Hi,
during the 90s i built up a enormous driving record, ranging from no insurance to driving whilst disqualified (no drink driving though), i just drove cars with no regard for the law. In 1998 i ended up with a driving ban of 15 years disqualification. I am now near 40 years old, settled down with wife and kids.
Last December 10 years of my ban was up and i have had no driving offences within that period, so i went to a solicitor and asked him could he ask the courts to have my ban reduced, as i am law obiding and i think i have learned my lesson, as 15 years was a very long time. My solicitor says theres a good possibility i should get my disqualification reduced.
Anyway, a week or two in february i couldnt get a hold of my solicitor, so i went ahead and phoned the DVLA and asked has my driving disqualification been reduced. They said that i could apply for my provissional license now as my driving ban has ended.
I thought brilliant, i applied for it, and got it, i bought a car, insured it, and i have put in for my theory test and due to sit it on 7th May.
Today i was pulled over by the police and they told me that their records show that i am a disqualified driver, i said that they were mistaking and that i got my license reduced, and that i am right for the road, as i has all the right documents and experienced driver beside me, they took the driving license number of my license and told me they will get back to me.
I phoned my solicitor and told him what happened, he said that there are barristers dealing with my case and that i havent got dates yet for my courts appearances and that i am still disqualified.
I have to go in to see the solicitor tomorrow, and see what mess i am in, he said that legelly i was driving whilst disqualified, and i could get convicted of it. And to stop driving straight away (which i did).
Now i'm worried if i do get convicted i could ruin any chances of getting my license back and also getting a further ban.
I'm planing on giving my solicitor my driving license and insurance tomorrow to prove to the court (if needs be) that i wont drive until everything is sorted.
Has anyone got themselves into a mess like this before, and if so what was the outcome?
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From what you say you are banned until 2012. Until sorted leave the car in the garage, suspend the Insurance. Consider refund on Excise Licence before month end to get max and DECLARE SORN.
Your Solicitor will have been preparing a submission to the Magistrates Court to have the ban reduced on the grounds of your good behaviour and it is only the Court that can do this, not DVLA. This can be done in your case 5 years after the ban was made (S 42(3)(c) RT Offenders Act 1988).
You have been misled by DVLA. Will they admit their mistake? Do you know who you spoke to? Was the call recorded?
Certainly when stopped you were disqualified, so further offences of No Insurance and possible offence of making a false statement to obtain Insurance (not declaring you were still disqualified?)
You will now be in the hands of Your brief/Bench to plead mitigation if you are charged with further offences.
dvd
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I don't know how the DVLA process for provisional licences work but I would have thought when you apply that they ask if you have ever had a licence before so they can check that bans are over etc? In this day and age I would expect them to be able to look you up on their systems - after all the Police were able to link you back to your ban in some way presumably via a DVLA lookup.
Presumably the fact they issued you with a licence corroborates your version of events that they advised that you were no longer banned.... after all if they hadn't issued a licence you wouldn't have been on the road again.
Of course with the benefit of hindsight you'd want written confirmation.
Good luck sorting this out - it does sound like you have been unlucky!
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Good solid advice above I would suggest.
However, I think you were a little naive in taking a call centre agent's word for it over the phone, I think most people would have waited to speak to their solicitor to confirm he had successfully processed the case to a conclusion before laying out a, I would suggest, not inconsiderable sum of money to get licence and buy, tax and insure a car.
Nevertheless that's what you did and I think that if you follow the advice above promptly you will at least have given yourself some reasonable mitigation for your brief to argue.
Also on the plus side of course is the fact that having received a ban of such a length, you must have been a pretty naughty boy, you have managed to keep clean for 11 years.
TBH, part of me wishes you well in getting it sorted as you'd shown, up to now, that you were able to stay clean and were on the way to showing that you had reformed. After all, if you'd received a prison sentence of 15 years there's no way you'd have had to serve 11 if you'd been good. The other part however thinks that you've shown that you can be a little reckless in your actions; perhaps the Wisdom of Solomon would say, 'OK, we would have given you your licence back now but you've been a bit silly and will have to wait another X months.'
I really hope you get it sorted without having too much more thrown at you but who knows....
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My symapthies to OP for being the victim of this conundrum! All calls are recorded for security and training purposes so if you know the date and time of your call they might be able to find it and clarify the situation. Cockle, with respect to OP, the reason he has kept clean for 10+ years is that he has been banned and not driving! I am sure the rest of his conduct has been just fine too!
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What has happened to the supervising driver who was with you at the time of your tug?
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Watchdog this week reported serious issues with DVLA.
Off topic - but it may help.
People are sending licences in to get details changed & receiving them back with groups and entitlements changed and in some cases totally removed.
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