The RAC is cautioning learners to all the time use the official Authorities web site and to avoid web sites that provide to ebook or notify them of accessible take a look at dates, because the common wait time for a sensible driving take a look at in England and Wales after the epidemic continues to be roughly 4 and a half months.
The driving take a look at’s governing physique, the Driver and Car Requirements Company (DVSA), has closed 689 companies, suspended 746, and issued 283 warnings for abusing its reserving system since January 2023.
Sadly, nevertheless, the RAC has found that some unlicensed web sites proceed to aim to benefit from college students who’re having problem changing into licensed drivers.
A ‘black market’ that utilises bots to order take a look at areas extra shortly than any particular person may is regularly engaging learners who’re determined to beat the take a look at backlog.
As soon as obtainable, these slots are subsequently resold at exorbitant costs or by way of paid companies that notify clients of take a look at cancellations of their neighbourhood.
In response to RAC analysis, some web sites are reselling driving exams for as much as £195, which is greater than thrice the official worth, regardless that the take a look at itself prices £62.
The RAC has found that many driving take a look at dates should be bought on-line by way of third events since they’re provided by way of encrypted WhatsApp chats, regardless of the DVSA’s swift efforts to crack down on the black market.
The ‘disappearing message’ characteristic is regularly utilized by distributors on these channels to make conversations untraceable.
By means of ‘cancellation alert’ purposes and schemes, which cost shoppers a one-time payment to obtain alerts each time a slot turns into obtainable sooner than their authentic take a look at, different third events are making a living off of the backlog.
Even when some web sites demand legitimate documentation of a DVSA take a look at, drivers should need to pay practically twice as a lot for sign-up charges as for a real take a look at; ‘VIP packages’ can value as much as £117.
The RAC has additionally found that college students ought to be fearful about dropping not solely cash but in addition their private data. One such sufferer is freelance journalist Lara Olszowska, with whom the RAC has had conversations.
Lara mentioned: “I purchased into the driving take a look at black market at £169 for a take a look at value £62, simply to keep away from having to retake my concept and delay my sensible examination. I gave them my driving licence quantity, my concept certificates quantity, and my house deal with with out batting an eyelid.
“After failing that take a look at, I went on-line to attempt to ebook my subsequent try, however the DVSA web site saved popping up with an ‘error’ message.
“That led to a fateful cellphone name with the DVSA the place I realized my account was blocked for having ‘too many’ exams booked utilizing my particulars – regardless that I used to be blissfully unaware for the years it was happening.
“An organization had used my particulars to repeatedly ebook exams beneath my title 52 occasions and swap them with different candidates who needed the slots for triple the value.
“My recommendation to different drivers is all the time to ebook by way of the DVSA on-line or over the cellphone and, you probably have months of ready time, plan backwards from there along with your teacher so you realize you’re greater than able to move by the point your take a look at date comes.
“You don’t need to find yourself spending a whole lot on sooner take a look at dates, just for a 3rd get together to run off along with your particulars to ebook a number of exams so your particulars get blocked, and you discover out when it’s too late.”
To be clear, the RAC is recommending that drivers make their reservations straight by way of the Authorities web site as a substitute of utilizing a third-party ‘black market’ web site, which regularly offers inaccurate data just like the frequency of driving take a look at bookings.
Learner drivers are expressing their dissatisfaction with the reserving course of on Reddit and Mumsnet boards, and scammers are even endorsing their web sites there.
RAC head of coverage Simon Williams mentioned: “It’s horrible that ‘brokers’ utilizing software program to order exams quicker than a human presumably may are making it so laborious for learners to ebook take a look at slots. It appears as if know-how is consistently getting used to cheat the system as we’ve been advised somebody’s driving licence quantity was used to ebook a number of exams.
“Definitive motion must be taken to forestall ‘bots’ reserving exams after which promoting them on to determined learners for loopy quantities of cash. This results in real slots being wasted and learners, who’re able to take their exams, lacking out and having to attend months for an opportunity to develop into a certified driver. It’s no surprise some learners find yourself reserving take a look at slots earlier than they’re prepared.
“It’s additionally very mistaken that actual people who find themselves genuinely making an attempt to ebook their exams are being handled as if they’re ‘bots’ as a result of their knowledge has been stolen by fraudsters.
“The most effective plan of action earlier than the DVSA finds an answer to this downside as soon as and for all is to ebook solely through the official Authorities web site and never pay properly over the percentages by utilizing a so-called dealer’s web site.”
