“Unreliable” websites resell driving tests for profit

“Unreliable websites” that resell driving tests to learner drivers for a profit are “unacceptable,” said the British Transport Minister.

Many learner drivers are fed up with waiting times and so book their practical tests through agents who book the tests in block format and resell them for hundreds of pounds.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said clearing the testing backlog was a “key priority” for the Labour government.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said it was encouraging learner drivers to book tests exclusively through the official government website.

Reselling a test is not illegal, but the DVSA said it amounted to “exploiting” learner drivers.

The latest figures show that the average wait time to book a test in England, Scotland and Wales is four and a half months.

According to the DVSA, the delays are due to increased demand and tests being booked by learner drivers who are not yet ready to take them.

A driving test costs £62 via the official DVSA website.

Many brokers use automated software to reserve blocks of driving test places on the authority’s website and then resell them.

Companies use “bots” enter the data faster than a human and thus secure exam dates before those who do not have the software.

BBC Producer Nayana Mena booked her test through a broker on Snapchat.

She paid £150 and was able to take a test within a few weeks.

She said: “I felt like a pawn in this game and so many of my friends and colleagues have had similar experiences.”

Nayana says she almost fell victim to a scam after another broker asked her for her banking information.

She failed twice before passing the exam, so she had to rely on brokers to get her new practical exams quickly.

“I spent thousands for almost a year and it was really frustrating. I poured my heart out to my girlfriend about it and was close to giving up driving,” she added.

According to the DVSA, 8.2% of learner drivers book a practical test before taking driving lessons.

The government agency advises learner drivers not to book their test until they have sufficient driving experience.

To catch up, the DVSA made an additional 145,000 tests available between October 2023 and March 2024.

However, in the year up to March 2024, 65,534 driving tests were cancelled due to holiday entitlement, industrial action, bad weather, examiner illness and Corona.

Last year, 118,232 tests were cancelled.

Tests can be booked by anyone with a provisional driving license number or an approved driving instructor (ADI).

A change of the test date, test location and learner permit number is possible at any time, so that rebooking or reselling test places is very easy.

The BBC has seen evidence in numerous WhatsApp groups of brokers offering test appointments within a matter of days, often for more than £200.

The DVSA said it was trying to use artificial intelligence to stop automated systems from block booking tests, but acknowledged that the technology was evolving very quickly.

Since January 2023, 283 DVSA test booking accounts have been warned, 746 blocked and 689 closed.

A further 4,700 accounts were removed that were not linked to ADIs.

Ava Devlin, 18, from Tunbridge Wells was banned from the DVSA booking site because she checked the system several times a day for a test.

An error message would prevent her from logging into the system.

After months of trying, she was finally able to book a practical test in London, 40 miles (64 kilometers) from her local test center in Kent.

When a cancellation occurred, she transferred the test to her local center. However, the test was cancelled the same day without being told the reason.

She died in March of this year.

Ava said: “There are so many real teenagers logging onto the website trying to get a test. But considering that there are also companies logging on and blocking the test booking, why can’t the people who really want to take the test do it themselves and why does the price have to be so high?”

“The bots they book in the first place are terrible and then the fact that they can’t even get rid of them for a few hundred pounds really makes me angry.

“It feels really inhumane,” she added.

Former driving instructor Richard Ahsam, 59, from St Leonards, has quit his “stressful” job after 20 years in the industry.

He said: “As a driving instructor, you are obsessed with having your diary to hand at all times.

“There were too many things that spoke against doing the job the way I wanted to do it. It’s very difficult when someone says they need a test and you have to tell them they can’t get one for six months. Many students miss out.”

Teresa Allen, 67, a driving instructor from Tonbridge for 17 years, believes the Government should change the rules so that only driving instructors can register for tests on behalf of their students.

She said: “It’s demoralising. People use brokers and apps and pay way too much for a test, and then they can’t do the test because they don’t have anyone to do it. So the test is free.”

She says attitudes towards booking a practical test have changed.

“I have a student who is just starting his driving education. Normally I would never recommend that he take a test, but we know we have to because I know we have to wait five or six months,” she added.

Ms Allen said it was “really, really heartbreaking” not to be able to offer learners a solution.

“It’s extremely stressful, I’m emotionally involved with every single person I teach. They need that license to get their job or their training,” she said.

DVSA chief executive Loveday Ryder said almost two million tests were carried out in the last financial year.

She said the DVSA would continue to recruit more examiners and crack down on bots that “exploit learner drivers”. She added that the government agency does not operate, approve or support any other booking apps or platforms.