When you’re learning to drive there will come a time when you need to book your theory test and driving test.  In this modern world, most people will choose to do this online.  The official government websites for booking the test are as follows:

To book a theory test – https://www.gov.uk/book-theory-test

To book a driving test – https://www.gov.uk/book-driving-test

These websites work really well, and the booking system is really easy to follow.  Unfortunately many people don’t use the correct website.  This tends to be down to Google.  Instead of finding the correct website, many people simply search ‘book theory test’ or ‘book driving test’ and the first results that come up are the sponsored adverts.  Within these sponsored adverts appear a number of websites that are not associated with the DVSA (the official government department for driving tests).  These websites offer promises of free retests if you fail your test, even though you will pay a premium for the privilege.

The problem with these websites is not many people read the small print.  The lure of a retest, for what seems quite a reasonable price, draws many people into just booking without giving much though into what they’re actually going to get.  I’ve looked at the small print on several sites, and the terms and conditions on all sites related to theory state that if you don’t pass because you failed the hazard perception section of your test then they will not rebook and you will lose out.  You also have to have failed the multiple choice questions by only 2 marks, if you’ve failed by more than that, then yet again they won’t rebook you test for you and you will lose out.

So, if we look at the possible outcomes of using these sites:

You pass first time – You will lose out as you’ve paid more than correct rate in the first place

You pass the multiple choice section, but fail the hazard perception – You will lose out

You fail the multiple choice section by scoring less than 41 out of 50 – You will lose out

You fail the multiple choice section by scoring either 41 or 42 out of 50 and you pass your hazard perception – You will get your free retest and will have benefited from the offer

So, taking all of these outcomes into consideration, although the initial offer looks good, it’s more than likely you’re going to lose out.  If the offer was as good as it seems then the companies making these websites wouldn’t make any money.

Failure to prepare is preparing to fail

My advice would also be to use the official sites I posted at the top of this blog, and make sure you’re prepared for your test so there’s a limited chance that you’ll fail in the first place.  There’s loads of great resources for you to use, and all of our learners get free access to Theory Test Pro.  For more information just give us a call on 01782 906010