Scammers target desperate learner drivers with fast-track tests as wait times reach six months

Desperate learner drivers are resorting to paying scammers up to £200 for expedited driving tests to avoid long waiting times across the UK.

Young drivers in regions such as Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Dorset face waiting periods of 14 to 24 weeks for a driving test, so many are being lured into paying staggering fees to jump the queue.

Test appointments are snapped within minutes of being released and many are turning to social media platforms, where fraudsters list driving tests at inflated prices, sometimes up to five times the £62 standard fee.

On Facebook Marketplace, The Independent found advertisements for appointments at test driving centres in London from £150, and more than £200 for bookings outside the capital.

The situation has prompted growing concern among driving instructors and local MPs, who warn that these practices not only exploit learners but also compromise their personal information.

Bracknell-based driving instructor Chris Riley told the BBC: “I’m sure my pupils are tempted, and I can’t blame them.

“If your job depends on a driving licence and you’re faced with the cost of extra driving lessons for six months.

“People are just getting desperate, and they are turning to whoever’s selling.”

Mr Riley warned learners about the dangers of paying for such appointments. He said that sharing provisional licence numbers with these scammers could lead to unauthorised bookings across the country.

He added: “They’re either unaware that their numbers are being used to book tests or they are somehow involved. I don’t know how widespread or how many, but it does feel like people are making a mini-business out of it.”

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has urged learners to book tests exclusively through the official government website.

According to DVSA data, the current national average car driving test waiting time is nearly 18.8 weeks. In Basingstoke, the wait for a test has skyrocketed from 13 weeks in 2020 to 24 weeks today. Similarly, in Southampton, waiting times have doubled from 14.3 weeks to 24 weeks.

While re-selling is not illegal, the agency insisted that these practices can disadvantage genuine learners as many of these scammers use sophisticated softwares to monopolise driving test slots, securing appointments before regular users can even have a chance.

Bracknell MP Peter Swallow has voiced his concerns in parliament, calling for stricter measures combat the scams and urging the government to provide more driving tests.

He told the BBC: “My constituents are scraping together hundreds of pounds to pay double, or triple, the test price, only to have their details cloned and these black market operators then use them to squeeze others out of the market.”

Mr Swallow called for affordable access to driving tests, warning that increased fees would only further marginalise young people eager to hit the road.

He added: “We all remember that feeling of liberation when we first got behind the wheel after passing our test.

“For too many young people in my constituency that is just not a reality at the moment and pricing working people out of the test market is not really the solution I’m looking for.”