2020-06/dvla.../

I'm afraid we haven't had any luck with getting a reply from the DVLA either. Therefore, we can't offer any advice unfortunately. It's a very frustrating situation and we've had a multitude of similar reports from other readers. Our hope is that as lockdown eases, and the DVLA have more staff in and start working through the backlog of applications they've got, the delays will become less severe.