The RAC is cautioning learners to at all times use the official Authorities web site and to steer clear of web sites that supply to guide or notify them of obtainable check dates, because the common wait time for a sensible driving check in England and Wales after the epidemic continues to be roughly 4 and a half months.
The driving check’s governing physique, the Driver and Automobile 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 reap the benefits of college students who’re having problem changing into licensed drivers.
A ‘black market’ that utilises bots to order check areas extra rapidly than any individual might is incessantly engaging learners who’re determined to beat the check backlog.
As soon as obtainable, these slots are subsequently resold at exorbitant costs or by means of paid providers that notify prospects of check cancellations of their neighbourhood.
In accordance with RAC analysis, some web sites are reselling driving exams for as much as £195, which is greater than thrice the official value, regardless that the check itself prices £62.
The RAC has found that many driving check dates should still 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 incessantly utilized by distributors on these channels to make conversations untraceable.
By means of ‘cancellation alert’ purposes and schemes, which cost customers a one-time price to obtain alerts each time a slot turns into obtainable sooner than their authentic check, different third events are earning money off of the backlog.
Even when some web sites demand legitimate documentation of a DVSA check, drivers should still need to pay almost twice as a lot for sign-up charges as for a real check; ‘VIP packages’ can price as much as £117.
The RAC has additionally found that college students must be frightened 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 stated: “I purchased into the driving check black market at £169 for a check 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 house handle with out batting an eyelid.
“After failing that check, I went on-line to attempt to guide 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 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 occurring.
“An organization had used my particulars to repeatedly guide exams below my identify 52 instances and swap them with different candidates who wished the slots for triple the value.
“My recommendation to different drivers is at all times to guide by means of the DVSA on-line or over the telephone and, you probably have months of ready time, plan backwards from there along with your teacher so you realize you might be greater than able to move by the point your check date comes.
“You don’t wish to find yourself spending lots of on sooner check dates, just for a 3rd social gathering to run off along with your particulars to guide 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 means of the Authorities web site as a substitute of utilizing a third-party ‘black market’ web site, which incessantly gives inaccurate data just like the frequency of driving check 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 exams quicker than a human presumably might are making it so arduous for learners to guide check slots. It appears as if expertise is consistently getting used to cheat the system as we’ve been advised somebody’s driving licence quantity was used to guide 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 grow to be a professional driver. It’s no surprise some learners find yourself reserving check slots earlier than they’re prepared.
“It’s additionally very mistaken that actual people who find themselves genuinely making an attempt to guide their exams are being handled as if they’re ‘bots’ as a result of their information 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 guide solely through the official Authorities web site and never pay properly over the chances through the use of a so-called dealer’s web site.”
