My driving licence expired on August 23. On July 18, a full five weeks earlier, I applied online to have it renewed and the €52.50 payment was credited the same day.

I phoned Transport Malta to tell them that I needed it in a hurry as I was going overland for the whole of August and my licence would have expired while I was abroad. They said they would do their utmost to comply but I did not receive my licence before I went abroad.

Imagine my surprise when, on my return on September 2, I had still not received the licence. Since then, I have phoned Transport Malta countless times. The customer care service always replies promptly but when they try to connect you to the licences section the phone just rings and rings and finally the line goes dead. This has happened dozens of times over these past 10 days. When I contact customer care again, all they can do is try to connect me again.

Last week, I managed to get through only once, to be told that I would receive my licence the next day.

To date (September 12), I have not received my licence and, since I paid by e-ID, I have no proof of payment, except my credit card statement. Is this the progress represented by e-government? Should we revert to the old system and go personally to the Transport Malta offices and apply there? This morning I have already phoned five times in 15 minutes and, once connected to the licences section, the line goes dead after a few minutes. It’s very frustrating.