issuing of cab drivers badge (stockport council)

[strategy]

sent my driving license and full payment to renew my badge.letter back saying that badge wasnt granted because address on licence is previous address and not my current one(although i have had no problems the previous 10 years,i just havnt changed the address to my current one).ok so i have to send my license off to dvla to show new address then badge will be granted.problem is i havnt got a birth cert. or passport to prove who i am,i need these because im changing from a paper licence to a new photocard one.all of this is going to take about 6 weeks which puts me on the dole for this amount of time.can anyone put me right on one point that is stated in an official dvla booklet(inf1d) that states "once we have received your valid application,the law allows you to drive before the licence arrives as long as;you have held a gb licence issued since 1 jan 1976."
should the council issue my badge on these grounds.i must also add that although my badge was refused,payment has been taken for the cost of the badge(�52)

[kempie]

I'm not sure you should be looking to the law to remedy your situation after having flouted it in regard of the legal requirement to notify DVLA of a change of address. The law may allow you to drive ahead of you physically receiving the licence but the local authority appears to require submission of the physical licence (with correct details) to issue the badge. Presumably this is part of their stated policy that drivers be "continuously checked for compliance with all the rules, regulations and conditions of license."

http://www.stockport.gov.uk/content/business/l icensing/taxipack4?a=5441

[loonytunes]

The Council is prevented by law from issuing (or renewing) a drivers' licence unless the applicant can be shown to be a "fit and proper person". They clearly cannot come to that view in view of your inaction in respect of a legal requirement. Instead of using your efforts to try to show that the Council is wrong, why not try to sort these things out well in advance of them becoming a problem. I am surprised that you have placed such a low priority on what you know to be necessary to protect your livelihood. As a council licensing lawyer, I am aware that a large number of taxi drivers keep an old copy of their driving licence which they have declared to be lost in order to obtain another one. If they obtain driving convictions or are disqualified through, eg. drink driving, they just show the old "clean" one to the Council to pull the wool over their eyes. One taxi driver in my area has received 19 duplicate licences in 10 years. The Council is just requiring you to prove that you have recently had your details updated by DVLA to ensure that you are not pulling the same trick..

[strategy]

thanks for the input ,but ive been a cab driver for 21 years.they know everything there is to know about me.ive never put a foot wrong and it dosnt help me in my situation.the head of licencing knows me and knows there isnt any wool after all these years.its just all red tape dont you think.

[kempie]

"I've never put a foot wrong"

Your neglect in notifying the DVLA of your change of address is a major case of wrong-footedness. It is the consequence of this and nothing else which has put you in the situation you now face.

Why should Stockport Council pull you out of a hole you dug for yourself by breaking their own rules?