Absolutely fuming with renewing driving license.

[Gettingbysomehow]

AIBU?
Fucking government online licence renewing site won't accept my photo because I've lost 5 stone and my face is thinner than the rest of my IDs. I assume that's what it is they refuse to tell you and after three attempts you are out.
I have to do it online because I've had major surgery and can't drive yet.
I'll lose my job if I go back without a driving license - it's compulsory.
The nearest post office to me that does it is 10 miles away in a warren of streets with no parking and there is literally nobody to take me.
What the fuck am I supposed to do then?
Excuse the swearing I'm just so stressed.
I've just had equal shit applying for my blue badge and that's going to take 3 months to process.
I'm trying to get better so I can return to work and it's just stress and more stress.

I opted for this. Got a new licence in a week. Didn't have go go anywhere

the op can't drive anywhere, so that is not an option.

But if it was a case of losing my job or paying £100 - id pay the £100

But in the uk peoples driving licences run over all the time and no-one checks

If you need to drive for your job, you'll not be able to go back to work until you can drive and would you be able to use a bus before you can drive and return to work?

could you put something on your local Facebook that you need a lift to that town and if anyone is going that way could they take you with them? Thats what people on our local Facebook do - it saves traffic and helps out getting to further places away

EDIT: it had dropped the post I quoted, must have cross posted with MN deleting all their posts!

Then read her posts & try thinking about how frustrating (worrying & scary) it must be, to be her right now.

its all very easy when you're well to be 'just do this or that'. 🙄🙇🏻‍♀️

Do you have somewhere that can take the photo for you locally? They charge about £5 and make sure it is a valid picture. Just in case there's another reason the photo isn't valid.

Just looked at mine, it says 4a 03.08.2015; 4b 02.08.2025. That means I need to do mine doesn’t it?!

Had completely forgotten about this. Thank you OP.

I 'think' she needs to drive FOR her job. Not TO her job. Nurse in the commmnity or such like. Could be wrong, but it's how it reads to me, with driving being compulsory.

I still have my paper licence but I think it's shocking that you have to have a passport to renew online at a cheaper price. If I needed to change to a photo licence, doubtful bar a big lottery win, I'd have to buy a passport as part of the identification process even though I have no intention of going abroad any time soon. I feel this is discriminatory to the elderly, disabled, people of limited means and those who don't want to travel abroad.

If you have ever had a photo driving licence then the photocard IS the driving licence. The only paper licences which are still valid are the ones where the holder has never had a photo driving licence and these expire when the holder becomes 70.

I would say you don’t need your licence back for it to be valid. I was late renewing mine but after I sent it away using paper form it was showing as valid three days after it was received by DVLA by using the online check code.

My work were happy to accept that I was able to drive based on this and then I sent copy of card after it arrived.

Yup that's right. I could be working anywhere in the county at the last minute. Not nursing any more, I couldn't deal with that these days.
Anyway I've booked tomorrow off as annual leave and I'm getting a taxi up to the post office so it's sorted.
I'm just mentally and physically done in at the moment trying to keep all the balls in the air. It just makes every simple task monumental.
Even stuff like food delivery. They won't bring the food in the house any more I have to tell them to dump it all out into my hallway and transfer it all one by one into a wheeled crate with a helping hand. It takes me hours. The kitchen is literally by the front door.

@SirRaymondClench i think it needs modernising because the websites provide incorrect information, the main branch’s in my experience are difficult to get to. Every task the workers do is just processy and lengthy. It’s not convenient in the slightest. No business could survive being so user unfriendly.

Ocado will still bring shopping into the house.

@Gettingbysomehow the big issue why this is stressing you is I'll lose my job if I go back without a driving license - it's compulsory. but also you can't drive yet. So any work that requires you to drive also cannot be done yet.

Once you are able to drive, getting this sorted will be easier. Until you are able to drive, having a driving licence isn't actually needed. After your licence has expired it is legal to drive to make a journey to renew it, and it is legal to drive while your application is being processed so long as you held a valid licence before, which you did. So you will bot be committing any offence if you allow your licence expiry date to pass and then when you are cleared to drive, your first journey is to drive to a postoffice that can do renewals and has available parking.

If necessary you may need to explain this plan to your employer's HR. If there is any kind of disciplinary action connected with this, it would be disability discrimination

There is something up with the new system, I tried renew my licence online - it failed. I had no issues ten years ago.

This is what I did to it let me use passport photo

Can you just use an older photo with more weight in your face?

OP it sounds like more than anything you need some help.
Is there a companion service near you? My aunt works for one, clients pay however much per hour for however many appts in the week to help with shopping, visits, to go out, stuff like this.

I'm sorry you're going through this and I hope you recover from your surgery soon.

no because the OP's face is much thinner now

It doesn’t actually matter for biometric passports. They don’t go on how fat you are but things like distance between the pupils.

I very much doubt it's to do with the picture.
I've read of people having an issue with the online system accepting an application that's linked to the new passports that dont have your signature digitally printed in them.

Hope you get it sorted @Gettingbysomehow as its frustrating when the online services don't work for you.

I’m assuming that’s in place as people’s appearances can change in 10 years. A tad ironic then that the system doesn’t allow for changes of appearance.

@Gettingbysomehow you sound so overwhelmed. It must be really hard for you as you are ,and have been, dealing with so much. Too much!

Having had periods of being incapacitated and on crutches I know how bloody exhausting and awkward general living can be.

From the tone of your messages I'm sensing that you may be at the 'straw that broke the camels back' point. Where something like this (which is shitty and irritating) just becomes a huge issue that makes you sit and just cry - where usually you would cope and just deal with it.

Is there any way that you can get some temporary local help ? Can you further delay going back to work so that you can build up mental and physical strength a bit more ?

My personal experience is that if you rush going back to work you are more likely to boomerang back to sick leave.

Have a cuppa, sit and a think. Is there anyone you can ask for help? Asking for help is hard, especially when you don't usually ask! But people like to help (As long as you don't take this piss).

Sometimes women are our own worst enemy. I'm betting that you are proving hard - to yourself and ex - that you can cope, that you are strong , that you can do this all on your own. That you're superwoman. Maybe you are, but give yourself a break.

I may be projecting/ seeing things that aren't there. If I am, apologies. But having been in that place I know how hard it was to recognise and do the things that would help in the long term.

Take care. X

It's a shame ( but totally understandable) that you can't nurse anymore.

have you phoned the PO to make sure they can do what you need & double check the opening hours (for understandable personal reasons) ours has to keep cutting/changing the opening hours & she can no longer do all the services she used to, but also can't/doesn't update the list of services she can do.

why won't they bring your shopping in anymore? I understand it's store dependent & they are NOT all created equally!! But Tesco are brilliant for me. They bring the crates into the kitchen & largely unload the items onto my work surface.

there's lots I can't do, since my stroke, but lots I can do. I wish I lived near you & could help you out. It's bloody tough living alone & going through so much shit 🤗

im in a different work situation as i was made redundant before my stroke, so im having to look for work. Its good theres no external pressure, but at the same time theres a lot of self pressures redundancy money is only going to last so long.

solidarity, if no actual help xx

Why is it discriminatory against the elderly or disabled?

I had similar, although I didn't have to queue. I got to the end of the online form and it said it couldn't verify me, I was advised to try a different device and email address, same fail.

It was also my third Post Office!