Spitting mad at the DSA!

GOOD LUCK Cadenza, crossing everything for you. Are you taking an auto or manual test?

manual.  I actually drove a manual in the states and prefer it to automatic.  I'm a bit of a control freak.

Best of luck!

I'm going to raise some cain and see if it does any good.  They had no way of knowing that my circumstances were different than anyone else.  I'm not getting my hopes up, but my driving instructor was encouraging that they should be able to do something.  I'm not holding my breath.

Unfortunately, it isn't a matter of just needing to get to the office.  I work in peoples homes around South Wales providing crisis intervention services.  It is a job requirement for me to have an active license.  They've been okay with me using the US one knowing my UK one was coming.  We'll see what happens.

Condenza get in contact with your Member of Parliment.

I wouldn't dot hat just yet, I'd do a standard letter of complaint to the DSA first.

Vicky

Good Luck Cadenza! Remember the over the shoulder blind spot checks, the right mirror before turning right, Left mirror before turning left, rear view mirror before slowing down or speeding up, using the emergency break at any stop where you have time to, tucking in between cars on your side if oncoming traffic appears, and no "crossing over" of hands -- i.e. neither hand goes past 6 or 12 on the steering wheel clock positions. And, oh yeah right, just relax! Ha ha ha...

I wouldn't dot hat just yet, I'd do a standard letter of complaint to the DSA first.

Vicky

IMO Cadenza has some responsibility in this as well.  She really shouldn't have waited so late to schedule her exam, especially because she needs to drive for her job.  She had a year to prepare for it.  What if she didn't pass the first time?  The examiner being ill is a valid reason and as the OP said, they were understanding when she contacted them.   

I'm really not trying to upset anyone, I just don't understand why she should complain.

IMO Cadenza has some responsibility in this as well.  She really shouldn't have waited so late to schedule her exam, especially because she needs to drive for her job.  She had a year to prepare for it.  What if she didn't pass the first time?  The examiner being ill is a valid reason and as the OP said, they were understanding when she contacted them.   

I'm really not trying to upset anyone, I just don't understand why she should complain.

   I didn't want to be the first to say any of that, but I agree. 

IMO Cadenza has some responsibility in this as well.  She really shouldn't have waited so late to schedule her exam, especially because she needs to drive for her job.  She had a year to prepare for it.  What if she didn't pass the first time?  The examiner being ill is a valid reason and as the OP said, they were understanding when she contacted them.   

I'm really not trying to upset anyone, I just don't understand why she should complain.

I wonder if it is because in the States it doesn't take very long to get a license compared
to the UK. I was really surprised how long the process was. I left mine to the last minute and was shocked to find the waiting times for the testing center. ( theory and practical) I wished I had an EU license so I could have just exchanged it.

No need to blame the OP.  Blame the process.  Every process it seems is long and complicated for the simplest things in the UK.  I'm not yet again bashing the UK, some things should be made long and complicated.  Sometimes I just think they want to collect more money from us, just another form of taxation.

I'm not blaming Cadenza (believe me, I was spitting mad at my instructor, the DVLA, the theory test, and the practical test at various points of the process!  ) -- I'm just thinking that that making a complaint won't accomplish anything.  It's the driver's responsibility to ensure that they've procured a full UK license before the end of the one-year grace period and it's not up to a particular testing centre to ensure that have an appointment slot available to the driver.  I would imagine the DSA's response to a complaint would be something along the lines, "We're really sorry, but you can go to another testing centre or keep checking for cancellations".  They don't care that a driver needs a full license for their job by a particular date and, as Yael said, there's no guarantee that the test will be passed on the first try, so practical tests should be booked far enough in advance to allow extra time for taking the test again.

Every process it seems is long and complicated for the simplest things in the UK.  I'm not yet again bashing the UK, some things should be made long and complicated.

Having only recently obtained my UK license, I think it's great that the process is long and complicated.  I like knowing that there's a strict standard of competence required before drivers are allowed on the road over here.  When I got my license back in NC, the only requirements were 30 hours of classroom-based driver's ed and 6 hours behind the wheel with an instructor.  Looking back, that seems insane!

Sometimes I just think they want to collect more money from us, just another form of taxation.

So the lessons, license, and tests should be free? 

 

Okay, I spent a ridiculous amount of time composing a response to any that would assume I had just procrastinated something so important to me, but decided to save you from my angry rambling.  This is not the case at all, and it is somewhat unfair to make that judgement without knowing any of the circumstances.

I haven't had the job all year and thought I'd function okay without a car.  There were very valid reasons, including the death of a beloved parent, to hang on to my passport for a while, but once I was being considered for the job this summer I started working in force and immediately to get my driving license.  I didn't book at my local test centre because this one had more openings for earlier and it looked easier to get in there.

I DID give it enough time (although I recognize it was tight) and have worked consistently to prepare in more ways than anyone I know, but there have been a series of other errors and miscalculations that prolonged the process.  I haven't told you about a series of DSA computer errors that kept locking out my payments from the DSA system for some unexplained reason, forcing me to lose multiple dates I had reserved to take the practical test in November and keeping me from rebooking until they sorted it out.  I haven't even complained about the fact that it took months just to get a date for the theory test, much less the practical exam (and I did check in all the testing centres in my region).  I had given them a grain of salt as a bureaucratic body that I expect to be a pain in the a*se and made things work with my employer for this month, but when I got the letter telling me willy-nilly that I was going to be delayed until mid-February, I just lost it.

Today didn't help.  I had an extra lesson and my driving instructor asked what they had told me.  I replied that the examiner had gone on sick leave the day that my letter was dated and that they were sorry, my instructor was incensed.  Turns out there are only two examiners in the area and he knew for a fact that the examiner has been off ill for months and not the last week as I was told.  They know full well that they don't have the openings, but are scheduling them anyway hoping they will be able to get someone to fill in.  He has had them repeatedly cancel with only 2-3 days notice on multiple other students and their test dates are pushed back at least a month each time, and he is only one instructor of many. One of his students had it happen two booked tests in a row.  He made it clear that they openly lied to me about the situation and only try to fix the problems they are causing if people make a fuss about it.

My complaint letter to the DSA just got a bit more in-depth.  I had calmed down significantly when I heard it was due to illness that started the day I was sent my letter, but I have been preparing since last summer and now I feel like they are playing with my emotions and not caring a bit about it.  Thank heavens there was a cancellation.  Now I'm curious to see if I get another letter in two days telling me someone just got ill again.