Trainer threatened to block OSA offices
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• An Essex HGV training instructor was so angry about the alleged inefficiency of the Driving Standards Agency booking system that he threatened to blockade its offices with his trucks.
Under the Approved Training Bodies (ATB) booking system, trainers can check the availability of test slots over the telephone and then book them by faxing in their payment card details. But Nick Smith, chairman of training company Roadtrain, says he has been elbowed out of several slots because his faxes have been ignored for up to 24 hours.
"While my faxes have been sitting in a pile in the in-tray someone else has nipped in and taken my slots," says Smith. "What's the point of having a fax system if no-one both ers to check faxes until the following day? I might as well use a carrier pigeon."
According to Smith, instructors who give their payment card details over the phone are being given priority. The DSA denies this, saying bookings are not made until it has received written confirmation.
A spokeswoman concedes that on one occasion a parttime employee failed to pass on one of Smith's booking forms, but she says faxes are generally dealt with as soon as they arrive.