Halfords BSM Driving Lessons

odorus

Matt` wrote:

Cheers for the site, however, i don't think it would matter if these were Halfords vouchers, gift vouchers or even real money, either way they would be the same surely, as the instructor would probably not know about the Halfords vouchers.

Also, could you not place all these vouchers onto your account, rather than having to give them to an instructor?

I haven't looked at all the postings properly, but the one I did read said they had bought 17hrs and it worked out at £8/hr. So the instructor will get the £8/hr put onto their account. They won't know it's halfords, or other. They will get the money from BSM, but I doubt BSM will make up the difference. BSM normally charge around £22-25/hr.

I obviously don't know the exact details, as I'm not franchised with BSM, but I know how these franchises work, as I have dealt with a few. They do these offers to get work in to feed the troops, the problem is they take on too many instructors.

It's the same with free lessons, with the big company's. The Instructor does their first lesson free, and doesn't get the money from the driving school they're franchised with.

Re: the booking, the call centre will find you an instructor, and they probably didn't ask you for the vouchers. They will be given to the instructor. Just don't be surprised if the instructor spends a lot of time parked up talking to you, that's all I'm saying.

I'll maybe speak to a BSM driver next time I see one at a test centre, and get their view on the deal.

Dealmad

odorus wrote:

Re: the booking, the call centre will find you an instructor, and they probably didn't ask you for the vouchers. They will be given to the instructor. Just don't be surprised if the instructor spends a lot of time parked up talking to you, that's all I'm saying.

If he parked up just to talk then i would tell him i no longer want him , demand my vouchers back and make a complaint to BSM.

I paid for the vouchers fair and square , Halfords reduced these from full price so its on them really , BSM never reduced these so i cant understand why an instructor would get less then they normally get if anyone is to lose out it would be Halfords?

odorus wrote:

I'll maybe speak to a BSM driver next time I see one at a test centre, and get their view on the deal.

Yes let the cat out of the bag and do all us all a favour why dont ya :rolleyes:

About time we hit back instead of paying a silly price like £25 an hour for a 1 hour lesson!!

CAE

I used BSM vouchers from Tesco clubcard deals for my son, and we had no problems using them. So long as the Instructor was handed a voucher for the lesson he was happy. We used about 4 packs if I remember correctly. As far as I know the INstructor got paid as normal, provided he handed the voucher in to his office. How on earth would the office know whether we had paid full price for them, got them with Tescos, given as a present or bought on a special offer. The simple answer is they don't. My son was treated in the same way as a full paying customer.

dollywops

I also used Tesco vouchers for my son's first lessons. I took them into the centre and then paid for the next batch of lessons on my credit card. I had already paid for further lessons when I managed to get some of the Halfords BSM packs. I took them in to the branch and got a refund on my credit card.

The instructor my son has is great. She has never missed a lesson, and on one occasion when she was late, (a motorcyclist came off his bike and she was stuck in traffic), she gave my son an extra 15 mins on his next lesson. She always arrives a couple of minutes early, and never comes back until after the 2 hour lesson. If there is anyone in the Watford, Rickmansworth, Croxley Green, Northwood areas, and wants her name, pm me. I would recommend his teacher to anyone.

hollydays

Thanks so much OP.You have saved my son a fortune!

mattymoo

Just cleared out the Peterborough store. These items were marked as clear to go at 50% off marked price. Bought 3 x pack 2 and 1 pack 1 for £30.00 7 hours tuition in total so a huge thanks to the OP.

Dealmad

Managed to get 16 hours in total had to get a friend to drive me around looking for them lol , so im happy ...is this highway code book ok to use to study for theory test? or has it had any major updates since this book was issued?


Im just waiting for my Provisional Licence now , not sure if i should take my theory test first before i take any lessons.

On the BSM website it says to take a driving test its £48.50
so hope i pass first time otherwise its going to be expensive , do you have to know about a car engine as well to pass your test?

jackashton1

does anyone have any spares or can anyone get me some? please please please reallllly need some.
thanks

odorus

Dealmad wrote:

About time we hit back instead of paying a silly price like £25 an hour for a 1 hour lesson!!

And that remark is why I'm leaving the profession.

Becoming a driving instructor involves a lot of hard work, you have to pass 3 exams-written, driving to a very high standard (only allowed 6 minor mistakes), and the ability to teach. If it's so easy then why is the pass rate only around 35%.

Like a lot of people, Dealmad, you just see us as money grabbers who are doing a job that anyone could do. Well I'll let you have my car and my pupils for the day, and see how you get on. Oh and that includes the pupils who's hygiene standards fall way below what's considered normal.

I'm glad people are having good experiences with the vouchers, all I'm saying is you often get what you pay for. If BSM are paying the Instructors the normal lesson rate, then that's great for all concerned.

Dealmad

Well you chose that profession didnt you?



I didn't say it was an easy job, i know i wouldn't want to do the job as i have not got the patients and to deal with less then hygienic people would be a nightmare its why i wouldn't choose it as a career.

You have to remember that a lot taken lessons are students who probably find it difficult to get £25 for maybe 2 lessons a week in total £50 in one week , yes alot of parents do pay for this but our parents are not made of money so you cant blame it if they want to find the cheapest driving school possible and quite frankly BSM is not.