How to make a complaint about the DVLA medical assessment process

A surprise for christmas from the DVLA

Convicted Driver Insurance

rufus

Established Member
I hope you have all had a better Christmas than myself,

On Christmas eve I finally got a letter from the DVLA with their decision on the return of my license, to my shock and horror they have decided that I can only have it back after abstinence of 1 year with proof due to medical info received of alcohol dependence in the last 12 months

This is on top of my original 14 month ban which I have now served plus an extra 2 months waiting for them to make a decision plus the fact I had a CDT of only 1% in the HRO medical. I have been in touch with my GP and it appears they have used old information as the form the GP received was for the last 3 years and not for the last 12 months and he also made a note on this form of much improved liver function test results, which I thought would help my case.

How do I go about appealing this , would I need a solicitor to get involved
 
If you are saying that your doctor will confirm that you have not been alcohol dependent in the past 12 months then you should ask him to write a letter to that effect, clarifying what was put in the form he sent back to DVLA.
Otherwise your only appeal option is to go to the Magistrates court to ask them to overturn the DVLA decision, but you would still want evidence from your doctor and I would strongly suggest that you also engage a solicitor to do this for you. Appeals like that are rare and I have to say that the magistrates are likely to side with DVLA. There is also the risk that if you lose, DVLA May try to claim their costs of defending your appeal from you.
 
I spoke to my GP today and he confirmed the information he supplied related to the last 3 years as that was what was asked for and it is a legal document, not just for the last 12 months as they have stated. In reality how would he know, he is only reporting what I have told him.
I only went to see him as I found out from this site that they may require some sort of proof and thats why I got another liver function test. and reported I was in a much better place and wanted to come off my anti depressants.
At no time have they ever stated that I needed to be alcohol free for 1 year before I could have my license back or indeed that I required tests to prove this, only that I needed to take a HRO medical with CDT blood test (which I passed)

These DVLA people a joke - tell us what you require from the start not after the ban has ended
 
This is the question the your doctor will have been asked to reply to:

“Is there a history or evidence of alcohol misuse or alcohol dependence in the past 3 years?”

Then if the answer is YES then he is asked to clarify this at the end of the questionnaire.
It may be that he did not clarify it well enough, which is why I am suggesting that you ask him to write a letter for you stating (if true) “there is no evidence of alcohol dependency in the past 12 months (or longer would be better), send this to DVLA and ask them to reconsider their decision, and issue you with a 1 year licence at least, especially as your request is supported by a CDT result of 1.0

DVLA do not, and never have, require someone to be alcohol free for 12 months, they require someone to be free from alcohol misuse for 6 months or alcohol dependency for 12 months.

For problem drinkers alcohol abstenence might be best because one drink leads to many more.....
 
This is a nightmare - I live in a rural location with no public transport, an elderly sick mother 15 miles away , 5 miles from the nearest shops, 15 miles from work and I am sick of being a burden on everyone when I need to go anywhere or see anyone and I am slowly being isolated.

I just wanted my independence returned after I have served my ban, this extra 12 months will also invalidate the 10 years no claims bonus I have built up so it will be back to square one - no ncb and a dr30 to boot

Merry christmas DVLA
 
rufus said:
This is a nightmare - I live in a rural location with no public transport, an elderly sick mother 15 miles away , 5 miles from the nearest shops, 15 miles from work and I am sick of being a burden on everyone when I need to go anywhere or see anyone and I am slowly being isolated.

I just wanted my independence returned after I have served my ban, this extra 12 months will also invalidate the 10 years no claims bonus I have built up so it will be back to square one - no ncb and a dr30 to boot

Merry christmas DVLA
Click to expand...
Rufus have you an HGV or PCV on your licence from past
 
Rufus

I do empathise with your situation, also living in a rural location, with a sick mother I am trying to look after.

The magistrates looked favourably on me when I said I was getting isolated. I wanted to join a carers group so I suggest getting as much information as possible. I got bus timetables, GP reports and taxi recites all to show I was trying. I also attended each and every alcohol group going (some better than others I must admit).

They gave me my licence back early, I was trying to get things back into normal, and I also did a lot of voluntary work so do keep trying.

Thanks
Techra
 
craig121 said:
Rufus have you an HGV or PCV on your licence from past
Click to expand...

I have , sorry had, an old style paper licence passed in 1988 (updated to a credit card one) seem to think there are extra classes of vehicle on this (perhaps a small psv) but didnt take a copy so dont know exactly - I have never sat a PSV or HGV test if thats any help
 
That's fine, older licences had the entitlement to drive minibuses included, newer ones not.

My advice, as Price says, is informally appeal it with the DVLA. The first step would be to get the key information from your GP. The ones you need most are your Summary Care Record, which shows all your consultations and diagnoses over the last three years, and significant ones from the whole of your life.

You also need the questionnaire your GP sent to the DVLA.

Technically you need to request them via GDPR and they need to provide them within 30 days, but if you explain the urgency hopefully they will be more flexible.

With that you need to build a case that you meet the DVLA criteria around misuse or dependence

My best guess, looking at other cases, is that the DVLA have decided you are/were dependent on alcohol and their criteria then seem to be a year of abstinence and a CDT test of 0.9% or less. However, as they don't publish their criteria you will need to go on the information you have from your GP.
 
techra said:
Rufus

I do empathise with your situation, also living in a rural location, with a sick mother I am trying to look after.

The magistrates looked favourably on me when I said I was getting isolated. I wanted to join a carers group so I suggest getting as much information as possible. I got bus timetables, GP reports and taxi recites all to show I was trying. I also attended each and every alcohol group going (some better than others I must admit).

They gave me my licence back early, I was trying to get things back into normal, and I also did a lot of voluntary work so do keep trying.

Thanks
Techra
Click to expand...

Thanks, I know I am not the only person in this situation and others will be along to say "well you shouldnt have done it then!" but it doesnt stop the isolation.
I have been to see a councillor and had Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) hence why I am in a better position these days
 
Tipsy - I have asked the GP for a copy of the form he filled out for the DVLA and unfortunately he hasnt took one!!!
I have asked him to provide a covering letter to confirm I am not alcohol dependant these past 12 months , to include my CDT % and the government guidelines and also test results I have asked him to take during this time of liver function test ( which the DVLA do regard as proof anyway but its all the GP was able to provide)
the Cognitive behavioural therapy that I took was actually for depression but the drinking was all related to that anyway
 
I have requested the GPs form from the DVLA or the medical info that has stated I am still dependant
 
just out of interest tipsy where do you get the figure of 0.9% for the CDT test only ever found this info relating to the CDT test

The Secretary of State’s Honorary Medical Advisory Panel has now decided that use of the CDT (Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin) biomarker will now be used as the sole test for assessing the harmful use of alcohol for high risk offenders.

The CDT test results will operate using a traffic light system of green, amber and red which will correspond to a range of %CDT cut off levels for licensing purposes.

GREEN – %CDT < 2.2% – A person whose CDT level falls within this range is identified as consuming little or no alcohol and is compatible for licensing.

AMBER – %CDT = 2.3 – 2.9% – A person whose CDT levels fall within this range is identified as someone who may drink to excess or binge drinks regularly and will trigger further enquiries with that person’s general practitioner (GP) before a licensing decision is made.

RED – %CDT > 3% – A person whose CDT levels fall within this range is identified as someone who is dependent on alcohol and a driving licence will be refused.
 
Hi Rufus,

Do those CDT levels and licensing decisions apply to non HRO's and motorists who have a clean licence with
no drink driving convictions?
To be more specific, I drink on a regular basis and may well have CDT levels above 2.3%.
However, I never drink and drive and hold a clean licence.
Should I undergo a general medical and blood test that showed my CDT levels to be high, would I automatically
have my driving licence revoked?
 
Rufus,
Your list is correct for high risk offenders. Your problem is that they seem to have altered your category to “medical refusal for alcohol dependence” which requires evidence of being free from dependence for 12 months. That then seems to be down to their opinion, which is not fixed.........
 
Hi Rufus,

The 1.0% figure is from anecdotal observation over the years that this seems to be the point on CDT tests those with alcohol dependence start to run into issues.

The 2.2% figure you quote is for all HRO assessments. My best guess is they would use a lower figure for those with suspected alcohol dependence because the requirement - a years abstinence - is more stringent.

If you can't get a copy of the questionnaire from your GP, which is frankly shambolic, all correspondence should be on your medical record - then I think it would be wise to get a copy from the DVLA via GDPR before informally appealing, although I appreciate the delay will be grating. Relying on your GPs recollection of an unremarkable piece of administration, and you don't want to use your shot appealing only to find out the GP has actually written something totally different.

Either way the whole lot is deeply unsatisfactory and unfair on you
 
My problem with all of this process is they dont tell you what is required at the time of the ban, you only find out about all of this at the end of your ban - how can they revoke somebodies licence for not adhering to a process they dont inform you about - this is f.ing madness
 
PS tipsy - already ahead of you, I have asked DVLA for the medical info supplied - as the GP said he didnt have a copy he just filled it in with the info on my records
 
Agree with you, the process is a mess.

I think there should be a provision that if you apply in good time and they are still waiting on information then you should be allowed to drive, after all, it's not your fault the DVLA and doctors are slow.

Unfortunately as you probably know you used to be able to drive whilst waiting for your application to be processed like all other medical conditions but people took the mick by applying at the last minute then dragging out the application. Unfortunately the minority ruin it for everyone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top