![\"learner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PRI_156959267-323d.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said it blocked 450 tests after detecting breaches to its regulations (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tThe Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said it blocked 450 tests after detecting breaches to its regulations (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
Hundreds of \u2018dodgy\u2019 driving test bookings were scrapped this week after rules were tightened to clamp down on touts making money by booking and reselling slots.<\/p>\n
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency<\/a> (DVSA) said it blocked 450 tests after detecting breaches to its regulations.<\/p>\n New rules mean it is easier to detect patterns of misuse, such as when a single payment card is used to purchase multiple tests for different learners, it added.<\/p>\n The agency wanted to make it harder for people using automated programmes \u2013 known as bots \u2013 to quickly book test slots as soon as they became available and resell them for profit.<\/p>\n Tests have a standard fee of \u00a362, but a National Audit Office report published in December last year found learners were paying up to \u00a3500 to book a slot on the black market.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n Learners affected by the rule change have been issued refunds. <\/p>\n \t\t New measures introduced on Tuesday means the location of a test can now only be moved to one of the three centres nearest the initial booking.<\/p>\n This is aimed at reducing incidents of people booking a test regardless of its location, with no intention of using the slot.<\/p>\n A ban on driving instructors booking tests came into force on May 12, meaning tests can now only be booked and managed by learners.<\/p>\n More than 4,000 learners have been banned from making online bookings since then, as part of a crackdown on abuse of the system.<\/p>\n The\u00a0DVSA\u00a0also said its work<\/a> has led to 17 test reselling apps being removed from major app stores.<\/p>\n \t\t Roads minister Simon Lightwood said: \u2018Learners should be focusing on getting test-ready, not fighting an unfair booking system or paying over the odds to third-party touts.<\/p>\n \u2018That\u2019s why\u00a0DVSA\u2019s\u00a0action to cancel dodgy tests is so important.<\/p>\n \u2018By cancelling tests booked in breach of the rules and suspending access for those attempting to misuse the system,\u00a0DVSA\u00a0is sending a clear message that attempts to exploit learner drivers and profit from driving test appointments will not be tolerated.\u2019<\/p>\n DVSA\u00a0chief executive Beverley Warmington said: \u2018We promised to make the driving test booking system fairer, and we have kept that promise.<\/p>\n \u2018These reforms were about making sure that driving tests go to genuine learners, not to those who profit from exploiting them.<\/p>\n \u2018Today\u2019s action demonstrates that we have the tools and the determination to enforce the new rules.<\/p>\n \u2018We will keep monitoring, keep acting, and keep the pressure on anyone who tries to circumvent the system.\u2019<\/p>\n Misuse of the system has been given as a major cause of the backlog of driving tests.<\/p>\n The\u00a0DVSA\u00a0said the average waiting time to book a test last month was nearly 22 weeks, compared with about five weeks in February 2020 before the coronavirus<\/a> pandemic.<\/p>\n It added it has delivered more than 240,000 additional tests between June last year and May 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"handsome](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_176570265-4247.jpg\")
\n\t\tLearners are being charged up to \u00a3500 for a test normally costing around \u00a362 by black market touts who book up swathes of slots (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"Laerner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_175310647-fa68.jpg\")
\n\t\tNew measures introduced on Tuesday means the location of a test can now only be moved to one of the three centres nearest the initial booking (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
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