Can I hire car in Switz? - licence at DVLA

[Arthritic Toe]

Anyone know of a way round this one? The DVLA haven't returned my licence yet after sending it off for change of address about a month ago.

I have a hire car booked in Geneva in a couple of weeks time. Will they let me hire the car? I'm guessing not.

 

[Gazwag]

why dont you ring DVLA to chase up your licence

 

[Arthritic Toe]

why dont you ring DVLA to chase up your licence

Yeah will do that - I'm thinking worst case scenario, where either they've lost it or its gone missing in the post.

 

[Man of Harveys]

I doubt they'd let you - you'd almost certainly be illegal to drive your own car there without a licence, let alone hire a car.

It's one of the things that always bugs me when those ill-clad Top Gear turds and their drab adherents bang on rather self-pityingly about how tightly motoring is regulated in this country, when in fact just about every other European country stipulates a lot more than the UK: like having to have fire extinguishers in your car in Belgium, day-glo jackets in Spain etc.

 

[severnside gull]

no chance but phone DVLA now and if the worst happens you wll still have time to replace it even if it means a drive to swansea

 

[Trufflehound]

The only place you'd be able to rent a car without a licence to show them is in Britain, because the big car rental companies' computers have access to certain DVLA records and could check on you. The Swiss computers won't be able to do this, so you are stuffed...

I found this out to my cost the other way around a couple of years ago when I flew into the UK to go to a friend's wedding. When I got to the Hertz desk at the airport I realised I'd left my licence at home. If I'd had a UK licence they said they could have looked me up, but because it's Dutch - even though EU and technically the same - they basically told me I was screwed.

We went by train.