Lost C1 when over 70......can it be reinstated?

[Spannaz32]

Hello, hopefully people here can help me. My father now 73 has finally seen the light and decided to get a motorhome, and join us on holidays.
However, turns out when he renewed his license he had no idea about categories that might be lost. They have now finally found a van they love, gone and put a deposit down only to find HE doesn't have C1 class which he did before turning 70.
Now i doubt he is the first to come across this, but sadly DVLA was not very helpful and sent him a HUGE pile of application forms, which make no sense at all. He is in perfect health, and drives regularly on a part time basis delivering cars.
Can anyone help me with WHICH forms he requires, and IF this entitlement can be regained without him having to do a driving course. The lost deposit is one thing, but the thought of them having their dreams of holiday away being shattered is far bigger loss and wish to do everything i can to help.
Any advice would be gratefully welcome
Stuart

 

[chirene]

Not sure that he can get it back now. It's a problem that we all have to live with when we reach 70. Just get a van that is 3500 , planty around Surely the seller will refund the deposit, as they should have made him aware that it was over the magical 3500.

 

[Parahandy]

YES IT CAN!!!! I have just done it and am 74. You need a medical first and as per my tip elsewhere on the Forum, I recommend you use the excellent services of www.doctorsonwheels.com who will charge you £51, and you then have an agreed rendezvous point near you where they come with a doctor and an assistant in a kind of motorcaravan-cum-surgery and they talk you through all the form filling. You will need to take your latest specs prescription plus any other medical documents you may have relevant to any medical conditions. For me it took 15 mins. They checked my blood pressure and were very satisfied at 140/74. They fill in the forms and you send them off to DVLA (no fee required) and in about 10 days you get your full licence back. Most GPs charge rather more than £51. I recently heard of a similar outfit who charge £58.
Unless you have a cardiac/severe sight/diabetic condition it is not likely you will encounter any difficulty. The new licence will last for three years. It will be a plastic one and you will need to send your old plastic one with a photo if the one you have is no longer a true representation. And just to finish off, I also recently re-graded my motorhome to 3.8 tonnes after discovering that at 3.5 tonnes it had been classified as a diesel car and because of its emissions was costing me £500 a year in car tax....now I am back to Private HGV status costing just £165per annum. Massive thanks to SVTech for their help in getting all of this accomplished. Suggest you check out their website. Loads of useful info.

 

[Parahandy]

Further to my last advice, go to . You should visit a Post Office and collect a form D1 and in the relevant box indicate you wish to renew your C1 classification. You send this and the form you will get from the medic service, plus your existing licence to the DVLA at the addresses shown on the website. Of course, if you get the van downplated to 3500 g you won't need that medical anyway but can drive your van on a car licence until its next renewal. But check but the car tax position BEFORE you take the downplating step in case, like me, you make yourself liable for a hefty increase in duty. Good luck!