Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay my driving instructor for missed lessons?

SkintGit

Yes of course you should pay. Just the same if you book a meal at a restuarant or a hotell room, a call out for a plumber etc etc. I would be easier if it was in their terms and conditions. The instructor, on their part, should try and mitigate it by say getting another slot with another client if possible or some such and also perhaps deduct fuel , wear and tear not used etc.
By the same token, if your instructor cancels with you it will probably put you out in some way and you would be due recompense too.
You might both elect to ignore the odd cancellation especially if you feel it`s justified due to unforseen circumstances

pollypenny

Of course. You have a contract with him/her apart from the morals of it.

Dentists usually want 48 hours notice of cancellation otherwise they charge a fee.

John_Gray

It appears to depend on just how much guilt you feel.

Have you actually thought of discussing the matter with the instructor, rather than asking a bunch of random strangers? That might well solve your financial dilemma, quite rapidly, too!

EssexExile

It doesn't really matter, driving lessons are only 12/6 each. Or have they gone up since I learned to drive?

EstelleMan

No obligation do so. As you state it is an informal arrangement. No written or verbal contract has been entered into.

bakewell_2

My husband was a driving instructor a while back. His attitude to cancelled lessons was that it was a rearrangement as the person cancelling would rebook. Yes a pain at times but cash flow allowed for this. Sometimes he had to rearrange himself due to illness. Nobody wants to sit in a car with someone with flu like symptoms. He did have terms and conditions which covered this - we're all human and life happens!
If your instructor is happy with your arrangement then that should be fine. I'm sure she would have said something by now if not.

tain

Yes, you should pay.

Mostly because 'emergencies' are meant to be a very rare, unavoidable occurrence, and it annoys me when people's poor planning and poor communication is described as an 'emergency' as some form of get-out-of-jail-free excuse.

We've had one single emergency in the whole of my daughter's life. Everything else had advance notice and could be worked around and communicated within a reasonable timeframe.

Cliddy

What a wierd set up, you've cancelled a few times and she's cancelled a few times!!!??
Sounds like you deserve each other.

Eccentrica_Gallumbits

Hi,

If the driving instructor does this for a living (rather than as an unqualified friend doing you a favour at reduced rates or free), then I would expect him or her to make up for any lessons that he or she has to cancel - even if they are sick. You have paid for them, after all.

If you cancel at, typically, less than 24-48 hours' notice, then it is fair to assume that a professional, qualified driving instructor may not be able to fill the slot with another learner driver that quickly, and for that, in my opinion, you should expect to pay either an agreed cancellation fee, or forfeit the lesson without having the instructor make up the time.

I believe this is the case for most professional services where it is someone's livelihood you are affecting.

On the other hand, if the instructor is backed up with people wanting to pick up on cancellations - whether those cancellations arise through illness or you giving late notice of a need to cancel for other reasons - he or she may be willing to give you another lesson without any financial penalty, but this is something they are under no obligation to do, so it becomes a gesture of goodwill.

PS But the terms for cancellation *should* have been given to you either verbally or in writing when you started out having lessons, by the way!

crmism

It depends how much each of you were inconvenienced.

I'd be surprised if your instructor wasn't self-employed, so a lesson cancelled at very short notice by a learner driver would mean lost earnings, as there'd be no time to slot a replacement in. In your place, I'd move heaven and earth to be sure that I never put the instructor in that position, or gave him cause to return the compliment.

Has your instructor explained the cause of his own cancellations? There just might be a valid reason, but you need to find out next time it happens. Giving a lesson to someone else for his own convenience such as time or distance is not a valid reason.

Have you thought about switching to another instructor?