Driving Test Booking Help

andrea1983

Hi everyone,

my wife just passed her theory test to get her driving license; she is now trying to book a driving test but it seems almost impossible to find a slot available (she is looking to book at the Hither Green Driving center cause we live close by and she has been having her driving lesson around the area).

Is there any way to speed up the driving test booking process?

Also, does the driving test need to be booked at the center closer to where we live or it can be anywhere else?

She already missed the chance to get her driving license once because, after she passed her first theory test in 2019, the 2ys time she had to take the driving test went by almost entirely during the the one year and a half period of lockdown during which she was not able to take and lesson and tests.

She now has done the theory test again and has 2 more years to take the driving test but, by the look of it, she will not be able to book any test any time soon (on the Gov.UK website so far there are no available slots till mid 2022).

Any help on how to speed that process (if there are any) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for helping!

Car_54

She can take her test anywhere in the UK. Obviously, looking at other centres will give her a better chance of finding an earlier date.

There are services which can look for dates for her (for a price). Other posters may have experience and/or recomendatons.

facade

Car_54 said:

There are services which can look for dates for her (for a price). Other posters may have experience and/or recomendatons.

Unfortunately you now have to pay for one of these services.

They use bots to check for test slots every few seconds, and instantly reserve them, so they only appear to the public for a few seconds at best.

The reserved test is then offered to their clients, and if no-one wants it it is released, then snapped up instantly by a rival service.

andrea1983

facade said:

Car_54 said:

There are services which can look for dates for her (for a price). Other posters may have experience and/or recomendatons.

Unfortunately you now have to pay for one of these services.

That's really a shame; the Gov shouldn't allow to do that cause normal people is them cut out from booking a test in the official way.

Do you know any of those services names by the way?
If anything she will have to use one of those services to be able to get her license without risking to have 2y more go by just by waiting for an available slot.

Thanks for replying though, I really appreciate!

BOWFER

We used one of the apps, it was brilliant.
https://driving-test-cancellations-now.co.uk/

andrea1983

BOWFER said:

We used one of the apps, it was brilliant.
https://driving-test-cancellations-now.co.uk/

Thanks, I'll check it out!

Also, the Gov.uk website layout for this process is really non-user friendly; it left you choose a specific date first and then ask you for the area you are interested to take the test in and then says no dates are available.

A better way to work this process would be to enter the location and based on that the website should show all the available slots and it's up to the user to chose their favorite slot from those.

But that's another story and topic!

Thanks for all the suggestions here...and please keep posting if you have more!

Flight3287462

I spent a bit of time looking on the test website until a suitable date popped up for my daughter, so it can be done and fortunateky her test date was the day after tests reopened in May (Scotland).

We had the option of quicker tests (which would have been cancelled the way it worked out) but we decided best to stick to the test centre and area that she knew.  Going to a new area can be difficult so think twice about it..

ontheroad1970

Flight3287462 said:

I spent a bit of time looking on the test website until a suitable date popped up for my daughter, so it can be done and fortunateky her test date was the day after tests reopened in May (Scotland).

We had the option of quicker tests (which would have been cancelled the way it worked out) but we decided best to stick to the test centre and area that she knew.  Going to a new area can be difficult so think twice about it..

It can have advantages also in that it stops candidates getting too familiar which can lead to lazy habits.  Remember the saying 'familiarity breeds contempt'.  

andrea1983

Flight3287462 said:

I spent a bit of time looking on the test website until a suitable date popped up for my daughter, so it can be done and fortunateky her test date was the day after tests reopened in May (Scotland).

We had the option of quicker tests (which would have been cancelled the way it worked out) but we decided best to stick to the test centre and area that she knew.  Going to a new area can be difficult so think twice about it..

My wife was able to book a driving test soon after the test reopened too and it was the last chance she had before her 2ys period from passing the theory test would expire; unfortunately the test didn't go well so now she had to pass the theory test again.

Everything was put on hold during the lockdown time aside from that 2y period allowance people have once they pass their theory test.

Yes, that's the other issue; finding a place in the area she is practicing (Hither Green) seems to be impossible really and even if we see there are slots available around Jan2022 in other locations (mostly outside of London) she is a bit worried to book there cause she would be completely new to the area.

andrea1983

BOWFER said:

We used one of the apps, it was brilliant.
https://driving-test-cancellations-now.co.uk/

Did this service work for you?

I read it costs around 20pounds which it would be a fair price to pay although I wonder if there are any other costs coming with that.

If you have any more info based on your personal experience I would be more than happy to listen to them.

Thanks!

BOWFER

andrea1983 said:

BOWFER said:

We used one of the apps, it was brilliant.
https://driving-test-cancellations-now.co.uk/

Did this service work for you?

I read it costs around 20pounds which it would be a fair price to pay although I wonder if there are any other costs coming with that.

If you have any more info based on your personal experience I would be more than happy to listen to them.

Thanks!

It was well under £20, it was something like £8 from the apple store.
Uploaded our details, it then automatically found and reserved a date for us that was much better than before.
That test was failed, so we used it again and got a cancellation within a couple of weeks.
It literally saved months of waiting, in total.