So frustrated with booking driving test

[TheatricalLife]

DD has unfortunately just failed her first attempt at her driving test. No big deal, lots do. The frustrating part is trying to book another bloody test! The one she has just failed took me weeks to get...I randomly found one while searching at 5am one morning. Just looking to book again now and there is absolutely nothing available across multiple test centres, even entering dates until 2027. It's just absolutely ridiculous. I know loads of people are having the same issue, but isn't it time something was done to stop the companies who buy up multiple slots to sell on at a premium or are just total scammers? I know GOV say they are trying to tackle bots buying slots, but it's clearly not working. It looks like I'm back to trying to help DD find something again before she has to redo her theory test (yes, we've been waiting that long as it was hard enough to find an instructor who would come to a little village!)

I saw a driving instructor account on TikTok and she was saying that it’s a problem with driving instructors booking up slots (using different pupils details) and selling them on 😵‍💫

As someone with a test currently booked I did get a survey from the DVLA about potential changes and one of the questions was about changing things so that only the learner can book their own test. Hopefully this will happen.

We got a new test for DS on TestShift. It’s crazy how awful it is to get a test. I feel for the young people doing this with no parental help too. It would cost a fortune

Well the thing is, once you get your child through it, it ceases to matter to you. My DD passed this summer. I was furious about how hard it was to get a test and the hoops jumped through (fighting bots at 6am, paying for apps to change it, trying to change it manually hundreds of times etc etc).

But she's passed and she's my youngest so it's no longer something that is bugging me. That's how the government gets away with it, like most things. Only hits a comparatively small % of the population at a time.

It gets noticeably worse as well. My eldest passed only 2 years ago and in that time, it has become a lot more difficult. It was difficult with him, but far more difficult with youngest. Far more bots and just so difficult to get anything. We did end up going 2 hours away for a test.

There were no tests during Covid, which caused a backlog that had never been caught up.

We have felt the effects of the initial covid cancellations and then everything that has followed since in one way or another across two DC since March 2020.

It is an absolutely outrageous system. We went with a test anywhere that was physically possible date wise (in this case more than 10 hours drive away and months in advance but doable as a family road trip), brought forward to preferred test centre and sooner date by going onto DVLA website when slots are released at I think 6am (someone will know). Then to an on the day cancellation in own car and thankfully a pass, I was absolutely dreading the fall out of having to start the process again.

Had two apps and didn’t end up using either. The on the day test was direct on DVLA site refreshing constantly for about 30 minutes.

It's frustrating OP, I found testi not very good as even when I tried to book the test immediately upon getting the notification, the test slot wasn't there! Very frustrating.
The best way is to keep looking at the dvla website.
I tried so many times for DD the dvla locked her account as they thought I was a robot😂
In our area test slots were released about 10am on a Monday so worth looking then.
I think part of the problem is driving examiners aren't paid that well and earn less than driving instructors so there is a shortage and a recruitment problem

I also got locked out as a robot 😂

I managed to get a retest by booking a random test and then just logging on t change the date and refreshing until you get kicked out. You have to be super quick but it’s possible I got a retest about 5 weeks after daughters first test and luckily she passes second time

It’s horrific. I got really stressed out by it. We had to book a test for DS hours away and then signed up for various apps. I eventually got one locally by constantly refreshing the dvla site.

I’m about to go through it all again with DD in about 6 months. Was hoping it would have improved.

it is a complete nightmare. DD passed her theory months ago and I had to get up at 6am on a Monday to get a practical test for her. The first available date was 6 months time. Since then I have been trying to chnage it multiple times a day. There are no tests! Anywhere. I have tried testi but the tests are gone by the time I log in. I am so frustrated!!

So many frustrating stories here...looks like we are all in the same boat. I find the expiry time for the theory test particularly annoying as 2 years isn't long when you are potentially waiting around 6 months on average for a test and the pass rate for the first time on a practical is around 48%. It goes past very quickly. I now can't even book another practical until DD passes her theory again as it expires end of October and there isn't a chance in hell I'm getting a test before then -even a cancellation. I feel it's going to be a long journey.

This is a problem all over the country. So many people need tests, and are desperate, that they would be willing to go from one end of the country to the other. I don't think anywhere is exempt from the problems.

IMO, covid is just an excuse. It might have caused the backlog in the first place, but covid started five and a half years ago. The government are gaslighting by saying rubbish such as learners are booking before they're ready and that sort of double think - trying to blame anyone but themselves, but the fact of the matter is that there aren't enough examiners or test centres. They have had time to change this and they don't give a shit or want to. They have made some pathetic attempts, but this has been going on years now.

No, there are some shady driving instructors buying up test slots and then selling them on at vastly inflated prices, and the DVSA aren't doing anything about it.

It’s a bloody nightmare. Dd failed in the summer due to a really silly mistake. She was gutted, she so wanted to pass first time. We’re using Testi to rebook and then try and find a more suitable date but it’s such a pain in the arse. She can’t use it due to being accused of being a robot so I’m constantly having to navigate the bloody thing while I’m at work. Just to make it extra tricky she’s now at uni in the next county.

This is why we aren't going to attempt these apps. This situation will only get worse unfortunately...we are just accepting that he has a test date in a remote place and will be sitting it on that date.

See, that's the thing, I don't have time to be checking apps all day long in case a cancellation comes along. Well done to others who have had time to do that but I have 4 DC so just cannot do that.

We have just accepted he has a second chance in 18 days and if he fails again we'll just probably attempt to book that remote place again 🤣

Testi didn’t work for us, even the paid version. Every time I clicked on the test it had gone. If there is an auto booking app I’d try that. What worked was constantly refreshing the government site until I found a cancellation. I got lucky and I think they’d just put a few new Saturday appointments on to clear some backlog. Also, by checking the government site A LOT I started to notice a pattern of when new cancellations appeared. Used to be late afternoon, mid week for us.

I’d have happily accepted an 18 day wait but we were looking at 5 months!

After a lot of thought, travelling 308 miles isn't too bad if you know it's going to happen (unless bad weather conditions cancels the test so he will need to resit it another day🙄).

Yep, 18 days but not on mainland UK!

My son failed twice and then couldn't get a test before his theory expired. He has lost all interest and momentum now. What a waste of money. The system is bullshit.

Thats incredibly frustrating, honestly I feel frustrated for your DS. What a shambles the situation is for young people who just want to get on in life.

DS isn't sitting his test in a remote part of the UK because he wants to, he's doing it so he can hopefully pass a matter of weeks since his first attempt. He doesn't want it dragging on for months.

The other side to this coin (nobody's fault, just goes to show what a mess the whole thing is for everybody) is that I live in a remote area and recently passed - my instructor says he is now getting constant phone calls from people who live hours and hours away, who want to borrow his car for their test. He started saying yes but then realized his income was being affected (because he was having to decline local students - plus those students were struggling to find tests as our area became a bit of a 'remote test hotspot'). The whole thing is fucked.

Just read that the DVLA are attempting to reduce the wait to 7 weeks by Summer 2026....I won't hold my breath! With the sheer amount of people waiting and obviously increasing by the day, plus the fact they haven't even touched the sides of the bot problem this seems like a long term issue.