A new driver was banned from the roads over Christmas and New Year because of an administrative cock-up by the DVLA.
Eighteen-year-old Jack Mackay was told his licence was being endorsed after being convicted of driving offences and disqualified for 12 months.
The Lindsayfield teen, who passed his test in May and has never been in trouble with the police, also had his car insurance terminated.
Shocked by the blunder, the apprentice engineer turned to the police for help after being “passed from pillar to post” by the DVLA.
Eventually, it emerged the letter was meant for an offender living in Edinburgh with the same name and date of birth.
The Jack Mackay convicted had appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and pled guilty to driving without a licence, insurance or the owner’s consent.
The offences took place while East Kilbride Jack was away on holiday.
Yesterday, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed the mix-up was due to a DVLA error and confirmed the disqualification and endorsements would be removed from his driving record.
Speaking to the News, Jack slammed the DVLA’s incompetence, adding: “I freaked out when I got the letter. I didn’t understand how this could have happened.
“The DVLA took nothing to do with it so I had to call the court and the police who were a lot more helpful in trying to resolve it.
“The police said they’ve never heard of this happening before. They did some digging and found out that the ban was for a Jack Mackay with the same spelling and date of birth but a totally different address in Edinburgh.
“But because he doesn’t even have a driving licence, the letter came to me.”
As well as leaving a black mark against his name, the cock-up left the teen without his car over the holidays and scuppered his 18th birthday plans.
The former Duncanrig pupil added: “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. I couldn’t drive for the full Christmas period without risking being pulled over.
“I’m really angry about it. It was a total inconvenience. The DVLA made the error but in their eyes they didn’t do anything wrong and didn’t bother to help – they just passed the buck. Ideally I’d like some form of compensation for the difficulty it caused.”
A Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service spokesman said: “We provided DVLA on December 19 with the details of the Jack Mackay convicted that day and advised them of his address in Edinburgh, and that he does not hold a driving licence.
“I have also spoken to Jack Mackay of East Kilbride to confirm to him that I am instructing DVLA to remove the disqualification and endorsements from his driving record.”
The DVLA would not offer an explanation or issue an apology to Mr Mackay.
A spokesman simply told us: “We have written to the customer and the matter has now been resolved.”
