Look! It’s from 2014. We’re not in 2014. It’s an old story.
An alert from the DVSA advises candidates who have tests booked on Thursday, 10 July 2014 to turn up as normal. The PCS union hasn’t had a strike for a while, so it’s making up for lost time with one now.
Remember that not all examiners are members of PCS, and not all those who are are stupid enough to get involved with strikes. Based on past experience, your test is most at risk if you live in a place where unions and strike action are still part of people’s normal lives (i.e. north of the Midlands).
Obviously, you could cancel your test right now and rearrange it for a different date. However, if your test IS cancelled then it will automatically be rearranged at no cost to you. Mind you, that won’t stop you losing time off work, nor will it enable you (or your instructor) to claim for the cost of the lost lesson/car hire – the DVSA seems to have sneaked that one in without much of a fanfare:
You can’t claim for:
- the cost of driving lessons or training courses that you took before your test appointment
In the past, I’ve never had a problem claiming my pre-test lesson fee back if the DSA (as it was) screwed up – it’s only happened a few times, in any case. This wording suggests I might now. So we’re all being potentially inconvenienced one way or another.
Thanks a lot, PCS, you fossils.