Robert paid £726 to skip the driving test waiting list. New laws mean others won't be able to

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Robert paid £726 to skip the driving test waiting list. New laws mean others won't be able to33 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleSimon BrowningBusiness correspondentBBCRobert Kamugisha paid driving test resellers more than £700 because he didn't want to wait months to book directly with the DVSARobert Kamugisha had been desperate to sit his driving test. But the waiting list stretched for months, and every week without a licence meant more pressure - financially and personally.

So when he was offered earlier test dates for a hefty fee, he took the risk. The 21-year-old criminology student from Croydon spent most of his savings - £726 - on three test slots, all bought through resellers who snap up appointments and sell them on at inflated prices. The actual cost to take a test is £62.

The Details

New government rules now mean only a learner driver can book their own test, part of a crackdown on third party operators using bots to hoover up thousands of slots. But it was too late for Robert. "I spent most of my savings," he tells the after passing in December, on his third attempt.

"I felt like I was being scammed. "Driving instructors say the black market trade has exploded as waiting times across the UK have soared, and thousands of learner drivers have struggled to get driving tests without a long wait. How driving test booking is changing for learner driversFigures provided to the from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) earlier this week revealed the national average wait time for a practical driving test in April 2026 in Great Britain was 22.

Across the nations, Scotland's wait time was 22. 9 weeks, in England it was 22. 7 weeks, and Wales was slightly shorter at 17.

What Experts Say

Robert says his driving instructor encouraged him to use a reseller to secure an earlier test date, reassuring him it was legitimate. The reseller logged in with Robert's details, booked the test, and the DVSA sent him a confirmation. "Once I got the booking confirmation, that's when I felt a bit of relief," Robert tells the after contacting Your Voice.

"The expense though was crazy. "Robert paid £242 per test, plus £150 each time to use his instructor's car, bringing his total cost to £1,176 - a figure that does not include the cost of his lessons. Sophie Stuchfield, a driving instructor from Watford, tells the the black market has taken advantage of the demand for earlier test slots.

"People have found ways to manipulate the system to be able to book thousands of driving tests themselves to then be able to resell on for a massively high inflated fee," she adds. Driving tests available for sale in third party messaging groups in June located in Guildford, Yeovil, Abergavenny, Lowestoft and HendonThe use of automated booking programmes, or bots, has plagued the DVSA booking system since a huge test backlog built up during the pandemic.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.