I had a similar experience to this story at the DMV. The parking lot was full. I let my son out at the door so he could go on and check in while I continued to circle the lot. A car was coming up behind me, so I waited for it to pass.

It turned out it was a police car. The officer then pulled up next to me and started yelling at me.

Officer: “You can’t park here!”

Me: “I just dropped off my son. I was moving, but I wasn’t going to pull out into oncoming traffic.”

He didn’t listen to a word I said.

Officer: “You can’t park here! You need to move!”

He went on and on.

Me: “I was trying to!”

Officer: “Well, move, then!”

I couldn’t because he was blocking my way, but he still expected me to go first. He finally drove off, and I was able to move, but it was 100% unnecessary drama.

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This is the saga of getting my British Columbia driver’s licence. I had been living in Alberta for twenty years. Three and a half months after breaking my shoulder, I moved into my childhood home in British Columbia with my dad and brother. Part of the reason was that I still needed a lot of assistance; the other reason was that my mom had passed away eight months previous, and I knew my dad was lonely.

Fast forward six months to April of 2023. I decided to make the move permanent. I went to the city hall to apply for my driver’s licence only to be told that I had to get the BC Services card first.

Okay. I applied for that and sent the proof that I was living in BC. It took four months to get it!  

The day after I received my BC Services card, I went back to city hall to apply for my BC driver’s licence. That meant giving up my Alberta driver’s licence. No problem; I was told it would take two months (!) to receive it, and I had a temporary one in the meantime. Fine!

Fast forward two months. I still hadn’t received it, so I went to the city hall to find out what the hold up was and get another temporary licence. I was told there was a hold on it because I was being investigated for lying about living in BC. (Remember, I was living in my childhood home, where I had lived for nearly thirty years before moving out of province!). I was livid, so complained bitterly to my dad.

He suggested emailing the MLA (provincial politician), which I did. She followed up with the investigative unit. Eventually, a letter came in from them stating that I was under investigation, and I had to provide certain documents, chief among which was both sides of the BC Services card. I provided that, the provincial auto insurance, the optional car insurance (private company), my change of address request form, and eight other items, all proving that I lived there.

I got an email the next day saying that none of that was proof that I was living in BC; just because I had the BC Services card, it did not mean that I wasn’t lying! By the way, the government entity that provides the Services card is the same one that issues the driver’s licences!

I had to sign a form to be sent to the health authority stating that I was actually using the health system legally. I needed a pay stub showing my address. (That seemed fair.) I had to provide my credit card statements from May to October; on these, if I so chose, I could black out the account number, but that wasn’t necessary. (WTF?) And I had to provide my mobile phone records from the same time period. I decided to add the email from BC Health saying that I could have my next booster.  

The next day, I got an email informing me that the licence had been released, and I should get it in sixty (!) days.

Fast forward to December. It was still not there, so I got another temporary licence. At this point, I was told that it was still on hold! I emailed the person I had been dealing with, and she told me that no, it had been sent out.

Now, in January, it was still not there. I emailed my contact again and complained. She sent me an email telling me to go into city hall and show them the email, and I would get a replacement for free. They were catching up; it would only be six weeks to get it!

My licence came in two days ago, ten days after they “reissued” my licence. UGH!

What I don’t understand is why the same government entity that provides both cards accepted me living in BC for the one but said I was lying about living in BC for the other!

I’m in at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for a simple disabled placard. Here, you wait in a check-in line, where a person will assist you briefly before giving you a number to be called up to the desk. They also give out paperwork to be filled out, handle placards, and answer general questions.

I’m second from the front when a woman walks in, skipping the line. She speaks to the person in front of me, asking if this is where she gets a number to be seen. The person in front of me says they don’t know; they’re there for an appointment.

She asks if she can “ask a quick question” to the check-in person to make sure she’s in the right place. The person in front of me agrees.

Check-In Person: “Do you have an appointment?”

Woman: “I didn’t know you did appointments.”

Check-In Person: “We’ve had them for three years.”

Woman: “I don’t use the Internet or watch the news.”

Check-In Person: “What can I help you with?”

She goes into this thing about needing a number for being called up, it’s about her license, and can the check-in person just look at it and answer some questions before she gets her number?

Check-In Person: “Ma’am, I’m happy to help, but you need to get in line and wait your turn.”

She looks at the line, which is about twenty people, and looks back at the check-in person.

Woman: “I need to wait in line for a simple question? And to get a number? All the way back there? This is bulls***!”

She stomped toward the back. She wasn’t in line when I left about five minutes later. 

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Not In Line And Out Of Line

I had to renew my licence with the DVLA (the UK’s DMV) a while back, which required posting all sorts of irreplaceable personal documents as proof of identity.

One of these was a P60, the British equivalent of a W2, which had to be the original, no photocopies allowed.

I was a bit stumped by this as my employer, the UK Government, does all its payroll online — payslips, P60, pension statements, the lot. Apart from the P45 you get if they fire you, you go to their website and you download the PDF. Too easy. Until you need to provide an original document, that is.

I rang the helpline to ask what I was supposed to do if I didn’t get an original P60.

Helpline: “They have to provide you one.”

Me: “They do; it’s available online via the employee self-service portal.”

Helpdesk: “Well, send that.”

Me: “It’s a PDF. Do I email it to you, or…”

Helpdesk: “No, just print it out and enclose it.”

Me: “But I thought copies weren’t allowed.”

Helpdesk: “They aren’t! When you print it out, you must enclose the original, not a copy!”

Me: “Er… okay?”

So, I did. They seemed happy enough, and I later got all my original documents back in a nice manila envelope — including the printout.

This story reminded me of a time I had a similar issue with the DMV. They wanted two forms of proof of my residence. I had the lease, but nothing else. All my mail goes to a post office box, so when I move I don’t have to change my address at thirty places and worry that mail will still go to the old address. My rent includes utilities, so no bill comes to me for those, either.

Clerk: “Do you have a bank statement that lists your residence?”

Off I went to the bank. I asked them to change the address on the account, for which they requested no proof or validation. I then had them print a current statement showing that address on their letterhead. Then, I had them change the address on file back to my mailing address.

The DMV accepted this document as authoritative and issued my license.

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