Failed to get a see to renew your Quebec driver’s licence? You might be not on your own

Failed to get a see to renew your Quebec driver’s licence? You might be not on your own

If you count on an annual reminder from Quebec’s vehicle insurance policy board to renew your licence, you may well want to verify your file.

CBC spoke with multiple drivers who say they did not get their payment detect by snail mail this year ahead of their birthday — when a driver’s licence expires every year in Quebec.

That left some people cruising all around with no a valid driver’s licence and other people scrambling to renew theirs with the Société de l’assurance auto du Québec (SAAQ) just days before it expired. 

Lisa Levy, 53, states she grew to become suspicious back again in September when she nonetheless hadn’t been given her observe. Her birthday is in October. 

“I was checking my mailbox every single day, seeking for it, ready for it … I was like ‘Gee, this is peculiar, generally they really should give you at least 30 times to pay out it,'” she claimed. 

A close up of a SAAQ driver's licence notice.
Absolutely everyone, irrespective of irrespective of whether they acquire a renewal see in their on the web account, need to by default get a bodily just one by mail, the SAAQ stated. An exception is if a customer has opted for digital interaction with the SAAQ. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Equally licence and registration renewal notices tell you how a lot you owe that calendar year in whole service fees. The selection is subject to improve per year. 

By mid-Oct, Levy claims she received the “brilliant concept” to verify her SAAQclic on the net portal — the online system that released previous 12 months which permits customers to do particular transactions on the web. 

“Certain ample, there was a concept in the inbox,” she explained.

But she did not know to examine there as she in no way received an e mail telling her there was activity in her account. 

“What I didn’t be expecting was that there would not be an e mail saying, ‘By the way, go and check out your information centre,'” she claimed. 

Every person, no matter of no matter if they get a renewal discover in their SAAQclic account, ought to by default acquire a physical a person by mail, the SAAQ claims. 

An exception is a consumer who has opted for electronic communication with the SAAQ, in which scenario a driver would acquire notices completely as a result of the portal, accompanied by an email warn. 

Levy claims it is attainable she chose to receive notices from the SAAQ electronically when she developed her account, but that will not describe why she did not get the email alert. (Yes, she checked her junk folders.)

She suggests fortunately, she was ready to renew her licence just days prior to it expired. 

“But if this had been my 1st driver’s licence anniversary ever or if I experienced been a newcomer to Quebec, I would not have known this … so I was aggravated by that,” she reported.

The SAAQ is encouraging people to test their junk folders for their e mail warn as well as make certain they entered the proper e mail deal with in their portal to make sure they can entry their on the net notice.

‘My largest issue is consistency’

In an email to CBC, the SAAQ confirmed that a driver’s on line account is routinely linked to them, even ahead of they obtain it for the to start with time. 

That suggests you do not actually have to have “set up” your SAAQclic account for a observe to be waiting in there for you.

“But commonly, the person would have now gained their renewal detect by mail beforehand,” SAAQ spokesperson Geneviève Côté said in an e mail.

“In specific remarkable cases … it can not be excluded that mail may well have been lost.” 

Masamichi Tsukada, a 24-yr-outdated dwelling in Montreal’s Griffintown neighbourhood, believed that may possibly have occurred to him again in December when, two months prior to his birthday, he nonetheless hadn’t gotten his notice in the mail. 

Owning moved from Ontario to Quebec in 2022, it was his initially time needing to renew his licence. 

“I did not know how to do it,” he claimed. He tried using accessing his SAAQclic account but did not have the files vital for the authentication course of action. 

There is a computer screen.
The complexity of the authentication process for SAAQclic was a substantial contributor to the significant site visitors at SAAQ service centres past yr. (Érik Chouinard/Radio-Canada)

The procedure involves numerous actions, which contain offering your social insurance range, wellness card selection and driver’s licence as effectively as the see of assessment selection issued by Revenu Québec in the final cash flow tax return. 

If you really don’t have that reference range useful, you have to wait around up to 15 days for a confidential code to arrive in the mail or go get authenticated in particular person at a SAAQ service centre.

Tsukada could not manage to wait around, so he known as the SAAQ hotline and worked with an agent who served him get into his SAAQclic account. He was equipped to renew his licence a 7 days prior to it expired. 

As a computer software developer, Tsukada says this was a poor consumer encounter. 

“My major worry is regularity,” he stated. 

“It’s hard to fathom that the government isn’t really equipped to do something on a constant basis for all of its citizens.” 

No confirmation of troubles

Regardless of several emails back again and forth about the circumstance, the SAAQ refused to affirm whether or not or not it is aware of several people failing to get their notices or electronic mail alerts. 

“If a buyer feels that they have not gained a conversation from the SAAQ that they should really have gained by mail, we invite them to speak to us so that we can consult their file,” claimed Côté. 

When questioned if they have been conscious of the concerns, both equally the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Cybersecurity and Electronic Technology told CBC the SAAQ does not report to them and directed all inquiries to the Crown company.

CBC requested community and provincial police whether they have noticed a lot more drivers than typical getting stopped for expired licences. 

The Services de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) mentioned it experienced really seen a significant fall in the selection of folks currently being stopped for expired licences past 12 months compared to 2022, but that is probable similar to Quebec extending the validity time period of drivers’ licences and payment deadlines during the top of the troubles with SAAQclic. 

For its aspect, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) mentioned they do not have the available info to reply that query, but typically the SAAQ would warn them of a predicament with their technique.

“At this minute … we haven’t heard everything,” claimed spokesperson Ann Mathieu.

The fine for driving with no a valid Quebec licence ranges among $300 and $600, in addition to other service fees. The car can also be seized and impounded for 30 days. 

Customers can speak to the SAAQ by cellular phone at 1-800-361-7620, by e mail or direct information on social media for any worries.