Letter Review please? Refund of Pre-Booked Driving Lessons?

gik

gemnomnom wrote: »

Hi,
It was not. It was all filled with complete banal chatter not relevant to driving at all.

Gosh I know I sound like I'm promoting for this new school I'm with, but from the very first minute to the very last (I was exhausted by the end) he was explaining what he was doing, potential hazards, good/bad practice etc. This to me is still learning, though I'm not in the driver's seat

Cheers

I don't think that is necessarily a good thing either.

photome

I am unsure wether the OP is entitled to a refund or not as they were obviuosly heavily reduced charges for the prebooked lessons.


I just wanted to add though that my son took driving lessons a year or so ago and on his first lesson the instructor picked him up, but within 10 minutes my son was driving and subsequent lessons my son drove away from the house, so i dont understand all this business about instructors driving for first 15 minutes of first 5 to 6 lessons etc!!

gik

photome wrote: »

I am unsure wether the OP is entitled to a refund or not as they were obviuosly heavily reduced charges for the prebooked lessons.


I just wanted to add though that my son took driving lessons a year or so ago and on his first lesson the instructor picked him up, but within 10 minutes my son was driving and subsequent lessons my son drove away from the house, so i dont understand all this business about instructors driving for first 15 minutes of first 5 to 6 lessons etc!!

Each learner driver has different abilities/confidence etc...your son was good, others are not so good and require to be taught differently.

bod1467

It may also depend on where the pick-up point is. If the pupil lives on a busy road, or perhaps near a school, then it may be sensible for the instructor to drive to a safe location until he/she is satisfied the pupil has the necessary level of competence to drive from the pick-up point.

AndyBSG

For my first driving lesson the instructor didn't even move the car from my doorstep but spent the first 15-20 minutes showing me how to turn on fog lights, set my seating position and mirrors etc, showing where the water and oil tanks were.

We then drove to a deserted area where he spent another 10 minutes telling me about clutch control and biting point before I finally got to sit in the driving seat and I then spent barely 20 minutes pulling away from a start then stopping safely... I don't even think I got to change gear in that first lesson!

I think the OP is a litlte delusional if she expected to be doing much driving during the first lesson and even more delusional if she expected to be riding on the roads in normal traffic so soon.

iclayt

During my first, third and fourth lessons...

What happened on the second? Did you do more driving? Maybe as the professional she thought you needed a little more time before you could start driving from minute one.

I was definitely driven to a quieter area away from town for at least the first 3 or 4 lessons because I was a c rappy driver. Instructor even did the gears the first few lessons cos I didn't dare let go of the wheel!!

shaun_from_Africa

AndyBSG wrote: »

For my first driving lesson the instructor didn't even move the car from my doorstep but spent the first 15-20 minutes showing me how to turn on fog lights.

Fog lights!
Blerdy luxury.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSR4s7C1Qkw

lincroft1710

If the instructor charged £99 for 10 hours of lessons, she's not going to make her fortune very quickly, even if you only had 6 lessons! You had the choice to take the remaining 4 lessons and also discuss with your instructor why she starts the lesson, 15 minutes drive away, you chose to abandon your lessons. I don't think you have any reason for any refund.

There is also a definite advantage in having 1.5 hour lessons, you get more time behind the wheel, get used to the car and how it works.

I think CD gave poor advice on this occasion.

gemnomnom

AndyBSG wrote: »

I think the OP is a litlte delusional if she expected to be doing much driving during the first lesson and even more delusional if she expected to be riding on the roads in normal traffic so soon.

You have poor comprehension of my OP if you think it was to ask for your comment on whether I should be driving on roads in the first lesson or not.

But for general information, I had gotten into third gear during private practice before taking up lessons with her.

iclayt wrote: »

What happened on the second? Did you do more driving? Maybe as the professional she thought you needed a little more time before you could start driving from minute one.

During the second lesson we did have a lesson nearer to home, within my village. But she said this estate was too quiet for my next two lessons. So the third and fourth were spent 15 minutes away. Except I have a town of equal busy-ness a five minutes drive away where we should have gone to avoid wasted time.

Again I want to stress I agree I shouldn't've been driving from minute one, but some relevant information about driving, the test, hazard perception etc. would mean that I wouldn't feel fleeced right now!

gik wrote: »

Each learner driver has different abilities/confidence etc...your son was good, others are not so good and require to be taught differently.

As per above, was confident with the bite and changing gears. She was aware of this situation. But does this change anything? Even if I was not so good, I should not be driven to 'a quiet road' 15 minutes away. It's the principle. I live in a village. There is 'a quiet road' everywhere you look...

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Each teacher has their own preferred patch and knowledge. It may be you are on the edge of your former teachers area hence the longer driver to her preferred area.

Who is the driving school? Is it just the instructor or a wider company? If its wider then why not escalate the complaint above the instructor?

CD advised that if she wanted to drive me 15 minutes away, then she should've arrive 15 minutes earlier. I did not pay to be driven there and have a chat whilst so.

It's AB Driving School Leeds. I get the impression it's very small, maybe just her and her boss but could me wrong. That is good advice, I may well do just that.

bris

You paid for driving lessons, there is more to the lessons than just driving.