I’ve been working at John Lewis, as you know, for about 5 months now. It’s ok, the money is good (14.34ph) 11 hours guaranteed, 4 days a week (sometimes) but the job is proper hard graft.
And, being agency, I’ve lost a load of days just recently.
The bus stop where I go in the morning is right next to an Ind estate. At least 3 different companies are sending concrete out of it and, watching these lorries go by, I got to thinking…
I used to do the concrete, I loved that job, I know it inside out, I should be doing that job!
So, here’s my problem…
DVLA refused to re-instate my old Class 2 saying that they had no record of me passing the test in 76.
If I wanted my licence back it was up to me to prove that I had, indeed, passed my test in 76.
I proved it to them, with an army document, and they now accept that I did pass my test in 76 and I have an entitlement to Cat C.
But they are refusing to reinstate my entitlement because I failed to swap my old style licence for the new style one in 86.
A lawyer relative called BS on that, misuse of powers or something,and told me to fight it and that, if it went to court I would, 99 per cent, win.
THEN I got the job at JL. Good money etc. I stopped fighting DVLA.
NOW, I’m getting a bit weary of ■■■■■■■ stuff up and down stairs for unappreciative people. Gotta say, the early to mid 20s are the worst, entitled ■■■■■■■■■
So I looked online for free, professional advice. My advice? Don’t bother.
What I’m heading towards in this rambling pile of ■■■■■ is…Has anyone got a recommendation for a motoring lawyer that doesn’t cost a fortune? I’ve gone as far as I can with the thing and need professional advice and representation.
DVLA can bite the big one, I want my licence back!
rocketsquadron:
Dare I say it, a Union.
Free legal advice, perhaps the URTU.
Thanks
Could you expand on that a bit, please?
I’ve been out of the loop for over 30 years, only been driving my sporty little 7.5t for 6 months, so I’m completely stumped by Acronyms and that. Thanks.
Edit, ok, stand down, I found URTU. Will ring em in the morning. Thanks
Ok so you’ve found who they are etc. Aye call them and try your luck. May have to join which is a monthly fee but could be worth it in the long run. If successful you can always cancel membership.
GMB is also another union but more general employment based. URTU driving/driver oriented.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Nah…don’t bother with unions mate, have you not read the posts on here?
They should be avoided at all costs, and are the anti Christ of workers and drivers…apparentlly.
Just ask the guys on here who work for Union recognised firms, they’ll tell you…You know, the ones that are on much better pay and t.s and c.s than the likes of you and me.
Give URTU a bell as said, join it and tell them you’re predicament.
I’ve had good useful advice in the past, and they will more than likely act for you.
rocketsquadron:
Ok so you’ve found who they are etc. Aye call them and try your luck. May have to join which is a monthly fee but could be worth it in the long run. If successful you can always cancel membership.
GMB is also another union but more general employment based. URTU driving/driver oriented.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Not in URTU but would they help with a problem that occured before you join? I suspect not, any more than a breakdown company would if you joined when you’ve already conked out.
robroy:
Give URTU a bell as said, join it and tell them you’re predicament.
I’ve had good useful advice in the past, and they will more than likely act for you.
Would they…
Not have some sort of minimum membership before you can start claiming benefits? In similar fsahion to the AA/RAC who won’t come out and rescue you within 24 hours of joining because people who sign up two minutes after they’ve broken down fully expecting recovery.
Same but different.
All the best in your claim for your license back as I’m trying to get two bikes registered from the BFG DVLO system onto the DVLA system. Get told to do something then DVLA says it’s wrong. Fingers crossed for the future.
For the relatively small cost of the court fee, it’s got to be worth going it alone. Say your thing, show your Army document etc, DVLA will be very hard pressed to counter it. The odds are though that as soon as the court paperwork arrives in Swansea and they realise how much of a pain it will be to deal with, someone will say “Oh FFS, just give him the licence”.
robroy:
Give URTU a bell as said, join it and tell them you’re predicament.
I’ve had good useful advice in the past, and they will more than likely act for you.
Would they…
Not have some sort of minimum membership before you can start claiming benefits? In similar fsahion to the AA/RAC who won’t come out and rescue you within 24 hours of joining because people who sign up two minutes after they’ve broken down fully expecting recovery.
Ok so you’re fed up with the current job, but what about joining the union now, sticking it out for a couple of months and then contacting Swansea again, get the refusal letter from them and only then approach the union for help?
You’ve said you’ve got a lawyer relative, can they not represent you at “mates rates”?
I’ve spent far too much time in recent years fighting a court case, it’s not something I’d want to have to do again in a hurry Any court case is a gamble, it all depends on how much you think the gamble is worth. From my recent experience, here’s some figures to mull over:
If you’re just going to represent yourself then you’ve only the court fees to worry about (somewhere between £200 to £250 from my recent experience), so financially that’s worth a go.
If you have to start hiring a solicitor, then you’ll be looking at £300 to £500 just for them to represent you for one day, plus the court fees, so we’'re looking at maybe £750 with no guarantee of success.
And of course there’s nothing to say the court won’t adjourn it until later (they do that at the drop of a hat IME) which means more fees for your legal rep, now we’re looking at maybe £1250 with no guarantee of winning. If that happens, is it worth carrying on? Because by that point it would have been about the same price to do a regular training course.
My advice and honest opinion - given I like Stevie and consider him one of my internet mates.
Is to work for a week - and call a training company who use small vehicles to do class 2. You won’t need a full course if you have been driving puddle jumpers full time for a decent amount of time. And you will ■■■■ the test.
You can win a battle and lose a war. I put a value on my time and I put a value on my health (including mental health). It would hurt me to ‘give up’. But it would hurt me more to spend a huge amount of time and energy to win when ultimately I knew I’d lost overall.
I would be willing to bet Mr Smythe would be willing to offer a deal to an experienced puddle jumper and class 2 driver to get back what was stolen from him. Plus you’d get a day or two’s cpc thrown in which saves you sitting in a classroom with smelly fat blokes.
Also save up and do class 1. Once you are used to a ‘hard day’ meaning rolling a few cages off a trailer onto a dock leveller you will wonder why you ever did the heavy lifting and carrying.
