Wiltshire School of Motoring is an internet based driving school and all its instructors are independent. All instructors are fully qualified, CRB checked and approved by the Driving Standards Agency. All courses booked through Wiltshire school of Motoring form a direct contact between yourself and your named Instructor.
It is the sole responsibility of you and your instructor to ensure that your course and test date are booked for the appropriate times. If you have any questions or concerns about your course or test date, please refer these directly to your instructor and not Wiltshire School of Motoring.
Wiltshire School of Motoring takes every measure possible to ensure you the very best driving instruction, but each instructor’s style of intuition is solely their personal and legal responsibility.
In the unlikely event of any dispute that may arise, your instructor is directly responsible for reaching the settlement with you. Wiltshire School of Motoring will not be liable for any outstanding tuition or financial compensation for unused hours. Please also that any course or test or any unused hours are none transferable, so cannot be taken up by another instructor.
1. Students are to personally insure that they are holders of a current valid provisional driving licence. If new style licence both photo card & paper counterpart are required. If old style paper licence please bring with you your valid passport. Licences should be shown to the instructor at the first meeting.
2. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they have with them for their driving test all licence requirements and, if needed, a valid theory test pass certificate. Your license will need to be brought with you in each lesson.
3. A deposit of £150.00 for courses must be made with each course booking. Online bookings should be paid via the PayPal online payments form which will become available once the online booking form has been submitted. It is important to note that deposits paid are non-refundable under any circumstances.
4. The remaining full balance of the course/lessons fee must be received at least 28 working days prior to the first lesson or start of the course. Please note: the balance of the payment will be due, in full, directly to your instructor. Your instructor will provide the necessary payment instructions at the time your course confirmation email is issued.
Important information: please note that payments should be made by Bank Transfer where possible. If you wish to pay via Debit or Credit card, those payments can be made using PayPal. An additional surcharge of 3.4% of your course price becomes payable in order to cover PayPal’s fees. Please note that we do not accept PayPal ‘Gift’ payments as this would contravene PayPal’s Terms & Conditions.
Please also note that where you choose to make a direct payment via debit or credit card, the remaining full balance payment of the course/lessons fee must be made at least five days prior to the 28 working day period prior to the first lesson or start of the course. If you choose to pay in this way, your course confirmation email will inform you of the date your payment has to be made by.
5. Any additional tuition that the student may request will be charged at the current hourly rate and would be paid direct to the instructor when tuition is taken.
6. The driving test itself represents the final lesson of any course. For example, if you pay for a 40 hour course, you will receive 39 hour-long lessons plus the hire of your tuition vehicle for the driving test at the end of that course (this represents the 40th and final hour). Please note that the standard practical driving test costs £62 and is in addition to your course fee. If we book your test we will charge you the £62 booking fee. If you book and pay for the test yourself we will not charge you the £62 test booking fee. You can book your test at the official government site: www.gov.uk/book-driving-test.
7. It is the responsibility of the student to notify their instructor immediately that they have passed their theory test and to supply their certificate number so their driving test can be booked with their course.
If the student has not passed their theory test prior to, or within, the 28 working day course cancellation period, the course will still go ahead and require payment. In these circumstances we set aside a number of hours to complete the driving course prior to the eventual driving test date. If, for any reason, the student decides not to undergo the hours that have been set aside, we reserve the right to retain the full payment for those hours as they remain part of the original course hours and we have only rescheduled those hours as a goodwill gesture.
8. A cancellation notice is required if a student finds they are unable to take any of their course. This notice must be (a) sent in writing, by email. This must to be received 28 clear working days prior to the course start date. All confirmed courses are expected to take place as agreed, under no circumstances can this be rearranged.
9. Any tuition that has been booked with a deposit paid that is cancelled with less than 28 working days notice will be charged for in full and with no refunds provided. Course deposits are also non-refundable. Including cases where a pupil pays part or their entire course fee at one time.
10. All courses must be started or dates agreed within a 3 month period of the date the related deposit and/or full course fee payment is received by us. In the event that a course is not started within 3 months, your deposit payment and any other payments you have made become non-refundable. Any course hours that you may have paid for but, for whatever reason, are not used also become null and void and cannot be taken or money refunded after the 3 month period has expired. In any circumstance and for any reason, we hold full discretion over whether refunds of any nature, and for any payments submitted, will be given.
Please note: we will always attempt to make contact with pupils using the email address and telephone number provided within pupils’ booking forms or otherwise given to us by the pupil. If, for whatever reason, we are unable to contact pupils via those means, we will continue to make all reasonable efforts to make contact as best we can. If the pupil remains uncontactable, no refund of deposits paid will be issued.
11. Driving tests always take priority over driving tuition. Occasionally student’s tuition times may need to be changed to accommodate a driving test. Changes to a student’s tuition times will be notified to the student.
12. It is against the law for anyone to drive while under the influence of of alcohol or drugs. Any student being suspected of being under the influence of either will have their tuition terminated for that day with the lost of that day’s tuition.
13. Abusive language or threatening behaviour to any instructor, or to the general public while within the instructor’s car will not be tolerated. Any such behaviour will result in the course being terminated resulting in the loss of course fee.
14. Instructors reserve the right to withhold the use of their vehicle for the driving test if in the opinion of the instructor the student’s driving is not to a safe standard for the driving test to be taken. As per condition 6 (above), the use of the instructor’s vehicle during the driving test represents the final/last hour of any course that you have booked with us.
15. Driving tests are always arranged in advance of the course starting date. If the DVSA make any changes to the driving test within the cancellation notice period then the course will continue as arranged. Should a DVSA change happen then your instructor will do everything possible to rearrange another test to be taken quickly and will help claim any of your out of pocket expenses from the DVSA.
It is important to note that once we have booked a test with DVSA we then have no control over whether they change the test date/time or even cancel the test. As these types of changes are completely out of hands your driving course will still go ahead as planned and we will do everything that we can in order to work with DVSA to ensure your revised test date is booked as close to the end of your course as possible.
16. Please note that driving tests cannot normally be booked in advance for pupils who have not already taken and passed their driving theory test. The booking and passing of the theory test is entirely the responsibility of each pupil and is not included within any of our courses and fees. While we will do everything within our power to book your driving test at a time and date to suit you, we are limited by what the driving test centres have available. We are also not able to have any pupil take a driving test who has not previously passed their theory test. We therefore offer no refunds on deposits for pupils who book a course with us but who fail to pass their theory test prior to their driving test.
17. Instructor vehicles are regularly serviced and kept to a very high standard of roadworthiness. We will always endeavour to ensure that our cars are in ideal operational condition prior to your test. If any problems with a vehicle occur within the days leading up to your test we will, where possible, ensure these are dealt with prior to the test itself. However, in the very rare event of one of our cars breaking down, sustaining a flat tyre or developing any other mechanical fault that renders it unusable or unsuitable shortly prior to the test (or during your test), we will pay your rescheduled test fee and also provide you with an additional two hours of driving tuition at no cost to you (please note: the two additional free hours include your rescheduled test hour).
Please note that any alleged defect with our cars that the pupil (or other person) perceives to be an issue will only be considered a defect if/when the instructor has assessed the alleged defect and confirmed that they agree the defect exists. Our instructors will always be honest and fair in such circumstances but we cannot accept an allegation of a defect as being proof of a defect. Pupils are welcome to invite a mechanic or other qualified professional to check our vehicles and provide written confirmation of any alleged defect. This would be entirely at the expense of the pupil regardless of the outcome of any inspection.
If, for any reason, the pupil damages the vehicle they are using whilst under tuition, the time it takes to repair such damage will be lost from the pupil’s course time if the car has to be booked in for repair during the pupil’s previously agreed course time. Whether the damage is caused deliberately, by accident or by a freak occurrence, the above condition remains the same. In the event that the damage is caused deliberately, or the instructor perceives the damage to have been caused through the pupil’s deliberate actions OR negligence, we may pursue the pupil for reimbursement of any expense that result. Any costs relating to damage caused by the pupil which is not covered by our extensive insurance will also be payable by the pupil who caused the damage.
If your car is involved in an accident during your course, or becomes undriveable for any reason, we will endeavour to find and alternative vehicle and you will be offered the chance to postpone any missed hours at this time. Should you choose not to postpone those hours at the time the option is offered to you, they will be forfeited and no refund for those hours will be given.
18. In the unfortunate event that an instructor is too ill or for personal reasons to take a booked course, we will make every effort to inform you as soon as possible and arrange with you to reschedule your course. We will make every effort to ensure your course can be rescheduled, but if we are unable to reschedule the course with you for any reason we will retain your deposit and any other fees you have paid to us.
Due to the nature of intensive courses, if the pupil becomes ill during the course and is unable to complete their allocated time or take any scheduled lesson time, any remaining time will be forfeit if the pupil is unable to continue . Ill health of the pupil will not result in any refund being given. Including cases where a pupil is ill and unable to take their lesson or test .
19. Poor/dangerous weather conditions policy: in the event of poor weather your instructor will reserve the right to make the decision whether or not to undertake your course. In all cases, our primary concern will be safety. If you choose to cancel your course despite your instructor indicating it will go ahead, no refunds will be given – although we may help with rescheduling the course. If your instructor decides the conditions are too dangerous to take the course we will work with you to reschedule the course for a convenient time. No refunds will be issued due to poor weather conditions. Please note that we have no control over the DVSA canceling your driving test due to poor weather conditions. In the event the DVSA cancel your test we will work with you and the DVSA to reschedule your test.
20. Failsafe Course: please note that any student who passes their test at the first attempt as part of their Failsafe Course will not receive a refund for any unused tuition hours or tests that subsequently have no need to be taken. Any students who pay for their Failsafe Course, complete part of the course but then choose, for whatever reason, not to complete the tuition hours and/or driving test(s) will similarly not be entitled to any refund (in whole or in part).
21. When making a booking with us, we go to great lengths to ensure that you have read and accept our Terms & Conditions. These are updated regularly and clearly accessible and available to view on our website at all times. When submitting an online booking form via our website you can only do so by also clicking the box to confirm that you have read and accepted our Terms & Conditions. All bookings we receive will be processed and undertaken on the basis of good faith that you have indeed read and understood the Terms & Conditions (as you will have confirmed you have done). This will be the case regardless of whether you have actually read and accepted our Terms & Conditions.
22. Where the person undertaking the driving course is under the age of 18 at the time they make their booking, the booking itself must be made by their parent or guardian and accepted by us on that basis.
23. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that, prior to commencing their course, their eyesight (with glasses or contact lenses if necessary) is at the required level to pass the driving test, ie, the student must be able to read a vehicle license plate made after 1st September 2001 from a distance of 20 metres. All students undertaking a course must, if they require glasses or contact lenses, wear them at all times throughout the duration of the course and the driving test.
24. All students retain the right to end any part of their daily course at any earlier time than scheduled. In the event that a student chooses to end their day’s driving early, and for whatever reason, the remaining tuition hours of that day are forfeited and cannot be made up at any other time.
25. At the time we accept any course booking we take the student’s evaluation of their own driving skill level at face value. If, when the course commences, our evaluation of the student’s driving skill level is significantly below that which was originally stated, the booked course will still go ahead as planned but we reserve the right to cancel the associated test booking if we feel there is no realistic likelihood of the student attaining a level of driving skill necessary to attempt to pass their test within their allotted hours.
Where the booked course is long enough to enable us time to cancel the course and avoid paying the test fee, we will do so. If the cancellation period available to us is not long enough (ie, four full days or less), the student will lose their test fee payment despite not being entered for the test.
If the pupil reaches the latter stages of their course and it is deemed that their driving capabilities are such that they have little or no chance of completing their driving test (ie, the instructor firmly believes that the driving test examiner would call a halt to the practical test before it has been fully undertaken) then we reserve the right to not enter that pupil for their practical test. This is a requirement of being professional in our conduct and also reduces the psychological impact on the pupil of an aborted practical test. In these rare circumstances, the test fee will, unfortunately, be lost as we are unable to reclaim it.
26. In cases where a pupil is deemed to have the appropriate driving ability to more than likely pass their driving test but have not completed all of their allotted course hours, it may be possible to arrange for these hours to be used at a different time. For example, for motorway driving tuition. This will only be possible in exceptional cases and with our prior agreement. Where this type of arrangement has been made, the unused hours must be taken as some form of driving tuition and will not be redeemable or refundable in monetary form.
27. We adopt a zero tolerance approach to offensive and/or violent behaviour. Racist, sexist and/or offensive language will not be tolerated. If such behaviour continues after a first warning, we will terminate the lesson and any remaining lessons with no refund of course or booking fees.
If it is believed that the pupil has committed an offence or driven in a deliberately dangerous manner, ignoring all instruction and warnings not to repeat the actions, the instructor has a responsibility and the right to terminate the lesson with immediate effect with no refund given. If the behaviour continues in subsequent lessons, the entire course may be terminated with no refunds given.
Our instructors will, at all times, ensure that standards of personal hygiene are impeccable. Our instructors’ vehicles represent their place of work and acceptable levels of personal hygiene are also expected from pupils who use those vehicles. Where necessary, an instructor may politely advise a pupil that their levels of personal hygiene should be improved. If this advice is not acted upon prior to the following day’s tuition, the instructor is at liberty to terminate the day’s hours and, in extreme cases, the entire course.
28. Courses will include appropriate rest periods at the discretion of the instructor on each day of the course. The frequency and length of these rest periods will be determined by the instructor and may vary from day to day. These periods are included in the hours that make up the total number of hours in the course itself.
29. Communication: Please note that from the moment we receive your driving course booking form we will have a requirement to be able to contact you via the email and telephone details you provide on your booking form. It is very important that you supply the correct contact information. We will make every reasonable attempt to contact you via email and telephone when necessary. However, the process requires that you respond when requested. If we do not receive a timely response to any messages that we leave for you, we reserve the right to forfeit your course. We would normally keep any deposit payment that you may have made, so it is essential that you are contactable – and/or respond to any message we may leave for you – up until your practical test has been completed.
30. Covid-19/Coronavirus disruption: We will always continue to carry out courses until such time as we are instructed that we may no longer operate. Where any courses are unable to be undertaken due to Government imposed lockdowns, we will work with pupils to reschedule those courses and practical tests as soon as it becomes possible to do so. Due to the fast paced nature of any potential lockdowns, we are unable to give refunds for any courses that are affected and/or postponed due to Government directives.
Pupils who are due to undertake a driving course test who positive for Coronavirus and/or have to self-isolate during the course dates period will forfeit their course and test no refund will be offered.
Due to a backlog of practical driving test availability, which is out of our control, some courses may be split into two (or more) banks of hours. One bank of hours will be taken initially and then the remaining bank of hours will be delivered closer to the practical driving test date (once booked). Please note that all courses are paid for in full and no refunds will be given for any banks of hours that are not taken up by the pupil and for whatever reason. Best Driving Courses will always honour all course hours paid for. If the pupil chooses to forfeit any unused hours, that is their choice but no part refunds will be given.
Please note that government restrictions on providing professional driving tuition were lifted in April 2021. Any pupils who were unable to complete their courses due to Covid restrictions prior to this date MUST reschedule the remainder of their course hours within 12 months (1 year) of April 2021. Any course time that remains after this period may be forfeited or rescheduled solely at our discretion.
31. DVSA moving or postponing of booked tests: Whether we book a practical driving test or the pupil books their test, there may be occasions where the DVSA move or postpone a booked test. In the event a test date is changed by DVSA this is out of the control of both us and the pupil. As such, if we receive notice of a test date change we will work with the pupil to ensure some hours of their driving course are saved to be taken nearer to the revised date of the test. Please note that the number of hours saved, and the dates they are to be taken, will be at our discretion.
We reserve the right to change these terms and conditions at any time and without warning.