The RAC is cautioning learners to at all times use the official Authorities web site and to keep away from web sites that supply to e book or notify them of obtainable take a look at dates, for the reason that common wait time for a sensible driving take a look at in England and Wales after the epidemic remains 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, nonetheless, 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 might is regularly engaging learners who’re determined to beat the take a look at backlog.
As soon as out there, these slots are subsequently resold at exorbitant costs or by way of paid providers that notify clients of take a look at cancellations of their neighbourhood.
In line with 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 still be bought on-line by way of third events since they’re supplied by way of encrypted WhatsApp chats, regardless of the DVSA’s swift efforts to crack down on the black market.
The ‘disappearing message’ function is regularly utilized by distributors on these channels to make conversations untraceable.
By ‘cancellation alert’ purposes and schemes, which cost customers a one-time charge to obtain alerts each time a slot turns into out there sooner than their unique 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 still should pay almost twice as a lot for sign-up charges as for a real take a look at; ‘VIP packages’ can price as much as £117.
The RAC has additionally found that college students ought to be nervous about shedding not solely cash but in addition their private info. 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 idea and delay my sensible examination. I gave them my driving licence quantity, my idea certificates quantity, and my dwelling tackle with out batting an eyelid.
“After failing that take a look at, I went on-line to attempt to e book my subsequent try, however the DVSA web site saved popping up with an ‘error’ message.
“That led to a fateful telephone 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 e book exams below my identify 52 instances and swap them with different candidates who wished the slots for triple the worth.
“My recommendation to different drivers is at all times to e book by way of the DVSA on-line or over the telephone and, when you have months of ready time, plan backwards from there along with your teacher so you recognize you’re greater than able to go by the point your take a look at date comes.
“You don’t need to find yourself spending lots of on sooner take a look at dates, just for a 3rd celebration to run off along with your particulars to e book 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 an alternative of utilizing a third-party ‘black market’ web site, which regularly offers inaccurate info 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 probably might are making it so arduous for learners to e book 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 e book 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 professional driver. It’s no surprise some learners find yourself reserving take a look at slots earlier than they’re prepared.
“It’s additionally very unsuitable that actual people who find themselves genuinely attempting to e book their exams are being handled as if they’re ‘bots’ as a result of their information has been stolen by fraudsters.
“The perfect plan of action earlier than the DVSA finds an answer to this drawback as soon as and for all is to e book solely by way of the official Authorities web site and never pay effectively over the percentages by utilizing a so-called dealer’s web site.”
