Paid for driving lessons not receiving

Freece

Around a month ago I pulled out the yellow pages & phoned a local driving company and arranged my first five lessons I was told this would cost me £55.

I took my first lesson with my allocated instructor no problem, and after that booked another lesson but had to cancel due to work commitments, I then rebooked but had to cancel again.

I then tried to book another lesson & have been completely ignored, this has been over a month now with many unanswered phone calls & several texts asking for a refund as I was unable to get the service I paid for.

I then called the main office & explained to them that the instructor was ignoring me, they just said they would open his diary & just book him in, they tried this & he didn't show, no call or text.

I then told the office I didn't want them to book me with him & could I have a new instructor as this one just ignores me, they said as I paid that instructor the £55 it had to be him, I replied informing them I couldn't take lessons with him as he didn't show up.

I then asked for a part refund of £44, I reached this by £55 for first 5 lessons £11 a lesson & I took 1 lesson so 4 remained, she then told me it stated on the website that the £55 was a payment for the first lesson and was not refundable in part or whole?

I wasn't informed of this when I booked, and I didn't book online so this was never made aware to me, I would like to know where I stand legally & can I claim a refund?

Also any law I can quote to help get a refund out of court would be a help thanks, Freece.

Wywth

Freece wrote: »

Around a month ago I pulled out the yellow pages & phoned a local driving company and arranged my first five lessons I was told this would cost me £55.

I took my first lesson with my allocated instructor no problem, and after that booked another lesson but had to cancel due to work commitments, I then rebooked but had to cancel again.

I then tried to book another lesson & have been completely ignored, this has been over a month now with many unanswered phone calls & several texts asking for a refund as I was unable to get the service I paid for.

I then called the main office & explained to them that the instructor was ignoring me, they just said they would open his diary & just book him in, they tried this & he didn't show, no call or text.

I then told the office I didn't want them to book me with him & could I have a new instructor as this one just ignores me, they said as I paid that instructor the £55 it had to be him, I replied informing them I couldn't take lessons with him as he didn't show up.

I then asked for a part refund of £44, I reached this by £55 for first 5 lessons £11 a lesson & I took 1 lesson so 4 remained, she then told me it stated on the website that the £55 was a payment for the first lesson and was not refundable in part or whole?

I wasn't informed of this when I booked, and I didn't book online so this was never made aware to me, I would like to know where I stand legally & can I claim a refund?

Also any law I can quote to help get a refund out of court would be a help thanks, Freece.

You could try to negotiate a partial refund, but if their terms say the initial lesson costs £55 and you have taken that lesson, then unless you have terms that suggest otherwise, then it appears they are under no obligation to make any refund.

Your demands for a £44 refund is perhaps a little optimistic and hence why the company are not presently willing to refund.

I would suggest you seek another driving school to instruct you. Ask them what their cost for an hours tuition would cost. Take that amount from the £55 you paid and try starting your negotiations for a refund with that amount.

Good luck, and I hope your next driving school experience is much more pleasurable

vax2002

How did you pay ?

N.I.M

I'm not saying you are wrong Wywth but as the instructor is not providing the service he is contracted to surely the OP cannot be held liable for that. I would have thought that under equity £44 is exactly what the OP is entitled to. Can you explain to me what I've missed. They haven't provided the service contracted so surely they cannot then rely on the contract for protection.

Wywth

N.I.M wrote: »

I'm not saying you are wrong Wywth but as the instructor is not providing the service he is contracted to surely the OP cannot be held liable for that. I would have thought that under equity £44 is exactly what the OP is entitled to. Can you explain to me what I've missed. They haven't provided the service contracted so surely they cannot then rely on the contract for protection.

You are absolutely correct, the OP cannot be held liable for the instructor having not provided the remaining lessons, and I'm sorry if my post suggests otherwise.

What you appear to have missed is the fact that the driving instuctor has provided the initial lesson, which the fee paid is claimed to cover.

Freece

My only argument against this is I wasn't made aware of these apparent "terms" until I tried to claim a refund, I figured as I paid for the service even if there terms were to stand that would only be if they were able to provide me with the service, which as I said there not, and I was willing to accept the lessons but the instructor won't show?

Freece

vax2002 wrote: »

How did you pay ?

I paid cash to the instructor at the end of the first lesson.

Jimbo_999

As my partner is a driving instructor I have a little knowledge of the business:
Generally when you have a first lesson with an instructor it will be 1.5 or usually 2hours, there isn't much you can learn in 1 hour so double check how long you were out, it may be a 2 hour lesson, but they class 5 lessons as 5 hours, so you could have had 2hrs of 5.
Also some businesses make you sign a contract when you join, this will state something along the lines that if you cancel a lesson within 24 hours you will lose the money.
i.e. the instructor might be thinking that you have had a 2hr lesson, cancelled 2x 1.5hr lessons = 5hrs.
So again, you need to check whether you signed a contract and when you cancelled. Even if you didn't sign anything though, you should still give reasonable notice of cancellation and a full explanation.

Personally i think your best option is speak to the company, ask them to provide you with another instructor to complete your lessons or you will take your 10hour block booking (£200-230ish) to another company. They wont want to lose so should provide another instructor.

Also always wise to remember you get what you pay for, instructors barely cover fuel, car cost, insurance these days on those deals so will not be as receptive as when you pay full price.

Get an instructor you like, do a few one lesson trials 3 or 4 to find an instructor and stick with them. If you take 5 lessons off one and 5 off another etc as it's cheap, they will be teaching you differently and it will take you twice as long to learn.

And breathe!!! Good luck :j

Former_MSE_Wendy

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arcon5

How much notice did you give for the cancellations? if short notice of course the instructor could argue if he was unable to fill the spot you are liable for the 2 cancelled appointments.

Cancelled appointments are a big pain for driving instructors. My partner is taking lessons and on a couple of occasions not been able to take a lesson as his diary was full - and within the diary a couple of people who didn't show up and didn't cancel!

You say you phoned the driving school, did you pay the instructor directly or the school themselves?

halibut2209

paid the instructor at end of first lesson (post 7)