Terms and Conditions

1. You must be of legal age to drive and produce a valid UK provisional Category B driving licence at or before the first lesson. If an older paper licence is held, then you must also produce a valid passport as photographic identification. You must provide the necessary code for the instructor to make the online check of the validity of your driving licence. Instruction for this will be provided by the instructor. For Eco-driving or Refresher lessons a full valid licence must be produced with identification as above. The online code will be required.You must meet the minimum eye test requirements, which means you must be able to read a standard UK approved number plate at a minimum distance of 20.5 metres (67 feet). If you need to wear glasses or contact lenses in order to meet this requirement then you must wear them whenever you drive.
2. You must notify your instructor of any change of your ability or entitlement to have driving tuition, for example if your provisional licence has been revoked or for medical reasons such as epilepsy.
3. You must comply with all COVID -19 restrictions and conditions.  Please see COVID-19 page for details
4. If you wish to cancel a lesson, a minimum of 24 hours notice must be given. Failure to give 24 hours notice will result in the full lesson fee being charged. Lessons can be cancelled by telephone, text message or email but must be acknowledged by your instructor.  Should you need to cancel at short notice due to COVID-19 then there will be no cancellation charge.  See COVID-19 page for details.
5.  If your instructor turns up on time at the pre-arranged pick up point and you do not show, your instructor will wait 10 minutes if there is no contact made between you. After 10 minutes they will leave and you will have to pay for the lesson.
6. Your instructor will endeavour to arrive on time however, due to unforeseen circumstances such as breakdown, accidents, traffic hold ups etc, lesson times may need to change or even be cancelled. If cancelled by your Instructor, no fee will be charged.
7. Lessons must be paid for in advance or at the time of the lesson by cash or bank transfer. Your instructor will supply bank details if necessary. Cheques are no longer accepted.
8. You must not be under the influence of drugs/alcohol during the training. In the event of there being any signs of drugs/alcohol misuse, your instructor will withhold the use of the training vehicle for use of tuition or driving test until you are in a legal and fit state to drive. The full lesson fee will be charged. Any prescribed medication that may affect your driving should be declared to the instructor and to the DVSA medical board.
9. Should you fail to reach a satisfactory standard of driving and are likely to be a danger to other road users, or are in an unfit condition through substance or alcohol abuse as described above, the ADI has a responsibility to the DVSA examiners not to allow the use of the training vehicle for the purpose of the driving test. This is in the interest of the pupil, the examiner and other road users and is a precautionary safety measure. Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency guidelines do not allow for a pupil to take a practical test just for the experience.
10. No responsibility can be taken for tests cancelled by the DVSA for whatever reason. Lessons will have to be paid for but can be claimed back from the DVSA. The instructor cannot be responsible if you fail because of the eyesight test. Your instructor will be responsible if the test is cancelled due to the condition of the tuition vehicle.

With thanks to a fellow ADI for this response he gives to his pupils who query his cancellation policy

Why Should I Pay for a Lesson I Haven’t Had?

The vast majority of the UK’s Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) are self-employed and only earn a wage when a client pays them – just like those awful zero hour contracts.

Imagine getting ready for work in the morning, going out and paying your bus or train fare or fuel and parking fee, turning up at work on time only to be told by your employer they don’t need you today. It has cost you time and money to be there and you might have even turned down other work and missed an opportunity to have been paid by someone else. How would you feel in those circumstances?

In a similar way it is you, the client, who employs the Instructor and therefore if you fail to turn up for your lesson or you give short notice of cancellation, your Instructor doesn’t get paid.

The double-whammy is that the Instructor may well have turned someone else down for the time you have reserved and now can’t sell the lost time at such short notice. Not only does the Instructor miss out, other clients may also miss out too.

When choosing a Driving Instructor, along with excellent teaching skills and a friendly manner, no doubt you will be expecting someone with a professional attitude and someone who provides excellent customer service. Within this you would certainly expect reliability and punctuality.

Looking at it from the Instructor’s perspective, they also hope that their clients are reliable and punctual, have a good attitude and are willing to accept responsibility for their own learning and the bookings they’ve made.