TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following terms and conditions represent the basis upon which I offer driving lessons and courses. By booking driving lessons or a course with me, you agree to these terms and conditions.
- My Conduct
I will be courteous, polite, tidy and punctual. I will always behave in a professional and ethical manner.
My training vehicle will be well maintained, clean and tidy, weather permitting. It is fitted with dual controls and is fully insured for driving tuition purposes.
I will not smoke in the training vehicle at any time, nor will I use your lesson time for any other form of business or personal activity without your express permission.
- Qualifications
I am legally authorised to provide driving tuition in the UK by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
- Driving Licence and Eyesight
As required by law, you must hold a current and valid driving licence, whether provisional or full, and this must be produced on or before your first driving lesson.
You must also be able to read a number plate from a distance of 20.5 metres (approximately 5 car lengths), using prescribed visual aids such as glasses or contact lenses where normally worn.
If you require glasses or contact lenses to meet the required eyesight standard, you must wear them on every driving lesson.
- Safety, Comfort and Wellbeing
Safety is a shared responsibility.
- In the interests of comfort and safety, you are advised to wear suitable footwear and clothing for driving.
- It is important that you act responsibly and give your undivided attention to the driving task at hand. If anything is distracting you during your lesson, including anything I may be doing, please let me know. Similarly, if you are feeling uncomfortable or uneasy about any driving task, please tell me. Your feedback is important and will be treated with respect.
- In an emergency situation, it is important that you follow my instructions and allow me to take control of the steering wheel if necessary to avoid an incident. I may also need to use the dual controls, including the brake and/or clutch pedals, and therefore override your use of them.
As soon as it is safe to do so, I will explain why my actions were necessary and help you to remain calm if required. Any subsequent discussion will focus on what can be learnt from the situation rather than on assigning blame.
- I will do my best to give instructions and take any necessary actions, including in an emergency, in a calm and measured manner. I will not shout at you or make sarcastic, insulting or derogatory remarks.
- You can be assured that I will not use improper language or engage in suggestive behaviour or inappropriate physical contact.
- You must consider whether any medication you are taking may affect your ability to drive safely and advise me before attending any lesson where this may be relevant. You should also inform me of anything else that you believe may affect your ability to undertake the lesson safely.
- If it becomes apparent that you are unable to concentrate adequately due to illness, tiredness, medication or your emotional state, I reserve the right to terminate the lesson early or, where appropriate, agree an alternative learning activity that can be undertaken safely.
Driving Under the Influence
To ensure the safety of you and other road users, I reserve the right to cancel or terminate any lesson if I believe that you are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, legal highs or any other substance that may impair your ability to drive safely, whether prescribed or otherwise.
If a lesson is cancelled or terminated for this reason, the full training fee for the period in question will be charged.
- Lesson Postponement/Cancellation
If you choose to cancel or postpone an individual driving lesson, you must provide at least 48 hours’ notice. If less than 48 hours’ notice is given, you may be charged for the full cost of the lesson.
I may, at my discretion, waive the cancellation charge in cases of genuine illness or exceptional circumstances. Any decision to waive the charge will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will be at my discretion.
You may lose, or be required to pay for, any lesson that has been booked and reserved in my diary but is subsequently postponed or cancelled by you, particularly where I am unable to fill that appointment time with another customer.
I reserve the right to postpone or cancel a lesson if I consider the weather, road or traffic conditions to be unsuitable or dangerous for training. Unfortunately, I cannot be held responsible for any costs or losses incurred by you as a result of a lesson being postponed or cancelled for this reason.
If I need to postpone or reschedule a lesson because I am unwell or due to a family emergency, I will rearrange the lesson for a mutually suitable future date at no additional cost to you.
Please note: The 48-hour cancellation policy applies to individual lessons only. It does not apply to discounted blocks of lessons. The terms relating to discounted blocks are set out in Section 8.
- Punctuality
Please ensure that you are punctual for your lessons. All lessons are recorded on Total Drive, and you will receive lesson reminders prior to your lessons.
When I arrive at the agreed pick-up point, I would normally wait for a maximum of 15 minutes. If you have not arrived or are unable to commence the lesson within this period, the lesson may be abandoned and the lesson fee forfeited.
If I am delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, I will make up any lesson time lost as a result, either at the end of the normal lesson time or as soon as reasonably possible.
9.Payments
Payment for driving lessons or courses must be made in advance of the training.
To secure a course booking, a 50% deposit is required. However, if the course is due to start within 4 weeks of the booking date, the full course fee must be paid at the time of booking.
- Once your booking for a course or lessons has been accepted and the training has been scheduled in my diary, the booking is subject to these terms and conditions. Deposits and other training fees paid are non-refundable if you subsequently decide to cancel or discontinue your training, subject to your statutory rights.
- Discounted blocks of 10 hours
Discounted blocks of 10 hours are non-refundable if you subsequently decide not to continue with your training.
Payment for a block secures the agreed lesson slots for you in my diary. By reserving these appointments for you, I may have to turn away other customers who would otherwise have been able to book those times.
If you decide not to continue with your training, any unused hours remaining from a discounted block will therefore be forfeited and will not be refunded.
48-hour cancellation policy
The 48-hour cancellation policy referred to in Section 6 applies to individual driving lessons. It does not apply to discounted blocks of lessons.
Once a discounted block has been purchased and the relevant lesson slots have been reserved, the block payment is non-refundable if you subsequently decide not to continue with your training.
10.Statutory rights
Nothing in these terms and conditions is intended to affect or restrict your statutory rights.
- The Driving Test
Driving tests will be booked by you however we will discuss this before any booking is made.
Driving test bookings will always take priority over other lessons. As a result, your lesson may occasionally need to be postponed or rearranged to accommodate another customer’s driving test, and vice versa. Any changes to lesson bookings as a result of this will be notified to you as soon as possible.
You must notify me of your test appointment as soon as you are aware of it. Failure to do so may mean that I cannot guarantee the availability of the training vehicle for your test or for lessons immediately before your test.
- In the interests of customer and public safety, I reserve the right to withhold use of the training vehicle for your driving test if, in my opinion, your driving is actually or potentially dangerous or is at a standard which would be likely to result in a test failure.
- The DVSA requires 3 clear working days’ notice for the cancellation or postponement of a driving test. Sundays and public holidays do not count as working days.
For example, to cancel or postpone a test booked for a Friday, you would need to do so online no later than the preceding Monday, allowing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as the 3 clear working days.
Failure to provide the required notice may result in the loss of your test fee.
I cannot be held responsible for the consequences of a test being cancelled or postponed by you or by the DVSA. However, I will assist you in arranging another test as soon as reasonably possible and, where appropriate, in reclaiming any expenses from the DVSA.
10.Special Offers and Lesson Prices
Driving lesson and course prices are subject to change. Any price increase will apply to future bookings and lessons not already paid for.
I may also offer special offers or discounted rates from time to time. Special offers may be withdrawn or changed at any time and will be subject to any specific terms stated when the offer is made.
- Complaints
In the event of a complaint, I would be extremely grateful if you would speak to me directly in the first instance. I will listen to your concerns and endeavour to resolve any complaint fairly and promptly.
- Your Statutory Rights
Nothing in these terms and conditions will reduce or remove your statutory rights relating to the services you have purchased.
I will provide services with reasonable care and skill and in accordance with applicable consumer law.
- If you have concerns about your statutory rights, you may wish to seek independent advice from Citizens Advice or your local Trading Standards service.