Habib My Driving School – Pupil Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between you (the Pupil) and your driving instructor, as well as the agency services provided by Habib My Driving School.

We reserve the right to change these Terms at any time. Any modifications take effect immediately and will be notified to you.

1. Legal Status & Your Instructor

• Agency Agreement: Habib My Driving School acts strictly as an agent for your driving instructor when processing your payments, handling lesson bookings, and supplying documentation or information.
• The Contract: The legal contract for driving tuition is solely and directly between you and your assigned instructor.

2. Pupil Eligibility Criteria

To book and undertake driving tuition, you must fulfill all of the following requirements:

• Age: Be at least 17 years old. If you receive or have applied for the enhanced mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or the higher rate of Disability Living Allowance, you may begin at age 16.
• Licence: Hold a valid UK provisional driving licence.
• Legality: Be legally entitled to drive on UK roads.

3. Lesson Arrangements & Scheduling

• Scheduling: You and your instructor are mutually responsible for agreeing on the times, pick-up locations, and duration of individual lessons.
• Status Updates: You must immediately inform your instructor of anything that impacts your legal entitlement to drive (such as the loss, suspension, or lack of a valid provisional licence).

4. Cancellation & Attendance Policy

• 48-Hour Notice Rule: You must provide a minimum of 48 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule a lesson.
• Late Cancellation Fee: If you fail to provide at least 48 hours’ notice, you will be charged for the lesson in full.
• Instructor Cancellations: If your instructor cancels without giving 48 hours’ notice, they are required to rearrange the lesson for you.
• Booking Channels: Cancellations must be made directly with your instructor or through the school. Requests cannot be processed outside of official office hours, and please note the driving school is closed on Public holidays and on Fridays.
• DVSA Test Notice: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) requires 10 clear working days to cancel or change a driving test. If your instructor determines you are not test-ready within this 10-day window, you risk forfeiting your DVSA test fee.

5. Payments, Rates, Price Protection & Annual Price Review

• Advance Payments: All driving tuition must be paid for at least one week before the lesson begins. Payments cannot be processed outside office hours or on Public holidays.
• Approved Payment Methods:
  • Bank transfer to the driving school.
  • Cash or cheque handed directly to your instructor (cheques must be made out to the instructor personally).
• Payment Receipts: Habib My Driving School accepts no liability for cash/cheque payments made directly to an instructor; always ensure you obtain a physical receipt from them.
• Price Lock Guarantee: Prepaid lesson packages lock in the active hourly rate for 6 months from the booking date. Any unused lessons remaining after 6 months will be subject to any price increases introduced during that time.
• Exceptions to Price Locking: You will be required to pay a rate difference or supplement if:
  • You switch instructors within your postcode area and the new instructor has a higher hourly rate or charges an automatic vehicle supplement.
  • You do not take any driving lessons for a period of 3 consecutive months and are subsequently reallocated to an instructor following a school price increase.
• Annual Price Review: Habib My Driving School conducts an annual review of all tuition fees. New lesson rates take effect on 1st November every year.
• Universal Application: This price change applies universally. All students—including both existing students currently taking lessons and newly enrolled students—will be subject to the new rates starting 1st November. No historic rates will be honoured after this date.
• Advanced Notice: Habib My Driving School will provide all active students with at least 14 days’ written notice (via email or text message) prior to 1st November, outlining the upcoming price adjustments.
• Prepaid Hours and Block Bookings: Any prepaid hours or block booking packages remaining on your account after 1st November will be handled as follows:
  • Any prepaid block hours purchased before 1st November must be utilised within 30 days (by 1st December).
  • Any remaining hours after this grace period will be subject to the new rate, and a top-up payment will be required.

6. Standard Driving Test Vehicle Hire

On the day of your practical test, you must secure the use of the school vehicle by choosing one of three standard options (all options require a £75.00 hire fee plus the instructor’s standard hourly rate):

Option 1 (Highly Recommended): Includes 2 hours of warm-up driving before the test, 1 hour for the practical test itself, and a 20-minute debrief and drop-off.

Option 2: Includes 1 hour of driving before the test, 1 hour for the test, and a 15-minute debrief and drop-off.

Option 3: Meeting the instructor directly at the test centre. Includes 1 hour for the test and a 15-minute debrief and drop-off.

Note: All standard test day fees must be settled one week prior to the test date. An additional £50 damage deposit is required upfront, which will be fully refunded straight after the test provided the vehicle’s alloy wheels are undamaged.

7. Short Notice Test Bookings

A booking is classified as a “Short Notice Test” if your practical exam date falls within 8 weeks or less of your first scheduled lesson.

• Non-Existing Customers: Vehicle hire for non-existing customers under short notice is £150.00, accompanied by a mandatory £500.00 deposit. Extra hours purchased during this period cost the standard hourly rate plus a £8 surcharge.
• Package Minimums: A Short Notice Test package requires a non-refundable upfront payment for a minimum of 5 hours. This comprises a mandatory initial 2-hour assessment and 3 hours designated for the test day.
• Test Readiness Assessment: If your instructor determines during the initial 2-hour evaluation that you are not yet test-ready, they are under no legal obligation to take you to the exam centre. Neither the school nor the instructor will be liable for any lost DVSA booking fees.
• Short Notice Cancellations: To receive a full refund on a Short Notice Package, you must cancel at least 48 hours prior to the initial 2-hour assessment lesson.

8. Extended Driving Test Fees

• Hourly Rate: Extended driving lesson hours are charged at £95.00 per hour.
• Vehicle Hire: Hiring the vehicle specifically for an extended driving test is £200.00, plus the standard hourly extended lesson rate.

9. Driver Liability & Vehicle Damage Fees

While your instructor maintains professional motor insurance to cover road collisions, you share responsibility for the vehicle during your lessons. You are liable for fine payouts or repairs resulting from driver negligence:

• Alloy Wheel Damage: Striking a kerb and damaging an alloy wheel carries a mandatory £25.00 fee per alloy.
• Tyre Damage: Impact damage resulting in a compromised rubber tyre carries a £125.00 fee per tyre.

10. Refunds, Forfeiture, & Exclusions

• General Refund Right: You can cancel prepaid tuition at any time. If no lessons have been taken, you are entitled to a full refund. Taken lessons and any booking fees are strictly non-refundable.
• Partial Block Bookings: Refunds for incomplete block bookings are calculated pro-rata for unused hours, minus a £50.00 administrative cancellation fee.
• 6-Month Expiry Rule: If you purchase a block lesson package and do not take a lesson for a continuous period of 6 months, your remaining balance is permanently forfeited and non-refundable.
• Promotions & Vouchers: Promotional “Buy one get one free” packages cannot be refunded once the first lesson is commenced. Prepaid gift cards or vouchers cannot be refunded once they are redeemed.
• Processing: Refunds are processed back to the original payment method and can take up to 10 working days to clear.

11. Fraud Prevention & Non-Transferability

• Personal Bookings: Driving lessons are strictly non-transferable and cannot be sold or assigned to any other person.
• Official Channels: Lessons are only valid if purchased through the authorised school pathways. If we suspect a booking originated from an unauthorised source, the school reserves the right to immediately suspend your account pending an internal validity investigation.

12. Limitation of Liability

Neither Habib My Driving School nor your instructor will be held liable for losses or damages if:

• There is no breach of a legal duty owed to you.
• The loss or damage was not a reasonably foreseeable result of a breach.
• The escalation or occurrence of the damage stems from your own breach or omission.
• The issue arises from factors completely outside the reasonable control of the school or instructor.
• The losses tie directly to business interests (e.g., lost profits, lost wages, business interruption, or missed opportunities).

Customer Care & Escalations

Should any scheduling or structural disagreements occur, you are advised to pause further lessons and resolve the issue directly with your driving instructor first.

If a resolution cannot be reached, you can request an official school investigation by submitting your up-to-date Driver Record alongside valid receipts/proof of financial transactions to our customer care team.

• Phone / Mobile: 07726 272798
• Email: info@habibmydrivingschool.co.uk
• Post: Unit 79, Manningham, Bradford BD8 8BD

If you remain dissatisfied following our internal review, you hold the right to escalate your dispute to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) at 0300 200 1122.