The RAC is cautioning learners to at all times use the official Authorities web site and to steer clear of web sites that provide to e-book or notify them of obtainable 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 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, nevertheless, the RAC has found that some unlicensed web sites proceed to aim to make the most of college students who’re having issue turning into licensed drivers.
A ‘black market’ that utilises bots to order take a look at areas extra shortly than any individual may is often 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 means of paid providers that notify clients of take a look at cancellations of their neighbourhood.
In keeping with RAC analysis, some web sites are reselling driving checks for as much as £195, which is greater than 3 times the official worth, despite the fact 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 means of third events since they’re provided by means of encrypted WhatsApp chats, regardless of the DVSA’s swift efforts to crack down on the black market.
The ‘disappearing message’ characteristic is often utilized by distributors on these channels to make conversations untraceable.
By ‘cancellation alert’ functions and schemes, which cost customers a one-time payment to obtain alerts each time a slot turns into out there sooner than their unique take a look at, different third events are getting cash off of the backlog.
Even when some web sites demand legitimate documentation of a DVSA take a look at, drivers should must pay practically 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 must be fearful about dropping 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 stated: “I purchased into the driving take a look at black market at £169 for a take a look at price £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 deal with 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 stored popping up with an ‘error’ message.
“That led to a fateful telephone name with the DVSA the place I discovered my account was blocked for having ‘too many’ checks booked utilizing my particulars – despite the fact that I used to be blissfully unaware for the years it was occurring.
“An organization had used my particulars to repeatedly e-book checks underneath my title 52 occasions and swap them with different candidates who needed the slots for triple the value.
“My recommendation to different drivers is at all times to e-book by means of the DVSA on-line or over the telephone and, you probably have months of ready time, plan backwards from there together with your teacher so you might be greater than able to cross by the point your take a look at date comes.
“You don’t wish to find yourself spending lots of on sooner take a look at dates, just for a 3rd celebration to run off together with your particulars to e-book a number of checks 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 means of the Authorities web site as a substitute of utilizing a third-party ‘black market’ web site, which often gives 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 stated: “It’s horrible that ‘brokers’ utilizing software program to order checks sooner than a human probably may are making it so laborious 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 informed somebody’s driving licence quantity was used to e-book a number of checks.
“Definitive motion must be taken to forestall ‘bots’ reserving checks 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 checks, 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 improper that actual people who find themselves genuinely making an attempt to e-book their checks 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 e-book solely through the official Authorities web site and never pay nicely over the percentages through the use of a so-called dealer’s web site.”
