Driving schools are knowingly exploiting a post-Covid DVSA backlog to charge people hundreds of pounds extra to book driving tests, MailOnline can reveal.

Rahat Fokrul, the head of Fast Driving Test Booking (FDTBooking), admitted his company was ripping off customers by charging excessive prices.

His company charges £180 to book a driving test that should cost just £62, a price hike of 190 per cent.

Another company charged up to £255 for the same service – more than quadruple the actual price on the government’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website.

Many of the companies say the inflated price is the result of an administration and booking fee that reflects the time it takes to find a test on the DVSA website. 

When asked if FDTBooking was ripping off customers, Mr Fokrul said: ‘Yes, we are. We know the rules.’ 

Tom Verdon-Roe, 25, (pictured) is a student in London  After trying to book a test himself for weeks, he finally stumped up £146 for a booking service to find one for him

Tom Verdon-Roe, 25, (pictured) is a student in London  After trying to book a test himself for weeks, he finally stumped up £146 for a booking service to find one for him

Tom Verdon-Roe, 25, (pictured) is a student in London  After trying to book a test himself for weeks, he finally stumped up £146 for a booking service to find one for him

‘We don’t fraud people. It takes time to find a date.’

He denied his company block-booked test slots to drive up the prices he could charge.

Tom Verdon-Roe, 25, is a student in London. After trying to book a test himself for weeks, he finally stumped up £146 for a booking service to find one for him.

He told MailOnline: ‘It’s pretty crazy. You would think that after Covid it would have calmed down but it feels worse. 

‘I tried three weeks in a row to get one. They release lots at 6am on Mondays. 

‘It feels like you have to [pay extra] because it’s what everyone else is doing.

‘The regulatory body should be doing more to be stamping it out.’

The Driving Test Exchange offers a booking service at three different prices - from £89 to a whopping £255

The Driving Test Exchange offers a booking service at three different prices - from £89 to a whopping £255

The Driving Test Exchange offers a booking service at three different prices – from £89 to a whopping £255

Local Intensive Driver Training (LIDT) charges £149 to book a test, although it denied block booking

Local Intensive Driver Training (LIDT) charges £149 to book a test, although it denied block booking

Local Intensive Driver Training (LIDT) charges £149 to book a test, although it denied block booking

Another man looking for a test in London said: ‘[There is] at least three to four months’ backlog. 

‘It’s really hard to find any days in the next few months at any centre.

‘Those websites are making money out of it.

‘There should be a crackdown on what’s going on. The system should not be abused.’

There is a wide selection of companies charging excessive amounts for booking driving tests.

Local Intensive Driver Training (LIDT) charges £149 and Intensive Courses puts their price at £179.

Intensive Courses denied block booking. Its director Noel Gaughan said it booked three to four tests a week with a profit of £117 per test, amounting to more than £24,000 annually.

He said: ‘There are companies charging an absolute fortune, which they shouldn’t be.

‘It’s not something that I enjoy doing. The dates we are finding are five or six months ahead.’

He added: ‘The cost is because it takes us so long to find a practical test date on the Government’s booking system.’

FDTBooking charges £180, while Best Driving School London charges up to £228. 

The Driving Test Exchange includes three different prices – from £89 to a whopping £255.

Christian Kriel is the director of Best Driving School London, which charges as much as £228 to book a test.

That is more than triple the price of a regular test, although his company has also offered tests for double the usual price.

Rahat Fokrul, the head of Fast Driving Test Booking (FDTBooking), admitted his company was ripping off customers by charging excessive prices

Rahat Fokrul, the head of Fast Driving Test Booking (FDTBooking), admitted his company was ripping off customers by charging excessive prices

Rahat Fokrul, the head of Fast Driving Test Booking (FDTBooking), admitted his company was ripping off customers by charging excessive prices

His company charges £180 to book a driving test that should cost just £62, a price hike of 190 per cent

His company charges £180 to book a driving test that should cost just £62, a price hike of 190 per cent

His company charges £180 to book a driving test that should cost just £62, a price hike of 190 per cent

Intensive Courses denied block booking. Its director Noel Gaughan said it booked three to four tests a week with a profit of £117 per test, amounting to more than £24,000 annually

Intensive Courses denied block booking. Its director Noel Gaughan said it booked three to four tests a week with a profit of £117 per test, amounting to more than £24,000 annually

Intensive Courses denied block booking. Its director Noel Gaughan said it booked three to four tests a week with a profit of £117 per test, amounting to more than £24,000 annually

Best Driving School London, charges as much as £228 to book a test that should cost just £62

Best Driving School London, charges as much as £228 to book a test that should cost just £62

 Best Driving School London, charges as much as £228 to book a test that should cost just £62

He denied blocking out bookings and said finding tests had become a ‘nightmare’ because of a 440,000 increase in the number of people searching for tests after Covid. 

Speaking to MailOnline, he admitted his test booking service was ‘double the price’.

However, he later denied this and said: ‘It will cost you twice as much but we don’t double the price. We are not doubling the price.’

He added: ‘We charge the same for the test but we charge an administration charge.

‘You are paying me to do the finding for you.

‘We have a whole bunch of people who work for us accessing the DVLA system. 

‘You are paying for a service. We are very clear. We will get you a driving test. 

‘A lot of people say , “No you’re too expensive,” but there are a lot of people who have to have driving tests that need that service.

‘Is that wrong? 

‘It’s a decision you make. If you don’t want the service, don’t pay for it.

‘We keep getting badgered by people saying, “You’re doubling the price”.

‘At least they have somewhere they can go to help them find the test.

‘We don’t lie to people about it. We really try to help people.

'It feels like you have to [pay extra] because it's what everyone else is doing. The regulatory body should be doing more to be stamping it out'

'It feels like you have to [pay extra] because it's what everyone else is doing. The regulatory body should be doing more to be stamping it out'

‘It feels like you have to [pay extra] because it’s what everyone else is doing. The regulatory body should be doing more to be stamping it out’

‘There will be a lot of people providing driving tests who are dishonest.’ 

In the last six months the DVSA has issued 141 warnings, made 113 suspensions and closed 194 businesses – all for misuse of the service. 

It also changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to make it clear driving instructors are not allowed to use it to make a profit from making and managing driving test bookings.

Last summer the DVSA removed around 4,500 registrations that were not linked to driving instructors and increased protection against bots block booking tests.

As of October 9, 2023, there were 573,726 car practical driving tests booked, and 83,152 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

Tech expert Andrew Whaley, from cyber security firm Promon, told MailOnline: ‘Using bots to buy up test slots is an example of a malicious business practice and is certainly part of the issue in driving up prices of UK driving tests. 

‘This reflects a broader issue of technology being misused for profit at the expense of public accessibility.

‘Bots, with their ability to mimic human behaviour and perform tasks at lightning speed, are indeed a powerful tool. 

‘However, when they are exploited to secure driving test appointments and subsequently resell them at higher prices, it creates an unfair situation for those seeking to take their test. 

‘The consequences are twofold. It becomes increasingly challenging for individuals to secure appointments at a convenient time and it forces some to pay exorbitant prices for the privilege of taking their driving tests.’

DVSA Chief Executive Loveday Ryder said: ‘DVSA is committed to tackling the reselling of driving tests at profit, and we have zero tolerance for those who exploit learners.

‘We have changed the rules to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit, deploying new bot protection to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly and we will remove the accounts of those who break the rules.’

LIDT denied block booking tests and said: ‘LIDT specialises in offering fast-track slots, drastically reducing this waiting period.

‘If a candidate opts to book one of our fast-track slots, an additional fee, alongside taxes and DVSA charges, is incurred… for the expedited service we furnish.’

MailOnline has contacted the Driving Test Exchange for comment.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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