Learners drivers are being warned to avoid third-party websites that could offer them quick driving tests slots at a time with a black market being created.

Scammers are using their details to book multiple tests and then resell them and it could lead to their accounts being blocked, and unable to book the tests on their own if they need to in future while also charging much more than the test should cost.

Waiting times for the practical test have increased massively since the Covid-19 pandemic, with it currently sitting at four-and-a-half months across Scotland, England and Wales. 

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which is responsible for the driving test, has issued 283 warning, 746 suspensions and closed 689 businesses for misuse of its booking service, but many unofficial sites are still trying to exploit learns looking to pass their test quicker.

The RAC have now issued a warning to people to avoid using the ‘black market’ that uses bots to book test slots faster than humans, before being resold at prices more than three times the actual cost of a driving test.

Officially, the driving test costs £62, but they are being resold by third-party websites for as much as £195 and costing learners a lot more money than is necessary.

(Image: Newsquest)

The DVSA is taking steps to clamp down on the black market for booking driving tests but research from the RAC has found slots can still be bought through third parties online or via encrypted WhatsApp chats.

The sellers will also often use the ‘disappearing message’ function so conversations can’t be traced in the future.

Other problems include third parties profiting through ‘cancellation alert’ schemes and apps, where they charge users a one-off fee to receive alerts every time a slot becomes available that is quicker than their original test date.

The sites require legitimate proof of a DVSA test but sign-up fees can still set drivers back nearly twice the amount of an official test, with ‘VIP packages’ advertised for £117.

Drivers details are also being used to book other tests that then leads to accounts being blocked by the DVSA, which happened to one driver – Lara Olszowskwa.

She said: “I bought into the driving test black market at £169 for a test worth £62, just to avoid having to retake my theory and delay my practical exam. I gave them my driving licence number, my theory certificate number, and my home address without batting an eyelid. 

“After failing that test, I went online to try to book my next attempt, but the DVSA website kept popping up with an ‘error’ message.

“That led to a fateful phone call with the DVSA where I learned my account was blocked for having ‘too many’ tests booked using my details – even though I was blissfully unaware for the years it was going on. A company had used my details to repeatedly book tests under my name 52 times and swap them with other candidates who wanted the slots for triple the price.

“My advice to other drivers is always to book through the DVSA online or over the phone and, if you have months of waiting time, plan backwards from there with your instructor so you know you are more than ready to pass by the time your test date comes.

“You don't want to end up spending hundreds on sooner test dates, only for a third party to run off with your details to book multiple tests so your details get blocked and you find out when it's too late.”

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The RAC is now urging drivers to make sure they book directly through the Government website rather than using a third-party site.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s terrible that ‘brokers’ using software to reserve tests faster than a human possibly could are making it so hard for learners to book test slots. It seems as though technology is constantly being used to cheat the system as we’ve been told someone’s driving licence number was used to book multiple tests.

“Definitive action needs to be taken to prevent ‘bots’ booking tests and then selling them on to desperate learners for crazy amounts of money. This leads to genuine slots being wasted and learners, who are ready to take their tests, missing out and having to wait months for a chance to become a qualified driver. It’s no wonder some learners end up booking test slots before they’re ready.

“It’s also very wrong that real people who are genuinely trying to book their tests are being treated as if they are ‘bots’ because their data has been stolen by fraudsters.

“The best course of action before the DVSA finds a solution to this problem once and for all is to book only via the official Government website and not pay well over the odds by using a so-called broker’s site.”