Taxi driver drove without valid licence or insurance for four years because of HMCTS mistake

What happened

In early 2009 Mr D was convicted of a motoring offence. The court ordered three points to be added to his licence. After the court hearing, Mr D gave his licence to HM Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the three points were added to his licence by hand.

However, HMCTS incorrectly passed on information through its electronic system to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that Mr D's licence had not been updated with the points. When it received this incorrect information, DVLA's computer system automatically sent a letter out to Mr D asking him to return the licence so that it could be updated with the points. The letter said the licence would be revoked if not returned. DVLA did not hear from Mr D so it automatically issued a reminder one month later. A month after that, Mr D's driving licence was automatically revoked.

DVLA did not have to tell Mr D his licence had been revoked so it was only when the police stopped him for the routine check in 2013 that Mr D found this out.

Mr D contacted DVLA straight away and sent a faxed copy of his licence. The licence showed the three points had been added to the licence and DVLA reinstated Mr D's entitlement to drive the same day.

What we found

We upheld the complaint about HMCTS but not about DVLA. HMCTS had updated Mr D's licence but failed to tell DVLA that it had done so. We could not find out why this mistake happened as the court file had been destroyed. Nevertheless, HMCTS should have told DVLA the licence had been updated manually and the failure to complete this crucial part of the licence endorsement process was a serious failing.

HMCTS' mistake was the catalyst for DVLA's subsequent actions and we were satisfied that DVLA acted appropriately in response to the information it received from HMCTS. DVLA automatically sent letters to Mr D asking him to return his licence for endorsement, but Mr D did not receive them although there is evidence that the letters were sent to him.

After the police told him his licence had been revoked, Mr D contacted DVLA and it acted quickly. It reinstated Mr D's entitlement to drive as soon as it received the fax of his driving licence showing it had been endorsed by the HMCTS.

HMCTS' error could potentially have had disastrous consequences for Mr D who unknowingly had been driving his taxi without a valid licence or insurance. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, but HMCTS' error caused him unnecessary inconvenience in trying to put the situation right.

Putting it right

HMCTS accepted our recommendation and apologised to Mr D for its mistake and for the inconvenience and distress this caused him.