Driving school refund problem

Hunterlaar

Ok a few weeks ago i was looking on web for driving lessons came across a local company who were doing a offer 5 lessons for 75 quid so i phoned and the guy gave me a number to an instructer he employs, so phoned him booked a lesson then he came next day paid him the 75 had a 45 min lesson then booked another one for the week after

texted me saying he had to cancel something urgent had come up i booked another, and gave me another excuse saying he got a blowout or whatever now i ask for a refund of the remaining lessons

now he's saying he's waiting on another car and will come around tommorow phoned him today no answer, no text, no replys, nothing.. Alls i know is the guys first name and the company he works for, not sure where to go from here.

Guess i will phone the company although it's only a family company and tell him what's happend and that i want my money back? Feels like i'm being scammed out of 75 quid...

daveyjp

They can't make money on £75 for five lessons and as you have seen it can mean terrible service. They only add a few lessons at the end so you end up paying for the cheap ones anyway. As you have also realised you only got 45 minutes - a lesson is usually an hour.

Don't look on the web. Ask around family and friends, keep your eyes open and make a note of which instructors you see the most. If you see any regularly at 6pm on a Sunday avoid - no instructor should be that desperate for work.

Ask the instructor how long he has been doing the job and what grade he achieved on his last check test.

Keep trying to get your money back. It may mean Court action if they won't play ball.

hewhoisnotintheknow

daveyjp wrote: »

If you see any regularly at 6pm on a Sunday avoid - no instructor should be that desperate for work.

when I was learning to drive I worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week, had a second job on Sunday, that was the only time I could get a lesson, the instructor worked weekends as the husband was a cop and worked the weekends also

Inactive

Report the matter to the DSA, all legal instructors are regulated by them.

http://www.dsa.gov.uk/

Hunterlaar

Spoke to the person who runs the business, he said the instructer is just someone who is associated with there company yet he referred me to this instructer because he covered the areas i lived in so is this company responsible if i don't get my money because they know the details of the instructer but thery wernt willing to give me them over the phone not even the guys surname.

Inactive

Do as I suggested, it seems that they are both in breach of DSA Regulations.

Did the instructor have a DSA Approved or Trainee Instructor badge on his windscreen?

If he did not, he is breaking the law.

charlie2517

Hey there,

Didnt want to read and run.

Only had a quick read but my first thought (cynic I may be) but it sounds to me like a scam. For completeness I'd report this to the police additional to the above, may be a con going on in the area. As Inactive says were you showed his credentials? Potentially there are criminal offences here too, but would need to have more info.

Good luck with it all.

DaveF327

Hunterlaar wrote: »

he referred me to this instructer because he covered the areas i lived in so is this company responsible if i don't get my money

You've already answered your own question:

Hunterlaar wrote: »

he came next day paid him the 75

The contract is between you and the instructor. All instructors are self employed franchisees who aren't employed by companies; they merely pay a fee to them to find them work. The company you phoned passed you on to the instructor and from that moment, everything is between you and him. The company won't want to know as they've fulfilled their side of the bargain and probably charged the instructor accordingly.

I find it hard to believe (or rather unprofessional at least) that they didn't give you all this information when you first phoned them. At the very least, they should have given you his full name at the time as well as a copy of the their (and the instructor's) terms and conditions. Give the instructor give you anything in writing when you paid the £75? Any receipt? Any appointment card with Ts&Cs on the back?

As for a solution, let's assume for a moment that the instructor is genuine. Maybe he did have a family crisis on that day and maybe his blowout was real. I'd keep trying for a further appointment if I were you. Persist until you meet him face to face (at least get another lesson out of him) and then challenge him about any refund then. Once in the car, get his surname and ADI number from his ADI badge or trainee licence on the windscreen.

If the instructor is in hiding because of some financial difficulty (most instructors are struggling at the moment although some resort to underhand tactics to keep money they're not entitled to) then you could set a honey trap to get his attention. Ask a friend to phone him from a different number posing as a new customer. If he's that desperate for work, he'll take the bait and turn up rather quickly at the appointed time and place, where you'll be lying in wait.

You're not going to get anything from the company as they don't have your money.

@ charlie2517: I really don't feel this is a deliberate scam as I'm very familiar with the driver training industry and I'm all too aware of the incompetence of ineffectual instructors which is often the case with these "super cheap" driving lesson deals.

Hunterlaar

Well i got my money back, when i spoke to the guy earlier whos business it was i told him i would have to inform the police as it was him that referred me and he wasn't willing to give me the guys details.

I got a text off the guy saying he will come around then he did with the money, he had his child with him and the car was different so maybe he was telling the truth about the exuses he gave me but he still shouldn't of messed me around by saying he was coming one day and then not turning up for lessons atleast five times.

I have a feeling he was trying to scam the money of me but he got told by the guy i called to return my money as he wudn't want damage to his business.

Inactive

Great result.. sorted.:T