Terms and Conditions of Business

 

By booking a driving course with Fast Pass Driving Courses  (the ‘Company’), you (the ‘Pupil’) are confirming that you have read and understood the terms and conditions as set out in this document and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. 

The Company is a booking/administrative agent to connect the Pupil to an Approved Driving Instructor (the ‘Instructor’). The Company does not employ any instructors or driving schools. All instructors are self-employed and when the Pupil books a course with the Company, the Pupil also enters into a separate agreement with the Instructor for the driving lessons. Any disputes between the Pupil and the Instructor should be addressed to the Instructor directly.  The Company cannot be held liable for any claim that may arise. The Company is paid by means of the deposit for administrative work completed on behalf of the Pupil and Instructor. 

 

The Pupil agrees the following:

The Pupil must pass the legal requirements for the eyesight test as set out by the DVLA. This means the Pupil must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres. You must also meet the minimum eyesight standard for driving by having a visual acuity of at least decimal 0.5 (6/12) measured on the Snellen scale  with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) using both eyes together or, if you have sight in one eye only, in that eye.

If you, the Pupil cancels a course after the 14 day  ‘cooling off period’, but earlier than 14 days before the course start date, you agree to pay the cancellation charge of £200.00. This will be deducted from the deposit paid. Any surplus will be refunded to the Pupil. 

You, the Pupil, satisfy the DVSA requirements regarding residency and eligibility. 

You, the Pupil completes any forms with the Company and/or the Instructor completely and accurately. 

You make the Company aware of any health issues (physical or mental) which may affect your ability to participate or perform on a driving course as expected. 

You , the Pupil, attend the driving lessons on time. Any time lost due to poor punctuality will be forfeited and the Instructor is under no obligation to add time to the end of a lesson or the end of a course. 

You, the Pupil, agree to pay the Instructor the balance of the course in full on the first driving lesson (or earlier if an agreement is made between the Pupil and the Instructor).

On the first lesson, the Instructor will ask to see the Pupil’s provisional driving licence. It is the Pupil’s responsibility to ensure this is available for the Instructor to view. The Instructor cannot, by law, allow you to drive the vehicle without this. All monies paid will be forfeited and the course will be cancelled if you fail to supply this. 

If you, the Pupil, cancel the course within 14 days of the agreed start date, no refund will be given under any circumstances. If the course is cancelled once it has commenced, no refund will be given for any unused hours. The deposit also remains non-refundable. 

You, the Pupil, are responsible for ensuring the correct documentation is provided when attending a theory or practical driving test. Neither the Company, nor the Instructor can be held liable for any lost test fees if the Pupil fails to provide a valid UK provisional driving licence when required. 

No abusive behaviour towards the Instructor will be tolerated. All fees paid will be forfeited and the course cancelled in this event. 

You, the Pupil, must not be under the influence of drink or drugs when attending the driving course. If the Instructor raises any concerns about this, the course will be cancelled and all monies paid will be lost. No refunds will be offered.

Once a course has been booked and the deposit paid, the Pupil agrees to commence the course within 6 months of this date. Failure to do so will result in the course being cancelled and all monies paid will be lost. 

The Course:

Each course is for the number of hours booked. This includes the time required for taking your practical driving test. The Instructor will likely use 2 or 3 of the course hours to cover the practical test. Additional hours can be booked directly with the Instructor at their usual hourly rate, subject always to the ability of the Instructor to accommodate additional hours. 

If the course hours are arranged with the Instructor and the Pupil cancels any of these hours at short notice (less than 48 hours), these hours are still chargeable and will be lost. 

All courses are booked on assumption of average learning abilities based on past pupil experience. No guarantees can be implied. The Company will always recommend the best course to the Pupil based on information supplied to it but cannot be held liable for any disputes which may arise. 

The Instructor can refuse to take the Pupil for the practical driving test if the Pupil fails to meet the required standard or for safety reasons. No refund of test fees nor unused hours or deposit will be offered by way of refund in this event. The Instructor will however, make every effort to ensure the Pupil reaches the required standard. 

The Company do not offer any guarantee of the Pupil passing the practical driving test. 

No guarantee can be made about practical driving test availability which is subject to tests made available by the DVSA. The Company will endeavour to book a practical test for the Pupil at the end of the driving course. This will usually be at the most local test centre for the Pupil, however other local test centres may also be used. In the event that a practical driving test cannot be booked for the end of the driving course, an alternative will be offered – this will be agreed between the Pupil and the Instructor. The Company cannot be held liable for any changes to test dates that the DVSA make. 

A practical driving test cannot be booked unless the Pupil has a valid theory certificate and has confirmed the theory pass number to the Company. 

The Company cannot be held liable for any traffic violations committed by either the Instructor or the Pupil. 

In the unlikely event that the Company cannot fulfil the booking, a full refund of the deposit paid will be given. This applies only to the driving course. If the Pupil fails the driving theory test and therefore cannot undertake the driving course, the aforementioned cancellation charge will be applied. 

Refreshment/convenience breaks will form part of the driving course hours and will be agreed between the Pupil and the Instructor. It is not possible to drive continuously therefore, short breaks should be expected.

If the Pupil makes payment to the Instructor for a driving course but does not complete the course, the remaining hours are valid for a maximum period of 3 months. If the hours are not used within this time, the hours are forfeited and no refund will be given. If the Pupil requires a refund of any remaining hours within the 3 month period, any hours used will be charged at the standard hourly rate of £45.00. Any relevant cancellation charge will also apply. 

If the Pupil passes their driving test and there are hours remaining from the course booked, it is at the discretion of the Instructor as to whether these hours are refunded. The calculation of any refund will be based on the hours utilised being charged at the standard hourly rate of £45.00. 

Our commitment to the Pupil:

Your allocated Instructor will be fully qualified and licensed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to give paid driving tuition. On very rare occasions, we may allocate a PDI (Potential Driving Instructor) to your driving course. The badge displayed in the instructor’s car will be pink, rather than green. In this event, we will notify you prior to commencement of the course and advise that the instructor is a trainee.

The vehicle provided by the Instructor for the driving course will be comprehensively insured for the Pupil by the Instructor. The Pupil can request to see the insurance documentation from the Instructor. The Company cannot be held liable/responsible for any insurance related claims. Any disputes are the responsibility of the Instructor. In the event of an accident, the Instructor is liable to cover any insurance costs. If the Pupil causes intentional damage to the Instructor’s vehicle, this remains a dispute between the Instructor and the Pupil. The Company will not be held in any way responsible.

The vehicle provided by the Instructor for the driving course will be mechanically sound and fitted with dual controls for the safety of the Pupil, the Instructor and the general public.

Changes:

The Company may change these terms and conditions but will do so on notice to you. If you are not happy with the changes then you can contact the Company. 

Law:

The formation, existence, construction, performance and validity of these terms and conditions will be governed by the laws of England and Wales and each party irrevocably agrees that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions or their subject matter or formation.  

Your cancellation rights:

Nothing in these terms and conditions will affect any statutory rights you have as a consumer.

‘Cooling off period’ – Distance Selling Regulations - you have a legal right to cancel your contract with the Company and receive a full refund of any monies paid within 14 days of the start of the contract (for clarity, this will be the date the deposit was paid). In order to exercise your right to cancel, you must notify us in writing of your decision to cancel. This can be done by emailing us at cancelbooking@fastpassdrivingcourses.co.uk. Or by writing to us at Fast Pass Driving Courses, Unit 121453, PO Box 4336, Manchester, M61 0BW. Once this request has been received, a full refund will be processed. 

If you have authorised us to commence work on the course during this period, you may be liable to pay for the cost of any work completed. This will include, but is not limited to, any test fees. Should you decide to cancel the course after the 14 day cooling off period, then the cancellation fee will be charged as outlined in the terms of this document. 

Complaints Procedure:

The Company takes any complaint seriously. We request that, in the first instance, an email is sent to help@fastpassdrivingcourses.co.uk with details of the complaint. We aim to respond to all complaints within a maximum of 7 working days. 

If you have any questions about the terms and conditions of your booking, please contact us.

General:

The Company is not liable for any death, loss or injury sustained by a Pupil during or after a course unless such death, loss or injury is due to negligence on the part of the Company or its breach of these terms and conditions. 

If either party to these terms and conditions chooses not to rely on any rights under them this does not affect their rights to rely on those rights in the future. 

The terms and conditions are personal to you, the Pupil, and you may not assign, licence, sub-contract, re-sell all or any of your rights under them without the Company’s prior written consent. 

The Company is able to assign, licence or sub-contract all  or any part of its rights under these terms and conditions including (but not limited to) the provision of services via an Instructor (who the Company may change from time to time). 

These terms and conditions cannot be varied by you. 

The Company retains all rights in any documents and materials produced by it or licenced to it and those shall remain vested in or licensed to it. Any unauthorised copying, duplicating or distributing shall constitute an infringement of copyright. 

The Company is a data controller of your personal data and your personal data will be held and processed in accordance with its privacy policy and the Data Protection Act 2018. Your data will be used for:

·         To the extent needed to arrange and manage theory and practical driving tests

·         To arrange for an Instructor to contact you regarding lessons

·         To process your payment for course fees and any test fees

·         To contact as you may be required during the course and in respect of the course

The Company will only give your personal information to other third parties where the law requires or permits it to do so.

To manage any bookings with the DVSA the Company may use your details, as provided by you, to log into the DVSA website. You consent to the Company doing this.