Terms and Conditions

By submitting your driving lesson enquiry and booking through New Starters Driving School you are agreeing that you understand and accept the Terms and Conditions related to the provision of driving lessons with your New Starters driving instructor. 

Your driving instructor may also ask that you sign a copy of our Driving Lesson Terms & Conditions. 

All pupils should be aware that all New Starters Driving School Instructors are self-employed franchisees of the company. 

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Lessons 

On Road Driving Lessons are available to pupils who meet the following criteria: 

• Aged 17 or over and hold a valid UK provisional driving licence or full driving license (for refresher or motorway lessons 
• Pupils must inform their instructor immediately if they receive any endorsements on their driving licence during the period they are receiving tuition. 
• Pupils must pass the DVSA eyesight check before starting their driving lessons. Instructors are required to cancel driving lessons should Pupils fail this assessment. 
• Instructors are at liberty to refuse to proceed with a driving lesson if he or she has reason to believe that a Pupil is in any way under the influence of drink or drugs. 
• Instructors will endeavor to teach their Pupils the correct driving skills according to the recommended syllabus issued by the DVSA within the minimum number of driving lessons required. 
• Pupils should be aware that their instructor’s primary objective is to promote road safety and in doing so, they may be required to take control of the vehicle. Instructors will make every effort to instruct Pupils to the highest standard but can in no way be held liable for any errors that Pupils may make whilst driving unaccompanied by their instructor, either before or after passing their driving test. 
• The instructor will accept no liability for accidents, injury or damage to any Third Party caused by the Pupil’s recklessness or negligence during a lesson. 
• Abusive language or threatening behavior to any New Starters Driving Instructor, office staff, DVSA Examiner or the general public while on a driving lesson, driving test or via a phone call will not be tolerated. Any such action may result in your course being terminated resulting in the loss of lesson/course fee. 
• By being a customer of New Starters Driving School, you give us permission to use your personal data to book, move or cancel practical driving tests.  
• All New Starters vehicles are fully insured and fit for purpose.  
• New Starters instructors will professionally represent themselves and be of clean, smart appearance. 

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Intensive Courses 

• A 50% deposit is required on initial booking of course with the remainder due to be paid 24 hours before start of course. 
• Deposits are non-refundable if the course is cancelled one full clear week before start of course. Failure to be able to pay for the course remaining balance on the first lesson or when requested will result in immediate course cancellation, you will lose the deposit paid. 
• The student must have passed their theory test before start of course. 
• If New Starters Driving School cannot provide a driving test within the same week as your driving course, then we will book the next available date provided by the DVSA that best coincides with your instructor’s availability and yourself. 

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Cancellations 

• Pupils must provide their instructors with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice to cancel a driving lesson. Should the Pupil fail to give the instructor adequate notice, then the Pupil is liable to pay the full driving lesson fee. 
• In the event of a late cancellation by you an invoice will be sent to your home address for the payment. Payment must be received within 30 days.  
• Instructors reserve the right to rearrange lessons at short notice in the event of mechanical breakdown or other difficulty outside their control. 
• Pupils and their Instructors must pre-agree the duration of any driving lesson(s). If for any reason outside the Instructor’s control it is not possible to deliver the full duration of a driving lesson, any remaining time will be added to a later driving lesson. 
• All New Starters Driving Instructors will endeavor to be on time for lessons, if for any reason the instructor is late the pupil will be contacted and the remainder of the lesson time will be added to a mutually agreed time by both parties.  

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Payment 

Driving lessons must be paid for on the day of the driving lesson unless you have a prior agreement with your instructor then payment must be made in full no less than 24 hours after the lesson. 

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Block Bookings 

• Block booking discounts must be used within a 6-month period from purchase. 
• A block booking discount is offered for the lessons to be used within this period, if the lessons are not taken within this time they are forfeited. 
• Any block booking refunds will be minus discount for lessons taken. 
• Please note that if you cancel your block-booking payment part way through, your instructor is entitled to charge their full hourly rate for the lessons that have gone ahead. As the discounted lessons are based on purchasing a larger number of lessons, your refunded amount may be lowered to reflect this. 

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Vouchers 

• New Starters Driving School Gift Vouchers are applicable for a set number of driving lessons with their allocated instructor, and thus cannot be redeemed for cash. 
• Gift Vouchers must be redeemed within 6 months of purchase. Extensions are subject to the absolute discretion of New Starters Driving School. 
• Gift Vouchers are non-refundable, except in the event that no New Starters Driving School instructor has been able to be allocated to the learner driver prior to the expiry date, upon request by the recipient within 7 days of the gift voucher’s expiry. 
• New Starters Driving School cannot guarantee the availability of its driving instructors at any given time, including specific driving instructors, tuition vehicles, or driving lesson times. 
• Gift Vouchers should be kept safe, as they cannot be re-issued if lost or damaged as the unique reference number is required for redemption. 
• Gift vouchers cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash. 
• Gift Vouchers will be rendered void after the expiry date advised to the purchaser at the point of purchase and specified on the gift voucher itself. Extensions to the expiry date are agreed at the absolute discretion of New Starters Driving School. 
• We only accept New Starters Driving School vouchers. We do not accept any third-party driving lesson gift vouchers / gift cards. 
• Anyone who attends a driving lesson that has purchased a gift voucher must present the voucher on his/her lesson.  
• If a voucher is not presented a student will be charged the full price of the lesson take 

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Refunds 

Refunds may be issued if you have made a payment for driving lessons with New Starters Driving School and no longer wish to continue or if your instructor is unable to continue teaching you and there are outstanding lessons that you have paid for. 

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Practical Driving Tests 

• Driving tests may only be arranged with the prior agreement of both the Instructor and the Pupil. 
• On the day of your practical driving test, you must pay for a driving lesson before the test and the car fee for the test, lesson and car hire fee will be charged at the normal rate.  
• Our driving instructors reserve the right to refuse the use of the car for the day of your test if they feel you are not ready or there is outstanding money owed from previous lessons (including cancellations). 
• New Starters Driving School accept no liability for mechanical failure of the car on test or before test. We will do everything we can to ensure this does not happen and resolve it as quickly as possible if necessary. 
• Test covers enable existing New Starters Driving School pupils to find an alternative driving instructor to take them for their driving test if their original instructor cannot take them. New Starters Driving School reserves the right to refuse searching for test cover if the pupil’s original instructor informs us that the pupil is not safe on the roads or that proceeding with the test could be dangerous in any way. 
• Practical test availability is subject to tests made available by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). 

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Rescheduled tests or additional tests 

If your test is rescheduled or you take an additional attempt at your driving lesson, your instructor may ask for additional lessons if there is a delay driving at a consistent test standard. If the instructor is unhappy that there has been a long delay and your driving standard may be affected, we reserve the right to refuse use of the car for your test, please speak to your instructor if between your previous test and your next test date. This is to keep your you have any concerns. 

In the event of the practical test being cancelled by the driving vehicle standards agency, it is normal practice for the test fee to be refunded by them, however lessons booked on the day will be subject to the 24 hrs late notice cancellation and will require payment. (Some of these fees can normally be claimed back from the D.V.S.A). New Starters can supply a form to claim back lesson fee from DVSA. 

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Reallocations 

In the event that you wish to switch to a different driving instructor, New Starters Driving School Customer Services Team will endeavor to arrange this for you, provided we can accommodate your preferred transmission and location and times. We will endeavor to allocate a new instructor within one month. 

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Marketing 

• Most lessons will be video recorded for yours and our safety, Videos or photographs maybe used for promotion purposes. By being a customer of New Starters Driving School, you are agreeing to this condition.  
• By being a customer of New Starters Driving School, you are agreeing to your image and or quotes and reviews to be used in any marketing that New Starters Driving School sees fit. You will receive no monetary values for the use of these materials, and they become the property of New Starters Driving School. 
• You may object to this by informing your instructor at the beginning of your lesson or test. 

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Sexual Harassment or Inappropriate Behaviour 

New Starters Driving School have a duty of care to all our employees, franchisees, and pupils to ensure that they are able to work and learn in a safe, comfortable environment free from inappropriate behaviour including harassment or any physical or verbal misconduct. 

• All our instructors are subject to a police DBS check to ensure they have no criminal convictions. 
• All instructors are required to declare to New Starters Driving School immediately any new or pending criminal or driving convictions. 
• All instructors are required to declare to New Starters Driving School if they become aware that they are the subject of any allegations which could be interpreted as sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour. 
• The complainant should be advised that New Starters Driving School will investigate their complaint and request the provision of any supporting evidence that substantiates their allegations. 

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Complaints 

Please inform the office of any complaints (01228 546688) that you may have, and we will endeavour to address the situation. In the event that you are not satisfied, you may then refer to the registrar of approved driving instructors who will consider the matter and advise accordingly. 

Please remember that although we are a company and an expanding business, all our instructors are self-employed- this means that although they work with New Starters Driving School, they are still their own boss and only get paid for what they do. 

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions will affect any statutory rights you may have as a consumer. 

New Starters Driving School reserves the right to change and amend these Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice.  

New Starters Driving School reserves the right to change lesson prices without notice and are at the discretion of the company.