Car hire fears on licence change

VISITORS hiring a car in France and Britain could face problems this summer as the UK DVLA is scrapping the paper counterpart of driving licences from June 8.

Drivers will be expected to get an online code – valid for just 72 hours – before hiring a vehicle and give the hire company the code plus their plastic card licence.

The DVLA says from June 8 the paper counterpart of the photocard licence will have no legal value.

A spokesman said it had been working with car hire companies and fleet management companies through the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) to make them aware of the change and “does not expect any problems” when it comes into effect in six weeks.

However, the website to be used to get online codes is not yet online although licence details can be checked at View-driving-licence.

The change, which was originally announced as part of a “purge on red tape” by then UK transport minister Justine Greening in 2011, has not been widely publicised since a second announcement in December last year.

Details of drivers’ endorsements and bans – the main detail that car hire companies check on the paper licence – will be held on a new internet service called Share My Driving Licence and this can be accessed by the hire firm by using the last eight digits of the driving licence plus the online code.

When the change comes into effect drivers must get a code online from View-driving-licence (and, later, UK identity verification site GOV.UK Verify) before the hire starts and do so using their driving licence number, National Insurance number plus the postcode on the photocard.

If the driver does not have a code or it is out of date the hire company can call the DVLA’s helpline – a premium rate number that is only open from 8.00-19.00 Monday-Friday and 8.30-14.00 on Saturday – for information and charge this to the customer.

This morning the DVLA press office said the system will be widely publicised after the General Election as government departments are restricted in what they can do in the run up to the vote.

It added that drivers who have a problem can get a new code at any time after the system comes into force; even late at night. They can get up to five codes in 24 hours. It has no plans to extend the helpline hours.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said they had long called for scrapping the paper counterpart but he feared there had not been enough publicity about the change. He had raised these doubts with the DVLA CEO and been told that it had notified European counterparts and government agencies.

However, he said that previous changes such as the recent scrapping of the tax disc on cars had led to problems for drivers and he had “significant doubts about how confident we would be about a change that involved other European countries and globally”.

The AA advises drivers, particularly those going abroad to hire a car or driving abroad, to take their paper counterpart with them as some car rental companies or traffic police may not be aware of the changes. Drivers are also advised to take a print-out of their DVLA driving record.

Car hire company Europcar said this morning: “Europcar understands the discussions between the DVLA and BVRLA have just concluded and therefore, it will be reviewing all the options to ensure that its customers can enjoy the same fast and easy service, whether they are hiring a vehicle overseas or in the UK. Europcar will also make sure all its customers are kept fully informed during the run-up to the change.”

Hertz directeur de la communication André Gallin has asked its UK counterparts for information on the changes.

Avis-Budget is "working with the BVRLA and DVLA to find a solution that will allow our customers to have their licence checked with minimal disruption".
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