Section 75 claim muddle. Help please

xxdeebeexx

I'm in a muddle and need help to get my thoughts straight before proceeding with a section 75 claim.

Recently I promised to teach my son to drive. He was due to start a full time job in a few weeks so he wanted to learn quickly while he had time.

However, I had underestimated how stressful and time consuming this would be. I couldn't cope and needed to hand the responsibility over to someone else.

I saw an intensive driving course advertised on line that would provide an excellent approved driving instructor who would get him test ready in 35 hours.They would also book a short dated practical driving test for him to coincide with the end of the course.

I booked the course on line and paid the deposit (£100+) with my credit card. The remainder was paid in cash to the driving instructor on the first driving lesson.
From then on, my son did the negotiation with the company and driving instructor.

The driving instructor was shocking ..unprofessional and inappropriate.

After a few lessons my son made a complaint to the driving course company and asked to change instructors. The reply was that, because cash had been paid in advance for his lessons (part of the t&cs) then he would loose most of the money and it would be up to the instructor whether or not he refunded any payment.Naturally he continued and completed his hours.
He made several more complaints to the driving company about the driving instructor and 13 weeks after the start of the course still hadn't received a date for his practical driving test.

I want to make a section 75 claim against the company for poor service.
My confusion/worry is that I made the payment with my credit card (£100+) and gave the driving instructor the cash via my son.
I wrote the letters of complaint but passed them to my son who sent them off in his name.
I haven't made a complaint (in my own name) to the company for their poor service. Do I need to ?

many thanks

dx

Bermonia

My understanding is that you would need to exhaust the complaints process first... also I’d have concerns over how many lessons have been had especially since complaining (continuing to utilise a service which you feel is unfit and then claiming for it later on). However, there are others with much more knowledge in this area who will no doubt be along shortly

davidmcn

xxdeebeexx wrote: »

I wrote the letters of complaint but passed them to my son who sent them off in his name.
I haven't made a complaint (in my own name) to the company for their poor service. Do I need to ?

I think you need to be clear about who the customer is. I would guess it's your son, and you paid (some of) the fees on his behalf? But I think that means neither of you can use s. 75.

xxdeebeexx

davidmcn wrote: »

I think you need to be clear about who the customer is. I would guess it's your son, and you paid (some of) the fees on his behalf? But I think that means neither of you can use s. 75.

I think this is my confusion.
I bought the package for my own benefit as it was too stressful and time consuming for me to fulfill my promise to teach him personally.
I wanted to buy a service that would arrange everything from start to finish.



I think I might have muddied the water by putting the complaints in my sons name.
He was the one suffering with the appalling instructor but I was the one getting short changed.
Maybe I should have done the complaining... is it too late?


dx

davidmcn

xxdeebeexx wrote: »

I think this is my confusion.
I bought the package for my own benefit as it was too stressful and time consuming for me to fulfill my promise to teach him personally.
I wanted to buy a service that would arrange everything from start to finish.

I think I might have muddied the water by putting the complaints in my sons name.
He was the one suffering with the appalling instructor but I was the one getting short changed.
Maybe I should have done the complaining... is it too late?

You might see it as being for your own benefit, but as far as the driving school is concerned they are providing a service to the student. Isn't that clear from their own terms and conditions? That doesn't mean he doesn't have other remedies, but I think to use s.75 the cardholder and the customer need to be one and the same.

xxdeebeexx

davidmcn wrote: »

You might see it as being for your own benefit, but as far as the driving school is concerned they are providing a service to the student. Isn't that clear from their own terms and conditions? That doesn't mean he doesn't have other remedies, but I think to use s.75 the cardholder and the customer need to be one and the same.

What might the other remedies be?


many thanks


dx

Fosterdog

What were the terms originally agreed to? The 35 hours of driving, were they guaranteed to be within a certain timeframe? If so what is the reason for it dragging on for 13 weeks? Is it the instructor or your sons availability for lessons?

Usually intensive driving courses are done in a week, two weeks at most with the test booked before the intensive course even starts so they have a date to work towards, was what you booked actually an intensive course or was it just a block booking?

What were the issues your son had with the instructor?

davidmcn

xxdeebeexx wrote: »

What might the other remedies be?

Your son claiming the money back directly from the driving school rather than via the credit card. Escalating to a small claim if necessary.

xxdeebeexx

Thanks for your comments.....
here are a few more of my thoughts

The company claims to have "a network of excellent Approved Driving Instructors."

I paid £100+ to a company to find a driving instructor, near our home, who was available to give my son 35 hours of driving tuition in blocks of time.(Frequency to be arranged between instructor and learner)
- a bit like a dating agency or a maintenance company maybe.

The instructor is not, I believe, part of the company but independent.

Included in the fee I paid, the company promised to book, and pay for, a short dated practical driving test to co-inside with the end of the course.

That was the service I paid for.
Someone to phone around their "network of excellent approved driving instructors" check availability, qualifications and feedback and
to book a driving test and keep looking for cancellations to improve date and time.

Things went wrong with the first instructor so my son asked for an alternative instructor. The driving instructor was not "excellent" and the company acknowledged that.
The company had no procedure in place to address this situation and suggested that the money paid in advance to the instructor would probably be lost.

Is this where our contract broke down? The instructor that they provided wasn't up to standard and they were unable or unwilling to put it right.


The short dated driving test date that they arranged was for 30th December 2019 having booked their services on 3rd September 2019. - nearly 4 months
We weren't even informed of the date and only found out because I phoned the Driving test booking line to make a date myself.

I believe I made a contract with the company to do the leg work and they didn't meet the promises made on their website.



dx

pinkshoes

I’m what way was the driving structure inadequate? Do you have evidence of this?

How many hours of tuition has your son had from this instructor?

born_again

Forget the " I payed the driving instructor £100"

S75 is based on item price NOT the fact you paid £100+

So you need to look at the lesson cost (be amazed if that is more than £100) & practical driving test (less than £100). If that is less than £100. Then sadly you have no S75 claim.