Driving Instructor Died.!!

badromance

In short, my driving instructor died two weeks after I had paid him £190 for 10 lessons. I do not have a receipt as he never mentioned it and neither did the driving school that assigned me to him, they just told me to pay him in cash for my lessons.

After speaking to the managing director of the company to try and resolve this he admitted that my instructor wasn't properly insured and that this was an oversight on his part.

Even though I do not have a receipt The dates of my lessons and when I had previously paid do match up. I have spoken to another girl who said she was owed money but was basically told that there was nothing they can do as he (my instructor) was self employed. I understand this but should they as a company not have ensured that he was properly insured and keeping records of money transactions with clients?

The not having a receipt seems to be all they can say to me and I was just wondering if anyone has any advice or do I not have a leg to stand on because I don't have a receipt?

They basically owe me £171 and 4 lessons.

Thanks
xx

[Deleted User]

A life lesson - always get a receipt when handing over cash of any amount.

I wonder if you can sue some how for the lack of insurance.

InsideInsurance

badromance wrote: »

They basically owe me £171 and 4 lessons

How does that work? You paid him £190 for 10 lessons, by the sounds of it had 1 and so they owe you £171 OR 9 lessons surely??

What sort of insurance do you think he should have had? The legal requirement would only be for Motor insurance which clearly doesnt cover the death of the instructor.



Given the lack of evidence of what you had paid then you are probably up the proverbial without a paddle. What is key is to establish who you had the contract with, was it the self employed instructor or was it the company behind the brand under which he operated.

Assuming its the instructor themselves then you would need to attempt to recover the money from the estate of the deceased as they were a sole trader legally there is only them. You will evidently be one of a number of possible creditors and the probate laws define who gets paid first. Obviously you need to be a little sensitive to the widow/ kids as you obv want your money back but they've just lost a loved one.

If your contract is with the brand company then you need to pursue them.

How did you first get in contact with "them"? Was it direct to the instructor or the school? Did either give you any terms and conditions etc to clarify who you were contracting with?

badromance

I know, im usually so organised with this kind of thing but I think because it was through a driving school I just assumed I would be covered. The Manager I spoke to was getting really annoyed on the phone like I was being a nuisance. I was thinking of taking them to a small claims because I even have confirmation in writing from my instructors widow saying that he wasn't insured.

badromance

I paid for 10 lessons but only got one so its 9 lessons which would equal £171.

I went through a driving school and they put me in contact with him and when I asked how I should pay for future lessons they told me just to pay cash to my instructor.

badromance

The first person I spoke to from the company was talking about Public Liability Insurance.. I'm not even sure what that would cover.?? they seem to just be trying to spin me around in circles.

wealdroam

badromance wrote: »

I was thinking of taking them to a small claims because I even have confirmation in writing from my instructors widow saying that he wasn't insured.

Again you are unclear on the type of insurance.

Are you talking about motor insurance or some sort of insurance that might somehow protect client's money?

TonyMMM

You can certainly claim for the return of the unused portion of the amount you paid. If you paid the company then you claim against them, if you paid the instructor direct (and he was working as a sole trader) then your claim is against his estate.

You can't claim anything for him not having insurance, because you have suffered no loss as a result.

badromance

The company just said that he wasnt properly insured. I asked what he should be insured for and they said 'in the event that anything like this should of happened' �� im not really sure what they were meaning but they've been quite abrupt and things so dont think i'll get anymore info from them.

I paid the cash to the instructor after asking the company who to pay for lessons. They have basically said that because he is self employed they arent liable to pay but then go on to say that because i havent got a receipt i cant prove i did pay him. Surely if they arent liable (as they keep claiming) then it wouldnt matter if i had a receipt.

Does that make sense what im trying to say? theyre saying theyre not responsible but then talking about receipts. If i had a receipt would that make them liable?

lincroft1710

Your problem will be that you will have to prove to the executor of the estate that you paid for lessons which you did not receive.

Having personally been an executor, I would never have paid a debt without proof of it being incurred.

badromance

Estate? as in my instructors estate..