SEVERAL drivers have complained to Newsday about having to fork out an additional late fee of $600 to be paid on top of their standard driver's licence renewal fee of $500, when Newsday visited the licensing office at Wrightson Road, Port of Spain on December 5. Most drivers said they had not been told beforehand of the new late fee.

Two individuals told Newsday the expiry date on their licences had been December 4, which this year falls on a Sunday, and said the office's closure on that day meant they simply had no chance to renew their licence in time.

One man told Newsday he worked in a very sensitive area in helping provide the police with evidence against crime and so needed the licence for his job and so felt he had no choice but to pay the late fee.