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 completely agree with you. It's a complete mess and I do sympathise with the locals where DS is going. He is using his own car and not using a local instructor but DH has a lot of experience driving rural and single track roads etc so hopefully he'll crack it with help. Plus DH's boss is from that remote area (complete and utter coincidence!) and has been giving DS tips for driving there. 🤞🤞

It's not an easier type of driving, it's different challenges. No roundabouts. No traffic lights etc. Lots of single track roads and coastal winds.

The new dates are released at 6am on a Monday you need to be logged in and good to go.

they only release 24-26 weeks ahead which is why you can't see any for 2027.

i used Testi to try and bring forward the date - but haven't had any luck with it. Not quick enough to click and get into dvla

actually looking today there are more tests available than I've seen for a while. Okay they are all over 100 miles from me, and not until Feb or Mar next year, but at least there are available dates. When I tried last week there were only about 5 sites in the whole of the uk that actually had any tests available.

Doesn't help DD though. We are just sticking with her current test in Jan, and hoping that she passes it. If she doesn't then we will maybe look at other test sites, though she is very reluctant to sit a test in an unknown town.

DS doesn't seem put off getting a test in a remote location where there are no roundabouts, or traffic lights. You either drive in a big circle clock wise round or anti clockwise round the test route. Cattle grids will be different for him and passing places. But I think it's a more relaxed atmosphere so for him it's unknown but after a bit of practice he should be okay. It will he an experience either way🤣

That was my experience too. There was only one test for this year ( we got that one) and the other four were based in other parts of the UK for next year. January and February onwards. What good is that?!

@user1476613140the upsides to having any date or time booked is the ability to use the apps to change. If you don’t have a test slot booked at all then the apps aren’t an option.

I realise this is not helpful, but WTF did I just read?!

How is this allowed to happen? Why is everyone scrambling to use bloody commercial apps to book a government sanctioned test?? Has everyone gone mad???

Why can't the driving schools/learner book directly with the DVLA in an orderly and prompt manner? Really, really not rocket science. I just don't get it. At all.

My ds has been trying to book his test for January for weeks. His instructor told him try on a Monday morning. So we were there at 6am Monday in a que of 20,000 people, it was madness. We managed to get one on march in the end which is later than he wanted but at least we managed get one. All the rest centres were booked. We did nearly get one a few weeks ago but as soon as we went to book it was taken in seconds.

Believe me, I've tried to book in an orderly and sensible manner! Its just not possible. To even book a test you have to be up at 6am on a Monday morning and in a queue of 20000. If you try at any other time you just get 'no tests available on any date'. A couple of weeks of trying on a Monday morning, and you can secure a test for 6 months away.

according to the DVSA website, you can change the date of your test. So you go on (fortunately at any time) and try and rearrange for another, ideally sooner, time. Or for a test cetnre that isn't 200 miles away. And there are no available tests. I was checking multiple times a day. This is along with the frustration of having to log in each time, a slow website that says ' thanks for your patience, we are just logging you in' and sporadically kicking you out as it thinks you are a bot.
Out of sheer desperation and frustartion people turn to apps. This used to work 12 -18 months ago, but I don't know anyone having any success with these either at the moment.

It is just complete madness. I would never have thought it was this bad if I hadn't experienced it myself.

Because they aren't available to book in an orderly and prompt manner! You log on to the website and there's nothing there to book! What's the "not rocket science" answer at that point then?

I think you misunderstood me.

It is not rocket science for the DVLA to get a handle on this and provide a prompt and orderly service (that the taxpayer is paying them for).

And I still cannot understand why, and how, this is happening (or why people are seemingly just going along with it, for that matter).

I feel like the anxiety going into a test is way worse when you know it’s going to be another 6 months wait if you fail. I’d feel a lot more relaxed if I knew I could rebook for six weeks time.

@stickygotstuck . Sorry, I thought you were having a go at us. Yes, you would think the DVSA would be able to organise it. Unfortunately it seems to be the same as any government run thing, such as NHS waiting lists, prisons being overfull, massive immigration processing issues (I personally think that a huge part of the immigration problem with hotels etc is that they just need to process people quicker and not leave them in limbo in hotels for months - but thats another argument)

Its just a mess. And I feel sorry for anyone caught up in it all.

Come to Swansea! Having read all of the threads on this I was stressing about trying to get a test for DD earlier this year, and then it turned out we could have gotten one within 6 weeks! (Which she'd have no way been ready for) They had loads of dates available

One hundred percent this! When I did my test back in the Middle Ages, I had it booked and then got a bit thrown by a “near miss” and my instructor suggested pushing it back a month to give me time to build my confidence back - it was very easy to do at that time and I passed first time.

Totally agree that the time scale to book the tests is what is causing anxiety during the test. DD knew that the chance of getting another test booked within 6 months if she failed was poor, so desperately wanted to pass. She came home absolutely devastated when she didn't. If she could have booked another in a a few weeks it wouldn't have been so pressured.
We've booked another theory test now, so the moment that is passed again, I will attempt to book another test and change it through Testi. DD has come to terms with the fact it will be another half year at least until she can be independent IF she passes next time.

So sorry to hear this is still happening. As a later in life learner I passed back in 2022 after running the gauntlet of this bullshit - I had so hoped it would be better for the people coming along after me, clearly not.

It feels very high stakes when you take your test knowing that you might not be able to do another for maybe a year. It gets expensive very fast with lessons. It must be awful for teens who are already under other stress with exams, uncertainty about jobs etc.

The DVSA needs to get their act together. Theory tests should last at least three years, I had to retake mine and it was the exact same damn test. They definitely need to hire more examiners. But mainly, there's a big loophole where unscrupulous driving instructors can book a test supposedly for their learners and then sell it on at inflated cost to the desperate. You see them advertising on instagram etc. People should only be able to book their own test for themselves, with a limit on the number of times you cancel and rebook to stop bots spamming it.

It's time to stop blaming covid, no other country has this problem any more. Just us, dysfunctional UK.

DS might be heading to Wales next if he doesn't pass second attempt 🤣 watch this space 😉 😂

Oh God, I'd forgotten about the site sporadically kicking you out after you'd checked so many dates.

And having to manually put in all of your details for every date (and not just being able to click through the calendar to see availability). Just checking each day, one at a time, been told they are not available, and then being kicked out.

What a fucking joke.