General Conduct
All driving instructors are bound by a professional code of conduct. Your driving instructor will be courteous, polite, tidy and punctual. They will also behave in a professional and ethical manner at all times. Your driving instructor’s car will be well maintained, clean and tidy. All cars used by driving instructors are fitted with dual-controls as part of their standard equipment. The cars are of course fully insured for driving tuition. Your driving instructor will not smoke in the car while giving tuition, nor will they use Your lesson time for any other form of business, personal or otherwise.
Qualifications
As a minimum Your Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) will be regularly checked and licensed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to give driving tuition.
Driving Licence and Eyesight
Please ensure that you are medically fit to drive. If you have any medical condition and you are not sure if your ability to drive is affected, please speak with your doctor and the DVLA to report any notifiable medical condition. You must hold a current, valid driving licence (provisional or full), which must be produced on or in advance of Your first driving lesson. You must prove Your entitlement to drive by providing a licence check code and your driving licence number to Your driving instructor prior to Your first driving lesson. Your driving instructor can provide instructions on how to do this. You must also check that You can read a number plate at a distance of 20.5 metres (i.e. 67 feet – about 5 car lengths) with prescribed visual aids (i.e. contact lenses or glasses) if normally worn. Any such prescribed visual aids must also be worn on every driving lesson if needed to meet this minimum eyesight condition.
Payments
Please note payments must be made at least 3 days in advance of the lesson via BACs. (No cash or cheques accepted).
To book a course, the full course fee is required in advance of the first lesson.
Please also note the deposit or any subsequent training fees paid are not refundable in the event that You decide to cancel the training once the booking has been accepted by Your driving instructor and booked into their diary. At this point a binding agreement is made between You and your driving instructor. This does not in any way affect Your statutory rights to be provided with the goods and services You have bought . Please also note that a full refund will be given if your driving instructor is unable to meet any written requirements noted when You initially booked the course or lessons.
CANCELLATION POLICY
You must give at least 48 hours’ notice to your instructor if you wish to cancel or re-arrange a booked driving lesson. Failure to do so may result in your instructor charging you the full amount for that driving lesson. Your driving Instructor may cancel lessons at any time. However if this happens you will not be charged for the missed lesson and your instructor will make arrangements to offer a lesson at another time.
Pay As You Go, is a rolling contract. This means that you have a weekly lesson at the same time each week, until either your instructor or You give at least 48 hours notice to cancel your lessons. If you have a driving test, your instructor has the right to give your regular time slot to another student as the expectation is that you will pass the driving test. However, if you don’t pass your instructor will try their best to rearrange lessons to accommodate you.
Pre Pay 10 and Pre Pay 20 contracts. This means that you have a weekly lesson at the same time each week, until either your instructor or You give at least 1 weeks notice to cancel your contract. If the contract comes to it’s end , then it automatically transfers to a Pay as you go (unless you add funds and request a Pre paid contract see above for Pay As You Go). If you have a driving test, your instructor has the right to give your regular time slot to another student as the expectation is that you will pass the driving test. However, if you don’t pass your instructor will try their best to rearrange lessons to accommodate you.
Any unused credit must be claimed within 2 months of your last lesson.
NON PAYMENT
If you have not paid in advance of your lesson, your driving instructor reserves the right to suspend further lesson until payment has been made for the missed lesson. This may result in you losing your regular time slot, and being taken to the Small Claims Court to mitigate any losses.
REFUND POLICY
Any lesson packages that require a refund will be at the lower price rate.
If you purchased a 20 hour package and only had 6 hours of lessons, you would be charged the higher lesson rate on the lessons used and the difference would be refunded.
Example 1. You purchased 20 hours @ £38.00 per hours and only used 6 hours of lessons.
Your 20 hours cost £760.00
You would be billed 6 hours @ £40.00 per hour = £240.00
Your refund would be £760.00 – £240.00 = £ 520.00
Example 2. You purchased 20 hours @ £38.00 per hours and only used 12 hours of lessons.
Your 20 hours cost £760.00
You would be billed 12 hours @ £39.00 per hour = £468.00
Your refund would be £760.00 – £468.00 = £ 292.00
*The prices used are for demonstration purposes only.
Driving under the Influence
To ensure the safety of You, Your instructor and other road users Your driving instructor reserves the right to cancel any lesson if You are or if they suspect You are under the influence of drugs and or alcohol. If this occurs the full lesson fee will be charged.
The Driving Test
Driving tests are to be booked by You, and you must have agreement from your instructor before you book your test. Driving test bookings always take priority over other lessons. Therefore, Your lesson may be postponed to allow for someone else’s driving test and vice-versa. Changes to lesson bookings as a result of this will be notified as quickly as possible. Test appointments must be notified to Your driving instructor as soon as they are known, otherwise Your instructor cannot guarantee to provide a vehicle for the test or any lessons just prior to it.
If your instructor does not think you are up to the standard required (see Ready To Pass) to pass the practical driving test (either physically or mentally), they may refuse to let you have use of their car.
Test cancellation
Three clear working days (Sundays and public holidays don’t count as working days) notice of test cancellation or postponement is required by the DVSA. Therefore to cancel a test booked for a Friday You need to do this online no later than the preceding Monday thus giving three clear working days (i.e. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Failure to provide the required notice will result in the loss of Your test fee. Your driving instructor cannot be held responsible for any postponement or cancellation of tests by You or the DVSA. However, your driving instructor will do all that is possible to arrange another test as quickly as possible and to help You to reclaim expenses from the DVSA if appropriate.
Your instructor reserves the right to refuse to take you to your driving test if you haven’t told them when your driving test is and therefore they are unavailable, if you haven’t moved your driving test date when they advised you to, or if they believe you are not up to test standard and therefore unsafe to be driving their tuition car by yourself on test. Your instructor will discuss this within plenty of time and discuss the options available to you.
If your instructor has to cancel your driving test on the day of your test through no fault of their own, for circumstances such as mechanical breakdown of the tuition car or illness, they will refund your test fee. If the instructor is not able to provide their car or be present due to mechanical breakdown or illness and has given enough time for you to rearrange your driving test, and you do not cancel the test, the instructor is not liable for any losses that you may incur.
Punctuality
In Your own interest You are advised to be punctual for Your lesson appointments. All such appointments should be recorded on the Totaldrive app and checked where possible by Your driving instructor to ensure that mistakes are avoided. Your driving instructor would normally wait for a maximum of 15 minutes before the lesson would be abandoned and the lesson fee forfeit or become due for payment. A reciprocal waiting time may become necessary if your driving instructor is delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. Any lesson time lost as a result of your driving instructor being late would be made up by your driving instructor either at the end of the normal lesson time if possible or at a later date. Any such shortfall should be recorded in the driving skills workbook lesson appointment section and initialled by your driving instructor.
If your instructor has to cancel your lesson through no fault of their own, for circumstances such as mechanical breakdown of the tuition car, bad weather which may affect your ability to learn safely, heavy traffic, or the previous pupil’s lesson or driving test has overrun for unavoidable reasons, and it means they cannot arrive at your lesson within good time, they will rearrange your lesson for the next available, mutually convenient, date and time.
Learner safety, comfort and well being
Safety is a shared responsibility between the driving instructor and You as identified below:
- In the interests of comfort and safety You are advised to wear suitable footwear and clothing which does not restrict movement or which is inappropriate, distracting or could lead to embarrassing situations.
- It is important that You act responsibly at all times and give Your undivided attention to the driving task at hand. Should anything be distracting You during the lesson it is important that You make the driving instructor aware of this fact even if it is something the driving instructor is doing. Similarly if You are feeling uncomfortable or uneasy about any driving task it is important that You make the driving instructor aware of this as soon as it is safe to do so. The driving instructor will be grateful for the feedback and they will think no less of You for doing so.
- In an emergency situation it is important that You follow the instructions of the driving instructor and allow them to take control of the steering wheel if necessary to avoid an incident. The driving instructor may also need to make use of the dual controls (i.e. brake and or clutch pedals) and thus override Your use of them. As soon as it is safe to do so the driving instructor will advise You of why his or her actions were necessary and help You to calm down if required. Any subsequent discussion will focus on what can be learnt from the situation rather than who was to blame.
- The driving instructor will do their best to deliver any instructions or take any actions (even in an emergency) in a calm and measured manner so as not to alarm You or make You feel uncomfortable or disheartened in any way. The driving instructor will definitely not shout at You or make any sarcastic or derogatory remarks.
- The driving instructor will not use improper language or suggestive behaviour and/or physical contact.
- You must take note of any medication You are taking which may affect Your ability to drive safely and advise the driving instructor accordingly before taking any lesson booked. Similarly, You should inform your driving instructor of anything You feel might impact on Your ability to undertake the proposed lesson safely.
- In the event it becomes apparent that You are unable to concentrate due to illness, tiredness, or Your emotional state of mind the driving instructor reserves the right to terminate the lesson early or require agreement from You to choose an alternative less demanding learning activity which can still be undertaken safely.
- If your instructor feels your behaviour or attitude whilst driving is threatening, dangerous, or compromises safety, they reserve the right to cancel the lesson in progress and any future lessons.
- To avoid unnecessary distractions Your mobile phone should be set to flight mode or turned off during the lesson. Using a phone while driving is a serious safety hazard and could result in penalties if caught.
Accidents & The Law
Your instructor will make every effort to avoid damage and accidents, and we do anticipate that accidents may happen. However, if they believe you were driving in a dangerous manner or ignoring their instructions and actual damage is caused to the tuition car, you may be expected to contribute towards the cost of the repairs (ie. tyres).
Your instructor needs to concentrate on many things at once to keep you safe on the roads, and will make every effort to avoid you breaking the law or committing any traffic offence – you are under their close supervision during every lesson and they may use controls such as speed limiters, and verbal or physical control such as giving verbal instruction, taking the steering wheel or using the dual control pedals where necessary to avoid dangerous situations or accidents. However, you need to do your best while you are driving to keep the care safe and drive legally. Your instructor cannot accept any responsibility for you breaking the law – this includes speeding, traffic offences, regulations, or laws that you could break whilst driving. Any fines or penalties are legally the sole responsibility of the driver. It is an offence on your instructor’s part if they fail to give the driver’s details to the police when asked to provide information as to who was driving at the time of an offence.
Complaints
In the event of a complaint all efforts must be made to resolve the problem directly with your driving instructor.
Your Statutory Rights
Nothing in these terms and conditions will reduce Your statutory rights relating to faulty goods or services provided. Driving instructors have a statutory obligation to provide You with goods and services fit for the purpose for which they were bought and as described. If You have any doubts about Your statutory rights, please contact Your local Trading Standards Department or Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
Updated 28/02/2025