Section 75 claim muddle. Help please

xxdeebeexx

born_again wrote: »

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.

Hi I paid the company to find the driving instructor in excess of £100


pinkshoes .. the problem with the instructor was anger issues and aggressive behavior.
Of course no evidence.
The company admitted that it was unacceptable behavior and " marked his record" but offered absolutely nothing to put it right.
I asked for a copy of their complaints procedure and it was never sent.


dx

Gavin83

xxdeebeexx wrote: »

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.

So your son had a driving test? Did he pass?

xxdeebeexx

Gavin83 wrote: »

So your son had a driving test? Did he pass?

Yes but he had to buy extra driving lessons from another instructor which highlighted how shocking the first driving instructor was.


dx

KatrinaWaves

If your son had ceased the lessons and sought another driver you’d have a stronger case. As of now he completed all the hours paid for despite complaining about him.

You may have a case against the ‘finder’ company for sourcing you an unsuitable driving instructor, but your son still used up all the hours, and now wants to retrospectively get all his money back?

If the company have accepted your complaint and ‘marked his record’ why have they not refunded you as you are saying they have admitted that he is inadequate, or were they saying that to make you go away?

shaun_from_Africa

born_again wrote: »

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.

But the OP didn't buy individual driving lessons. They paid one amount which was for a course of driving lessons and a driving test so S75 would apply.

Ten lessons booked and paid for separately wouldn't be covered under S75 but ten lessons paid for as a course would be.

KatrinaWaves

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But the OP didn't buy individual driving lessons. They paid one amount which was for a course of driving lessons and a driving test so S75 would apply.

Ten lessons booked and paid for separately wouldn't be covered under S75 but ten lessons paid for as a course would be.

I still can’t tell if a course was booked or a fee was paid to find a driving instructor and then he was paid in cash for some lessons...

shaun_from_Africa

From the way the OP worded it, I'm assuming that it was a fixed price course rather than separate lessons:

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.

Although only the OP can confirm exactly what was advertised and how it was worded.

xxdeebeexx

KatrinaWaves wrote: »

I still can’t tell if a course was booked or a fee was paid to find a driving instructor and then he was paid in cash for some lessons...

The course was booked on line using a credit card.
It's called a deposit on the booking form but, it is in fact payment to the company to find a driving instructor and book relevant practical and theory tests.

Here are part of the t&c's
"xxxxx.com acts as a booking agent and is paid on commission off the instructor for successful bookings.
and

acts solely as a booking and administrative agent for driving instructors and schools registered with us, who teach intensive and semi-intensive driving courses in the UK. They are subcontracted with our driving school to provide an intensive driving course, with xxxxxxx.com ltd providing the administration required for the subcontracted driving instructors. This means that we do not provide any driving courses ourselves and we undertake all our activities on behalf of the individual driving schools or driving instructors. We are paid on commission off the instructor for successful bookings.


dx

born_again

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But the OP didn't buy individual driving lessons. They paid one amount which was for a course of driving lessons and a driving test so S75 would apply.

Ten lessons booked and paid for separately wouldn't be covered under S75 but ten lessons paid for as a course would be.

Can see it being argued against. As it was a course of lessons @ x each.
Not 1 lesson @ £100.01

shaun_from_Africa

born_again wrote: »

Can see it being argued against. As it was a course of lessons @ x each.
Not 1 lesson @ £100.01

Exactly. A course and not separate lessons.
This is very similar:
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/2921/86.pdf
The 1st and 3rd paragraphs are from the website I linked to. The 2nd paragraph is my shortening what happened to the company.

“Mr M started making regular trips to northern France to visit his elderly mother, after her health began to deteriorate. He bought a ‘frequent traveller’ voucher offered by the channel-ferry company he used.
The voucher cost £220 and covered a total of ten separate channel-crossings. This worked out cheaper than paying separately for each trip.”

The company went belly up and Mr M claimed from his CC company who initially refused to refund him as they said each crossing only cost £22.
The Financial Ombudsman disagreed stating:

“We looked at copies of the paperwork Mr M had sent the card provider, in connection with his claim. These documents showed clearly that what Mr M had bought from the ferry company had been a voucher costing £220 – not ten individual crossings each costing £22.”