To be livid at the Govs lack of action over the shambles around driving tests

[WynterQueen]

longer than expected

DS passed his theory test, and we booked his practical test. The first test was five months away at a random location, and I watched DVSA like a hawk to get a change to our preferred centre; the date was about the same.

In desperation, as he was nearer to ready to take a test, I used a black market site to get a change and nearly lost my money. These sites will only let you pay via PayPal and using friends and family, so there is no buyer protection. I refused, used goods and services and they wouldn't deal with me. Paypal paid me back after 28 days.

I tried another site and got a change, in my preferred centre for 6 weeks earlier. Cost £120 + £62 original test cost.

He failed, not through a lack of lessons, just an idiot van driver ... anyway he failed. That's life, only 47% pass first time. The odds were against him that morning.

I rebooked on DVSA. The first test anywhere in the country wasi halfway up the country in mid-April 2025. I took it.

Now I'm back on the black market again, the 'safe' place I used before has nothing until early March.

I found another site, but again, they will only accept payments from friends and family (no buyer protection). I am now sitting here with bated breath to see if I have been scammed out of another £122. I have 20 mins before I know

Anyway, my AIBU is, why are the Government doing nothing about this? Why can't they go back to the system of one learner who can book one test at a time and stop the bot's bulk buying tests using the Driving Instructor system bypass?

The place I have just used has offered me four different PayPal addresses and a bank account, all in different names. I hold little hope they are genuine. Particularly las they kept calling me Ma'am. WTF. Nobody in the UK addresses me like that.

Perhaps we need an MN list of black market sites with which we have had genuine transactions to help others feel more secure when working on the underbelly of the driving test market to get our children's tests.

Your are NOT BU
The Gov need to act

You are BU
Its a free market let scammers make money

It always was the case that you had to book months in advance for a test. I waited 4 months for my first at at least 3 months for the 're sits. Surely you take the theory, then learn, practice and then take a test...Will lead to safer young drivers (and I speak as someone who had to help pull a 18 year old girl out of car she flipped this summer)

the black market exists because people use it. If people like you weren't buying then they wouldn't be selling. There's always been a wait for tests, I passed nearly thirty years ago and the wait was a couple of months then. The problem isn't the government failing to act the problem is a generation that demands everything instantly.

The government inherited so many failing services, you are being unrealistic to expect them to have fixed this in five months.

Perhaps if the medical and other standards I would wish to see were in place, there would be less of a wait. However, my wish would be seen as a war on the motorist.

No one made you go to dodgy site to book.
There are only so many people qualified to take tests. They can’t magic up more of them over night.

I've voted YABU, because the only reason these sites continue to exist is because people are daft enough to pay them. I get that it's frustrating and a ridiculous state of affairs, but come on - four different PayPal addresses and F&F only? You couldn't invite scamming more.

I would ban anyone using the black market for a very long time. Which would in this case not be the person for whom the test is booked.

I remember waiting about 6 weeks (30 years ago). 2 years ago when DS was taking tests there were reasonably good apps that would autobook earlier tests with a one off payment of £17.

The wait is now 5 months and I am hearing about very expensive apps that are scams. DD is booked on for next year but if she fails is it 5 months or over £100 now?

I’m not sure what the government can realistically do - pay examiners more?

There’s always been a wait so you have to gamble if you’ll be ready in time. More practice is a good thing. As is fewer drivers!

Dd is also caught up in all this.

She passed theory in April, booked test for 5 months ahead, took lessons. Failed. Booked again for 5 months out, did the 6am Monday morning login twice and got a cancellation for Oct, took more lessons. Failed. Managed to get another test for Feb. Don't know if she is trying to bring it earlier this time, maybe just more practice.

It's an outrage. It's because it's happening to mainly young people that the gov feels confident doing nothing. This isn't something that can be solved with better tech and fewer bots- we need more instructors doing more tests.

We're in west London and none of the 7 centres closest to us had anything showing as available - the full 6 months in advance. Nothing.
Logging in at odd hours DD found one 5 months out at the one furthest which made practice hard. She failed.

Second test we booked somewhere 200 miles away then used an app and eventually got it changed to a location a bit closer. Sadly another fail.

By this point she'd be leaving for uni in 2 months having spent a huge chunk of her Saturday job money on lessons and tests with nothing to show. No way of getting another test before she goes and it would be really hard and unaffordable getting lessons at uni so it was going to have been a huge waste of time and money.

Eventually a dad at school gave DH the name of a driving school who charged us a £125 "registration" fee and then let us buy a test off them and she passed just before heading to uni. She's studying social work and a driving licence will be critical for most of her job opportunities.

It's was dreadful. It's fine to wait a few months but to have nothing available in 6 months every time you try to book is unacceptable.

I do get that we became part of the problem using dodgy driving school. However it's not acceptable to not be able to get tests at all in 6 months. The problem isn't the dodgy sites or the apps or the skulduggery- it's the fact that desperate people end up having no choice.

My brothers an electrician. He takes on apprentices. A big part of being an apprentice is driving the van to get stuff. He's a nice chap and pays 50% for the lessons and for all of the test. He's got 2 lads at the moment who it's been 2 years and neither of them have managed it. It's causing brother problems and is way more expensive having constant lessons to maintain skills.

Young people need to drive sometimes and it shouldn't be a 2 year process. Should only rich children drive?

I did my test in 2008. My instructor booked it for me, I only had to wait a week. It seems unbelievable that it's so bad now, I totally sympathise.

People who use these black market sites make the wait even longer. I'd make facilitating them and knowingly using them a criminal offence and confiscate the licence of anyone involved.

I don't know whether the problem is more people driving or wanting to drive, insufficient numbers of examiners or not enough test centres, so how can the government address it?

I would save your ‘livid’ feelings for the bigger matters at hand to be honest.

Is it essential for driving schools/instructors to be able to block book or do the costs of this leading to a market for slots outweigh the costs?

OMG the site I thought was a scam came through. We have a test date

For all the nasty, sanctimonious comments about me using a dodgy site, these sites have 50-150 test dates you can buy. The way it works is you swap your test via them, so they always have this same number of tests available. The sites must be holding 2500+ tests between them at any one time. All the kids are using these sites, particularly for retests it is the only way to jump a six-month queue after a fail.

The Gov lets you rebook for ten working days after a fail, but it's another 5.5 months before you can get a test from DVLA. The longer you wait, the more lessons you need to come back up to speed.

The youth are getting royally shafted by this chaos. Middlemen are making money (often people setting themselves up as a driving school to bulk buy via bots)

Using the black market sites only perpetuates the problem.

We used a fairly big school of motoring with DS. As soon as he passed his theory (within a couple of weeks of turning 17 and starting lessons), they booked him a test (we paid). They then have the flexibility to swap and change all of the tests that they have booked amongst all of their pupils. If someone isn’t ready but another pupil is it saves potentially wasting the first person’s time, money and a test slot. It worked out great for us and I don’t know why more don’t do it this way.

And I certainly don't want MNHQ to endorse a list of safe illegal sites to sanction the practice of working on the underbelly of the driving test market

My son started his test on Weds and within 5 minutes the learning cars engine management light came on - test over. There are no tests available at all in our area, so he has booked the 1st May in the next city. Fucking ridiculous!!

until your child needs a test and you realise the extent of the issue.

Unless you drive to a north leeds test centre which does seem to have only a 4 month wait

Being able to pay examiners more would certainly help - particularly in London where the bigger shortages are. They could raise the test fee slightly to pay for this. They've actually just recruited 250 nationally (or thereabouts) but not.sure how many are in London.
I can't see them ever dealing with the bot issue because they are too scared to piss off all the Driving Instructors and Schools by stopping the ability to block book.
They basically need to chuck a ton of money at it and make some really bold decisions but don't have any money. At the moment they've been tinkering around trying things like making managers do driving tests and giving bonuses for over time. It's clearly not enough.
There's just been a select committee with the DVSA chief exec..I haven't watched it but I imagine she got a roasting.

Someone I know says there's a site or an app. You pay a fee (maybe £15/£20) and you can book cancelled tests. His lad failed first time and had another 2 weeks later.

I'll ask him what the app was now.

We are also stuck in this nightmare.
And to the previous poster who said it’s always been this way - no it hasn’t my BF is a driving instructor (teaching DS) and she used to be able to have people doing resits a fortnight after failing.

I can’t believe you’re that desperate for your son to drive that you’d risk losing money for 6 weeks earlier?!