Disgusted at the corruption of the DVLA and all the scamming around driving tests

[ManyBooksLittleTime]

Both my children are trying to pass their driving tests. In the area in which we live, and several centres surrounding this, individuals buy up ALL the driving tests using bots to purchase them all. It is impossible to buy your own test. The Instructors, including 'reputable' companies, recommend who to buy the test from. The tests are sold for £160 -500. Then the student is encouraged to pay for an hour driving lesson before the test and use of the car during the test.
My son's last test cost £340 all in and my daughter's £360. She got into the police, but couldn't join as she couldn't pass her test in time! It's soul destroying. AIBU to think that the the government/police should step in? This should be an illegal practice. At the moment the examiners and instructors must be getting massive backhanders and it's very much in the interest if the examiners to just keep failing the students. I'm so angry and frustrated! It just seems like very open corruption.

If you need a hire car because you don't have a suitable vehicle I think it has to be dual control or you aren't insured

I agree but if my DC’s job was relying on it I would do whatever I could. My DC was a late August baby so it was necessary for us to get them passed asap before A levels and going off to Uni. This is why I started planning and helping way in advance hence the theory test on the morning of their 17th birthday. It’s hard but it is doable.

We live in an area cancellations never came up or we weren’t quick enough that’s why we preset one the app with the dates to book on our behalf. Much quicker than the human touch. We set the app for all the holidays between xmas and Easter thankfully we got one February half term of 2023.

I think lots more parents are having to let the kids use their car for tests ( mine included).
Instructors round here are very booked up and just can't be booked last minute cancellation tests which is all that are available here ( or wait months) .

It shouldn't be the case though. It really disadvantages those kids whose parents don't drive/ have a suitable car/ can't risk it or take time of work, which will be poorer kids in the main. As a PP pointed out rural kids absolutely need to drive.

We have twins - both booked slough - you have to book at 6am Monday mornings. First twin booking in Feb 2024 we got slough June. Second twin booking in June 2024 in slough December. First twin failed and we rebooked in July and got slough December.

What I object to is if you want to pull forward you have to pay for a bot to do it as the bots take the tests which are cancelled. They take the tests because they are moving people who have booked later in time into the slots which come up.

The twin that failed had been extra nervous as he had been rear ended the week before (other driver admitted full liability) and his instructors car was out of action so he had to use an unfamiliar car a week after the accident for his test. When we tried to rebook he’s had to wait until December now to be retested unless we want to pay for a bot.

You can use your own car for the test (we did) it just needs a second mirror for the instructor you can get on Amazon for about £9

The apps are a £10 lifetime fee til you pass if you get one a test may come up before. Have you got a car they can use for test?

A lot of people don't have a car suitable for a learner at all. That's the problem and why they want to use the instructors car.

I acknowledged that earlier. I have noticed that a lot of people seem to think using your own car is somehow difficult (people in general, not specifically on here), so I think pointing out that it’s easy is good. Obviously it won’t be an option for everyone.

It's absolutely disgusting that this loophole where brokers use bots to buy up all the tests is still being unchallenged.
My DD started driving in November '23. Her driving instructor told her to book a test pretty much immediately and she was given a test for July 24. She unfortunately didn't pass and when she tried to book another test, the earliest she can get is Jan 25!
It was on our local BBC radio station the other day that these brokers are using bots to buy them all and that it needs to be cracked down on. Surely it can't be too tricky to close this flipping loophole?!

It also surely adds to our DC anxiety of taking their test, knowing that if they fail they might have to wait another 4-6 months!

This practise was on the news the other day, its a disgrace that it's legal! I booked my test before taking lessons and was luckily in a stage to pass when it came along but not everyone is

I also think that people need to keep this in perspective - a test date will come up and their young person will probably pass eventually, then can move on with their life - but there are many young people (for example children and young people who have epilepsy) who may not be able to learn to drive at all for medical reasons, despite taking daily medication. Consider the restrictions that puts upon career choices and daily life, for a young person who is seeing all their friends spread their wings and follow their aspirations.

You're not wrong, but I think it is an issue that we have this corruption of government systems and its also not wrong to be concerned about that.

There are plenty of disabled people who really need driving licences to live their lives more fully and they are getting caught up in this too.

We had an instructor who convinced DD it was ‘frowned on’ by examiners to take the test in your own car and it might count against her. Then changed her car from a Corsa to a bigger car, an Astra, the day before DD’s test, insisting that the lesson beforehand would be plenty of time for DD to acclimatise to the different car. Sadly, as an inexperienced driver in an unfamiliar car, she failed.
Booked a test in her own car straight away, bypassing the instructor completely, and passed.

This has been going on for a long time. My ds passed his test a year ago and it was an utter nightmare. I spent hours and hours refreshing the government website (and having it accuse me of being a bot and chuck me out as I was doing it so much).

The government or DVLA or whoever have been letting this go on for around 4 years now. The backlog is gigantic, people are giving up. My friend has 2 kids who both need a test and have gone to university and given up. The eldest has even had his theory pass expire I think as he's 20 now.

So many years, getting worse and worse - nothing done.

Government needs to step in a fix this now. I am astonished it's only really hit mainstream media in a major way now as it's been a serious issue for years.

This is essentially a ticket tout situation...

I agree, not fair... but people will make money where they see they're able.

I think it's disgusting and needs to be cracked down on

Has it only become a problem since COVID?

The whole system needs reform, not just the test booking system.

If 65% of test takers didn't fail and need to retake, the system would have more capacity. I don't think the current system even has enough capacity for a pass rate of 45%, which is the pass rate in many places, rural and urban.

The boom in these bots and touts is being fuelled by very low pass rates, which don't seem to be motivated by road safety entirely: e.g. my example previously in this thread about failing on a forward parking manoeuvre, which was taken in a supermarket carpark and failed because the driver parked on a white line. That learner driver lost out on a degree apprenticeship and won't get to take a test again for months, perhaps over a year if they go away to university. How are the roads safer because learners are failing on a forward parking manoeuvre? That kind of mentality is leading to 65% of learners having to rebook a test in my area, which is a huge number of extra tests being booked in the system, not all of whom are bad dangerous drivers. The test itself needs reforming, so that the pass rate increases without safety decreasing. It is possible. Nowhere else in the world is it this hard to pass a driving test. Only dangerous drivers should be failed, and new drivers should have a mandatory 'new driver' sticker, e.g. the 'P' sticker, restrictions on driving a carful of their friends etc.

There are ways to reduce the huge demand for tests, which is being fuelled by the extremely high failure rate, without jeopardising safety.

My daughter takes her test for the 4th time today, already stressed to the max with how she will afford to pay again if she doesn't pass. It's a vicious cycle.

It’s been like this in South West London since Covid times. Absolutely awful tbh

@ManyBooksLittleTime Hope your DD passes today 🍀.

Is Pinner any good for you OP or is it too far and just as bad?

Maybe it should be possible to retake a section of the test, e.g. if the failure is only on a parking manoeuvre, there should be a short mini-test retake option of just parking manoeuvres, so that these people aren't booking a full test slot.

That would reduce some of the re-take demand (currently only 45% pass rate in my area, so 65% failure rate, and therefore 65% re-take rate potentially), and reduce the demand for the bots and touts.

This issue does not exist in other countries. It's purely because the DVSA allows third parties to book tests, and insists on making the test slots transferable to other learner drivers. Making tests non-transferable would solve the problem.

The government is aware but for some reason (my guess is incompetence rather than corruption) won't address it.

https://despatch.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/29/how-were-dealing-with-bots-and-the-reselling-of-driving-tests/

@babyzoomer I agree. If you fail a manoeuvre you would only need a reduced time to retake this section. Not sure about the other parts can’t see how it would work but definitely manoeuvre retests and of course if you did a serious or dangerous driving fault on the way to a carpark etc you would fail on that.