A driving instructor has come under fire after advertising last minute test slots for up to five times the price for learners wanting to beat the six month waiting list.
Steve Cogan has been branded "selfish" for making money from desperate learners who are suffering from the ongoing backlog caused by the pandemic, but the dad-of-two claims he "only wants to help."
The instructor says he is "trying to do good" by helping learners in London to beat the current waiting lists, by advertising test dates given to him by an unnamed examiner - who is now being investigated by motoring chiefs.
His Facebook marketplace listings posted repeatedly over the last two weeks contain a roll of 30 alleged February dates at 10 different centres, charging an eye-watering £212 rather than the usual £62 to £75.
When Steve was contacted by undercover reporters posing as learners, he bragged that he's been selling tests from a "very handy" mystery examiner for a number of months and claimed he had tests available as soon as three days away their centres being booked up for months on the official system.
He even claimed learners were engaging in bidding wars over the test slots, with one test going for as much as £300.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) confirmed they are investigating the unnamed examiner, while it remains unclear how the unknown man is able to provide the slots to other instructors or whether he is breaching any rules or guidelines when doing so.
Steve, who lives in Shepherd's Bush, said: "It's a six month waiting list so I was just trying to help some people out. I'm sure there's people that would say it's fair and some people who say it isn't.
"I don't buy the tests. I'm just a middle man. If you look at the DVSA and look who has bought them, my name won't be next to it. I go through someone else. I've got someone who lets me know they've got these tests, then I pass them out to my students and anyone who needs them.
"I was just trying to help some people, and I only make £10 from each booking and the rest goes to the other party. It's not a huge amount of money. I thought I was doing people some favours by offering out the contact that I've got.
"The guy's an examiner or an ex-examiner. I didn't think it was dodgy, not really. There's hundreds of apps out there that you can get driving cancellations on. I just assumed it was one of those.
"A student got in contact with him, and then she put me in contact with him. I'm trying to do good. Some people will put the time in to press that refresh button and keep clicking, spending 20 hours a day doing it, and some people would rather pay someone else to do it.
"If it's not allowed then I will happily stop right now. I don't want to get in trouble and I don't want to get anyone else in trouble. I don't want to get on the wrong side of anyone, let alone the DVSA."
Driving tests cost £62 to be taken on a weekday and £75 for a weekend, but by paying an extra £150 and providing your provisional driving licence and theory pass numbers Steve says he can help jump the queue.
London resident Aleksandrs Krasuckis, whose partner Korina Anderson has had to wait from September until next month to take her test three hours away from home, has branded Steve's actions as selfish.
Aleksandrs said: "He's being selfish and taking advantage of desperate learners. Who is he doing the right thing for? It must be himself because he's earning money from it. When the price is that high, it's not the right thing for everyone.
"I was just p***** off with this kind of person, keeping the slots for themselves. I understand it's quicker and that's a good thing but it's too high of a price for me.
"The DVSA should be looking into it, and maybe the trainees should book the test themselves and not the driving instructor. It would cut out this kind of thing."
Steven claims he's been called 'kind' for providing the quick-booking tests to learners and even suggests the DVSA should begin to operate it in the same way airlines provide priority boarding.
However Steve deleted his initial Facebook listing after being informed of the DVSA's investigation into the unnamed examiner.
A DVSA spokesperson said: "DVSA does not stand for any abuse of our customer service booking systems and are investigating. We will not hesitate in taking action if any misconduct is identified.
"We will take action against any instructor guilty of misconduct at the expense of legitimate candidates who have patiently waited for their opportunity to test.
"Any tests booked outside of the official DVSA booking site could be a scam and may result in candidates not having a test slot. We urge anyone to report any tests offered on social media to us."
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