Customer satisfaction is The Drive Academy’s number one priority. We always want to provide exceptional service: helping all our pupils to learn to drive as quickly as possible, with flexible lesson schedules and payment options. To do this, we’ve built a reliable network of experienced and trustworthy driving instructors (each a “Driving Instructor”), who gives students high-quality, individually focused tuition.
In these Terms & Conditions, references to “you” or “your” means the student booking a course (“Course”) of driving lessons (“Lessons”) and/or any of the practical driving and/or theory tests (each a “Test”) through The Drive Academy
The Drive Academy acts as your agent in locating a Driving Instructor to provide you with the Lessons. When you make a booking with The Drive Academy you are entering into a separate contract for the Lessons which is solely between yourself and the Driving Instructor who is self-employed and who is independent managing booking(s) for your Test(s).
In the below Terms and Conditions, any use of the phrase “working days” means days other than a Saturday from The Drive Academy.
The Drive Academy is only mentioned in these Terms and Conditions where it acts in its capacity as your agent in locating a Driving Instructor for you, connecting you with the Instructor and, Sunday or public holiday.
By booking with us, you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions.
1. Driving Courses
- The Courses available through The Drive Academy take place in England, Scotland, and Wales only.
- Following the booking of your Course through The Drive Academy website or over the phone, you will be sent, and required to complete, an online form (“Details Form”). The Drive Academy will send you an email with a link to the Details Form. This form is also accessible via your order confirmation page. We can not start work on your booking until your Details Form has been correctly completed and submitted to us. Any timelines quoted for course completion will begin once we have received your Details Form.
- The Course fees (“Fees”) are as listed on The Drive Academy website include:
- The Drive Academy administration fee, which covers finding a Driving Instructor for you, booking the theory and/or practical driving Test where appropriate, managing your Test bookings, and providing service throughout the course (“Administration Fee”);
- The tuition fee for the Lessons from the Driving Instructor (“Tuition Fee”);
- The DVSA driving test fee.
- The Fees by default do not include the costs of a theory test. A theory test can be booked as an additional extra to the Course chosen for a fee of £40.
As the practical driving test and theory test require you to apply your own skill and knowledge, The Drive Academy does not and cannot guarantee that you will pass your practical driving test or theory test.
2. Payment
- You will pay in full (using a debit/credit card on website or over the phone) when you make your booking, in which case full amount will be debited from your account.
We will retain £250 of the payment to cover costs of work completed if:
- You request to cancel your course after your theory Test or practical Test has been confirmed. Note that if any driving lessons have been arranged, we may retain up to 100% of your course fees as per point 4 below.
- You fail to respond (accept or reject) to 2 suitable practical or theory Test date offers.
- Unless full payment of the Fees has been taken as per paragraph 2.1 above, The Drive Academy will contact you to take the remaining amount of the Fees due. The full payment of the Fees becomes due:
- If The Drive Academy is required to book more than one theory test for you, a £40 fee must be made in advance of each additional theory test. This can be done indefinitely.
- Up to 100% of the Tuition Fee is non-refundable if a suitable Driving Instructor has been allocated.
- Payment can be made online or over the phone using all major debit and credit cards.
- As stated above, The Drive Academy acts as your agent in locating a Driving Instructor for you. Payment for the Course is to be made toThe Drive Academy who accepts the payment on your behalf and, after deducting the Administration Fee, will arrange payment of the Tuition Fee to the Driving Instructor.
- Payment made by you covers the Tuition Fee, the Administration Fee, and the cost of one practical driving test. Under no circumstances should you pay your instructor directly. Payments to your instructor will not count as payment towards your booking balance, and if you ignore payment reminders, any test dates you have booked will be cancelled and your deposit will not be refunded.
- The Drive Academy will make payment to your Driving Instructor on your behalf. In cases where non-payment, withdrawal or incorrect cancellation of fees associated with a course incur, The Drive Academy are entitled to claim fees from you on the Driving Instructor’s behalf.
- Any refund given will be made back to the card from which the original payment was made. Refunds can take up to 10 working days from the day they are processed to show in the receiving account.
- Any unused hours from your Lessons package booked via The Drive Academy are non-refundable & non-transferable. Unused Lessons can be used for additional tuition (e.g. motorway driving lessons).
- From time-to-time promo/discount/coupon codes may be available based on campaigns or other circumstances. However, if we feel that an associated discount has been applied to a transaction which is outside of the intended scope, the booking will be null and void and the transaction will be refunded.
3. Lessons
- You must hold a valid UK provisional driving licence and present it to your Driving Instructor at the start of your first lesson. In making this booking, you confirm that you do hold a valid provisional driving licence. You must bring your licence with you to all your Lessons and Tests. Failure to do so will result in the Lesson and/or Test being cancelled without a refund.
- You have six months after booking the Course to start your Lessons unless it is agreed otherwise between you and The Drive Academy. If an agreement is not made between you and The Drive Academy and your driving lessons are not started within this six month period you will lose the amount paid.
- If your course was booked over 12 months ago and we’ve not heard from you for 6 months, we will consider your Course expired and all Fees will be non-refundable.
- Any arrangements for the driving lessons, including the start time and start location, shall be agreed between you and the Driving Instructor directly.
- It is your responsibility to be on time for your Lessons. As the Driving Instructor may have other lessons to deliver, the Lessons will not be extended to compensate for you arriving late.
- If you do not turn up for a Lesson the Driving Instructor will be entitled to keep the full tuition fee of the missed Lesson.
- The total Course time includes any breaks that the Driving Instructor may feel is necessary for the safety of both you and the Driving Instructor in accordance with any regulations.
- Any Lessons booked in your name cannot be transferred or sold to a third party.
- You must have reasonable availability for Lessons on a weekly basis.
4. Practical Driving Tests
- The Drive Academy will aim to find a practical driving test that meets your reasonable requirements within 21 days from the next working day after receiving your reasonably and accurately completed Details Form or 21 days from the next working day after you make The Drive Academy aware the theory test has been passed. The backlog associated with COVID may cause delays to this.
- We will send you a suitable test date by email. You must respond to this date and location to accept or reject the test date proposed within 7 days of receiving the test option. If we do not hear from you within 7 days, the date will be reallocated. If you fail to reply to a test on 2 occasions we will put your course On Hold.
- The time for the practical driving test is included in the overall time of the Course. Depending on your location, up to 4 hours of your course may be reserved for the driving Test date.
5. Cancellation or Rearrangement of Lessons
- Each Driving Instructor has their own policy regarding cancellation or rearrangement of the Lessons. It is your responsibility to ask your Driving Instructor what their policy is and to comply with their policy.
- Downgrading your Course is not possible under any circumstances.
- In cases where the Booking has been live for more than 12 months or on hold for more than 12 months and not expired, The Drive Academy have the right to increase Tuition Fees based on current pricing in your area to cover costs.
6. Cancellation or Rearrangement of Tests
- You may change or cancel your tests, whether theory or practical, by giving The Drive Academy at least 4 full working days’ notice before the date of each such arranged Test.
- If 4 working days’ notice is not given to The Drive Academy , you will need to pay the full amount (Standard DVSA fee of £62.00 for a practical driving test or £23.00 for a theory test) plus an administration fee for the Test.
7. Postponement and Expiry of Course
- If you instruct The Drive Academy to place your Course on hold, The Drive Academy will cease all work relating to the provision of your Course until you instruct The Drive Academy to resume. Any time lapsed while a Course is on hold will not contribute towards the 21 day period referred to in 2.1.
- If The Drive Academy has made multiple attempts to contact you and it has been 14 days or more since The Drive Academy has had any contact from you, The Drive Academy will consider your Course to be on hold and 5.6 above will apply as if you had instructed The Drive Academy to place your Course on hold.
- If a Course is on hold for 6 months without contact (unless otherwise agreed), your Booking will be expired and all fees non-refundable.
8. Driving Instructors
- The Driving Instructor may refuse to proceed with a driving lesson if you use abusive language or threatening behaviour or if you fail to act on any reasonable request made by the Driving Instructor or if the Driving Instructor reasonably believes that you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at any time during the lesson.
- The Driving instructor may refuse to allow you to take a practical driving test in the Driving Instructor’s car at the end of your Course if the Driving Instructor reasonably determines your driving does not meet the necessary standard to take a practical driving test on the grounds that it would be a risk to the health and safety of pedestrians and other motorists or there is a risk of damage to the Driving Instructor’s property and livelihood.
- You will not be entitled to change your Driving Instructor once your Lessons have started, except if in The Drive Academy opinion there are exceptional circumstances (for example, inappropriate behaviour) and where The Drive Academy is able to recover the remaining Tuition Fees from the Driving Instructor.
- When your lessons start you must show your Driving Instructor the DVSA confirmation email that contains the details for your practical driving test. The Drive Academy will forward you this email once a practical driving test has been secured.
- The Drive Academy does not guarantee to satisfy your preference regarding your Driving Instructor’s; gender; car make; car model; or car fuel type.
9. Limitation of Liability
- Neither The Drive Academy nor the Driving Instructors shall be liable to you for any loss or damage where, and to the extent that:
- there is no breach of a legal duty owed to you;
- such loss or damage is not a reasonably foreseeable result of such a breach;
- any such loss or damage results from any breach, action or omission by you;
- any such loss or damage results from circumstances or matters outside of the reasonable control of The Drive Academy the Driving Instructor or you.
- The Drive Academy does not exclude or limit in any way its liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so.
- You are taking the driving tuition as a private consumer, not in connection with business. Consequently, The Drive Academy shall not be liable to you for any losses connected with business in any way, including loss of profit, loss of business or loss of business opportunity.
- The Drive Academy is not party to the contract for the driving tuition itself and only acts as your agent in locating a Driving Instructor for you. This does not affect any liability that The Drive Academy may have for any loss or damage you may incur which is caused directly as a result of any breach by The Drive Academy of any legal duty owed by it to you.
- The Drive Academy will assess on a case by case basis any missed or cancelled lessons or Tests due to the Driving Instructor being ill, vehicle breakdowns or any other circumstance outside of The Drive Academy or the Driving Instructor’s control.
- The Drive Academy will not be responsible for Tests moved or cancelled by the DVSA. If the DVSA takes such action, you and The Drive Academy will be notified by the DVSA.
- You agree to inform The Drive Academy of any issues you experience regarding your Course in a timely manner. Any issues that occur prior to the final day of your Course which are only brought to attention after your Course has been completed will not be considered by The Drive Academy .
10. Use of Personal Data
- Any personal data provided to The Drive Academy by you will be held and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will be used as follows:
- to arrange and manage theory and practical driving Tests;
- to arrange for a Driving Instructor to contact you regarding lessons;
- to process your payment for the Tuition Fees and the Test fees;
- to contact you as may be necessary concerning your tuition and to keep you informed of products and services which The Drive Academy can make available to you.
The Drive Academy will only give your personal information to other third parties where the law either requires or allows The Drive Academy to do so.
- If you have booked your own Test, in order for The Drive Academy to manage your Test booking, The Drive Academy will log in to the DVSA website using your details as provide by you to The Drive Academy, and The Drive Academy will alter the contact email address to be that of The Drive Academy so that The Drive Academy receives notifications from the DVSA. You consent to The Drive Academy doing this to manage your Test booking(s). The Drive Academy will contact you should any DVSA notifications be received.
11. Behaviour
- The Drive Academy has a zero tolerance policy regarding abuse, harassment or violence whether physical or verbal towards its staff members or the Driving Instructors and reserves the right to cancel your booking in the event. Your deposit will be non-refundable. Up to one hundred percent of the remainder of the Fees may also be non-refundable to cover costs already incurred by The Drive Academy or your Driving Instructor.
12. Law
- The Drive Academy has a zero tolerance policy regarding abuse, harassment or violence whether physical or verbal towards its staff members or the Driving Instructors and reserves the right to cancel your booking in the event. Your deposit will be non-refundable. Up to one hundred percent of the remainder of the Fees may also be non-refundable to cover costs already incurred by The Drive Academy or your Driving Instructor.
13. Your right to a cancellation period
- You have the right to cancel your booking up to 14 days after you submit your booking to The Drive Academy online or over the phone. The Drive Academy will not start work on your booking until the 14 day cancellation period has passed unless you waive your right to the 14 day cancellation period.
- By completing the Details form before the end of the 14 day cancellation period you are instructing The Drive Academy to start work on your booking right away and therefore waiving your right to the 14 day cancellation period.
- If you are a repeat customer it will be assumed that you want The Drive Academy to start work on your booking right away and therefore waive your right to the 14 day cancellation period unless you expressly state otherwise.
14. Complaints procedure
- We take all customer complaints received seriously. Should you wish to make a complaint, please email us at learn@thedriveacademy.co.uk We will aim to respond to and investigate all complaints within a reasonable timeframe.
TD Academy Limited
TD Academy Limited is a Private Limited Company registered in place of UNITED KINGDOM, United Kingdom. Company status is Active. It’s registered office is The Drive Academy, 23 Southernhay Way, Exeter EX1 1PR