Over 70’s Driver’s Licence Application

This isn’t a scam, as such, more a word of caution.  It was brought to my attention yesterday  by a client who was nearly taken in but realised in time that he was being asked to pay for something that should be free.

My client is over 70 and in the UK that means you need to renew  your driving licence every 3 years.  Here’s a quote from the UK government website “Renew your driving licence online with DVLA for free if you’re 70 or over ” – https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence-at-70

My client did an internet search and found this website https://licenceportal.org/ where he clicked on the link inviting him to renew his licence if he is over 70

The website asks you to set up an account – so I did, using an email address that I  used only for online scams.  Once you are logged into the site you are asked for all of your personal details and licence details and then, at the bottom of the form, you are asked to pay by credit card.

In their terms they say that the cost for renewing an over 70’s licence is £40 + VAT.

So – be warned.  Renewing your licence is free.  There is no need to use a paid, online service.

To be fair, in small print at the bottom of the page the site does state (in poor, non grammatical English) “this is a commercial website to apply Driver Licence through Government Website, you will be charged a fee. To process your application, we will charge a service fee for providing consultancy, submitting applications and informing the status and results.”

There are also links to the government website which have been deliberately made to be almost invisible (blue on a dark grey background).