Learner drivers forced to buy tests on black market as companies blockbook slots
As brokers exploit the hunt for tests with an automated ‘bot’ system, many are paying extortionate fees to ditch their L-plates
[ comments | sourced from HackerNews
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Brokers, operating like ticket touts, are inviting bids from driving schools for available test slots for their students, with prices of up to £400.
One broker with a registered business address at a terraced house in east London claims to offer better availability for fast-track slots than the government website.
Some students in London and the home counties travel to Devon and west Wales to take their driving test rather than pay inflated prices to scalpers.
Centres in London and the home counties, Bristol, Manchester, Leicester, Leeds and Glasgow are among the places with the longest waits, according to figures released under freedom of information laws.
Anne Corwin, 39, a radiographer from Weybridge, has a two-year-old daughter and was keen to get her driving test but said finding an available slot was an “absolute nightmare.
Loveday Ryder, DVSA chief executive, said: “We are taking all the measures we can to reduce driving test waiting times, including recruiting almost 500 examiners.
The original article contains 1,111 words, the summary contains 160 words. Saved 86%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!