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Driver Denied Test Over ID Photo Discrepancy

1/9/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Yin Cheong William Shen, a learner driver in Basingstoke, Hampshire, was turned away after his face did not match the provisional licence photo.
Shen waited eight months for the test and said the same ID had worked previously.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency upheld the decision and denied a refund, citing legal requirements for identification verification, while his instructor Stephen Lambert called it an insult.

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Story summary

Yin Cheong William Shen, a learner driver in Basingstoke, Hampshire, was turned away after his face did not match the provisional licence photo.
Shen waited eight months for the test and said the same ID had worked previously.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency upheld the decision and denied a refund, citing legal requirements for identification verification, while his instructor Stephen Lambert called it an insult.