“An own goal for driving instructors that brings the profession into disrepute.” That was the view of Carly Brookfield at the Driving Instructors Association after a BBC investigation found resellers paying instructors for DVSA booking logins and flipping test slots for profit - a pattern learners in Manchester and West Yorkshire say they’ve run up against for months.

Undercover messages showed offers of up to £250 a month for access to the DVSA’s Online Business Service. Once in, touts bulk‑book and resell appointments on Facebook and WhatsApp for as much as £500, despite the official practical test fee being £62 - or £75 on evenings and weekends.

The BBC traced operations covering London, Birmingham, Manchester and the Home Counties. One seller bragged of working with more than 1,000 instructors - a claim not independently verified. Another contact, known as “Ahadeen”, promised regular payments for login details, then denied involvement when approached in person.

The method is blunt - and risky for pupils. Using instructors’ credentials, sellers grab slots using licence details taken from customers, then pass the bookings on at a markup. Instructors who share logins risk breaching DVSA rules, and learners risk misuse of their personal data.

The alarm bell that kicked this off came from a West Yorkshire instructor who told the BBC they’d been offered £250 a month for their login. Reporters quickly found groups posting hundreds of tests a day. Parents and learners admitted paying out of desperation just to get a date after months of delays.

There are accountability questions too. Documents seen by the BBC show the DVSA’s then chief executive Loveday Ryder was alerted to these operations in February. An FOI reply says 346 instructor OBS accounts had been closed for breaches by 17 November 2025 - yet some sellers reported to the agency are still trading. Ms Ryder has since announced she is stepping down.

Ministers promise change. On 12 November 2025, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed that from spring 2026 only learner drivers will be able to book and manage car tests, reschedules will be capped at two, and any move must stay near the original centre.

The demand explains the market. DVSA figures show 642,000 people were in the queue at the end of October, while average waits hover around 21 weeks. The government now concedes its seven‑week target won’t be met by summer 2026.

Most instructors we hear from are furious at colleagues who sell access. As one told the BBC, “It makes my blood boil,” after a pupil’s family faced another £500 bill when they needed a fresh date. The DIA says a small minority is dragging a hard‑working trade through the mud.

For learners here in the North the advice is simple: use only GOV.UK to book, don’t share your licence details, and report any approach to buy or sell logins. DVSA says it will act against misuse, and the PCS union believes learner‑only booking should curb reselling - though it won’t fix waiting times on its own.