Fleet managers need to check their drivers’ licences after they have been returned by DVLA, after the licensing body confirmed that it has erroneously removed entitlements to drive from some licences.

Drivers – mainly those with motorcycle as well as car entitlements – have reported that, after their card licences had been returned by DVLA either after having a new address entered or a 10-year photocard licence renewed, they were missing the motorcycle entitlement.

Fleet managers should retain a colour photocopy of their drivers’ licences on file and should check these against re-issued licences.

Any discrepancies must be reported to DVLA immediately.

The DVLA said it recognised there has been a problem with some licences and confirmed it will investigate each case individually.

However, it said it does not believe this is a widespread problem. It is due to meet with ACFO representatives tomorrow (October 9) to discuss the issue.

Fleets who wish to have their say should contact ACFO today - phone 01730 260162 or email stewart.whyte@acfo.org.

There have been 965 complaints about returned licences since 2005, but the DVLA does not know how many of these relate to entitlements that have been erroneously removed.

The motorcycle community is frustrated at the lack of action by DVLA.

"We’ve had hundreds of readers contacting Motor Cycle News (MCN) who have had motorcycle entitlement removed from their driving licences after sending them back for renewal or an address change,” said Marc Potter, MCN editor.

“So far the DVLA has refused to provide a reasonable solution other than finding the original test certificate which most people threw away years before.

"Our suggestion is that they should adopt a similar system to the one used by the passport office where the original licence is sent as proof and returned with the corner cut-off along with the new one. It works for passports so there’s no reason it couldn’t work for driving licences."

The fear is that some drivers have received licences back but have not checked to ensure their entitlements remain.

“Errors are extremely rare but we thoroughly investigate all cases reported to us and aim to resolve any inaccuracies as quickly as possible,” said a DVLA spokesman. “Drivers should of course remember that they are required by law to let us know when they change their details to allow us to keep our records up to date.”