The RAC is cautioning learners to at all times use the official Authorities web site and to avoid web sites that supply to guide or notify them of obtainable check dates, for the reason that common wait time for a sensible driving check in England and Wales after the epidemic remains to be roughly 4 and a half months.
The driving check’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 try to reap the benefits of college students who’re having problem turning into licensed drivers.
A ‘black market’ that utilises bots to order check areas extra shortly than any particular person may is regularly attractive learners who’re determined to beat the check backlog.
As soon as accessible, these slots are subsequently resold at exorbitant costs or by means of paid providers that notify prospects of check cancellations of their neighbourhood.
Based on RAC analysis, some web sites are reselling driving assessments 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 be bought on-line by means of third events since they’re supplied 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 regularly utilized by distributors on these channels to make conversations untraceable.
By ‘cancellation alert’ functions and schemes, which cost shoppers a one-time price to obtain alerts each time a slot turns into accessible sooner than their authentic check, different third events are creating wealth off of the backlog.
Even when some web sites demand legitimate documentation of a DVSA check, drivers should must 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 anxious 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 mentioned: “I purchased into the driving check black market at £169 for a check value £62, simply to keep away from having to retake my principle and delay my sensible examination. I gave them my driving licence quantity, my principle 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 saved popping up with an ‘error’ message.
“That led to a fateful cellphone name with the DVSA the place I realized my account was blocked for having ‘too many’ assessments 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 guide assessments beneath my identify 52 instances and swap them with different candidates who needed 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 cellphone and, if in case you have months of ready time, plan backwards from there together with your teacher so you already know you might be greater than able to go by the point your check date comes.
“You don’t need to find yourself spending lots of on sooner check dates, just for a 3rd social gathering to run off together with your particulars to guide a number of assessments 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 immediately by means of the Authorities web site as a substitute of utilizing a third-party ‘black market’ web site, which regularly supplies 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 mentioned: “It’s horrible that ‘brokers’ utilizing software program to order assessments quicker than a human presumably may are making it so laborious for learners to guide check slots. It appears as if expertise is continually getting used to cheat the system as we’ve been instructed somebody’s driving licence quantity was used to guide a number of assessments.
“Definitive motion must be taken to forestall ‘bots’ reserving assessments 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 assessments, lacking out and having to attend months for an opportunity to turn out 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 incorrect that actual people who find themselves genuinely making an attempt to guide their assessments 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 drawback as soon as and for all is to guide solely by way of the official Authorities web site and never pay nicely over the chances through the use of a so-called dealer’s website.”
