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What is Book Driving Lessons Online?

Book Driving Lessons Online, (“BDLO”), is owned and operated by Driving Instructor Services, (“DIS”), which provides support to hundreds of driving instructors throughout the UK, and offers the opportunity to people wanting to learn to drive to meet a local driving instructor and try their car at a specially reduced lesson rate, (a “Meet and try” lesson).

How can BDLO arrange a lesson directly into an instructor’s diary when other sites can’t?

Instructors who use BDLO have an Online Office diary that they can update daily in order that potential new pupils can be accommodated in lesson slots that would otherwise be vacant. We hold information about each of the instructors that appear on our BDLO site, and they in turn promise to behave professionally towards you, and to only offer slots on BDLO that are genuine opportunities for a potential new pupil to book an introductory lesson. It saves a lot of hassle for you, and is a very efficient and effective way of instructors booking potential new pupils into their diaries. For this reason, they are often willing to offer a special discount to encourage you to do this.

How do I select an instructor?

Once you have entered the Postcode where you want your lessons conducted from, and after you’ve confirmed that the address shown is correct, you will be able to view the instructors who cover that postcode and see the prices they charge and the products and services they offer. Their Instructor profile will help you choose the instructor with whom you’d most prefer to book your firstMeet and try lesson. Bear in mind that the “cheapest” need not necessarily be the most “appropriate” for you. Sometime, you can pay more per lesson, but need fewer lessons because you’ve selected an instructor that more closely matches your own specific requirements, style or temperament. Carefully matching your own personality to that of your instructor can reduce the stress of learning, thereby helping you pass more quickly and with fewer lessons, even if the unit cost of those lessons is a few pennies more.

When do I pay for my first “Meet and try” driving lesson that I arrange through BDLO?

You should pay your driving instructor in the car at the end of the first lesson.

If I don’t like the instructor after the first lesson, is there any commitment for me to take further lessons?

BDLO’s aim is to give you the opportunity to Meet and try, to help you decide whether you think you can learn well with that instructor. It’s up to the instructor to amaze you with their skill and impress you enough so that you’ll want to continue to book lessons with them. Providing driving tuition is very much a personal service, and although every driving instructor will be qualified to give lessons, (it would be illegal if they were not), and they should all therefore be capable of helping you get your full driving licence, it’s very important that the learning experience is as enjoyable as you can make it. If an instructor fails to convince you that they are the right teacher for you, then “No”, you do not have to rebook any further lessons with them.

If I like the instructor, how do I rebook lessons after the “Meet and try” lesson?

Just: book directly with the instructor in the car at the end of the first lesson. But please remember that any lessons you bookafter the initial lesson you arranged through BDLO will be subject to the instructor’s own terms and conditions, which may be substantially different from those of BDLO.

Please make sure you know, understand and accept the instructor’s own terms and conditions before booking further driving lessons with them.

Can I book more than one “Meet and try” lesson with different instructors?

Yes, you can book another Meet and try lesson with another instructor, provided there’s one available. The purpose behind BDLO is to find an instructor that you are ultimately comfortable with but please bear in mind that there’s no benefit to you in bouncing between instructors just for a series of cheap single lessons. In the long term, that approach would be more likely to confuse you rather than assist you. And if BDLO thought you were abusing the system, we might restrict you from using the site.

What if the Instructor contacts me to change the “Meet and try” lesson, but I can’t fit in with the alternatives I’m offered.

At your request, BDLO will reallocate you to an alternate instructor, (provided there is one available). As you will only be asked to pay after the first lesson has been conducted, you will not suffer any financial loss, although you may be inconvenienced by the lesson having to be reallocated.

If Instructors have been diligent in updating their diary in the first place, it should be very rare that they should need to alter the first lesson, but if it happens more than once, even if you can fit in with the rescheduled appointment, please contact BDLO and we will investigate for you.

What if I can’t make the “Meet and try” lesson after I’ve booked it?

As long as you give at least 48 hours notice directly to the instructor, you should be able to reschedule your first lesson with the Instructor by mutual agreement.If you do not give the instructor at least 48 hours notice to cancel, the special introductory priced lesson may be forfeited, (but this would be entirely at the Instructor’s own discretion).

We aim to introduce genuine Pupils to professional Instructors, and hope that you can understand why Instructors wouldn’t be very happy if they’re setting aside lesson slots at specially reduced rates that are subsequently being cancelled at the lat minute.

What if my Instructor lets me down on the first lesson?

Your first point of contact is with the Instructor directly. Our confirmation email to you will have provided a telephone number for the instructor, and you should call them in person if they let you down, (although you might want to wait up to 15 minutes from the appointed time, just in case of traffic delays that might cause them to simply be running late). If this doesn’t resolve matters to your satisfaction, please contact BDLO direct. If an Instructor consistently causes inconvenience to Pupils, we will deregister them from the BDLO service.

What if I am unhappy with my instructor after I’ve had a few lessons?

Again, there’s nothing stopping you trying a different instructor through BDLO, although you might be asked to provide feedback as to why it is your first choice of instructors ultimately proved to be so unsuitable. We take great pride in the quality of the instructors we represent and if you have genuine reason to be dissatisfied in any way with the instructor you book with through BDLO we would like to be kept informed.

What about refunds?

Any lessons booked with an instructor is a contract between you and the instructor and all refunds must be requested from the instructor. Such arrangements will be subject to the instructor’s own terms and conditions, so if you have prepaid for lessons, or if you have taken up a special offer or discount deal, there may be conditions attached that could mean you won’t get all your money back. Ask to see the instructor’s terms and conditions before booking subsequent lessons with them, especially if you are thinking about prepaying.

Is it safe to pay my instructor in advance for lessons?

All payments made directly to an instructor are the responsibility of that instructor. You must satisfy yourself that the instructor is trustworthy and that you can get your money back if you need to.

What recourse would I have if my instructor won’t refund my money?

First,you should contact BDLO. Although we are not responsible for any payments you may have made, we can assure you that we will investigate your complaint fully and report to you with our findings and an opinion. Obviously, if we believe your complaint has merit, the Instructor will be immediately deregistered from using our service.

Second, you can contact the Driving Standards Agency, who registers all UK driving instructors, and ask them to look into the matter for you. We will be happy to provide you with whatever assistance you might need in order for you to do this.

Finally, you could take the matter to the small claims court to get a county court judgment against the instructor.  We would hope that this would very much be a last resort, but if you have to go that far, the Driving Standards Agency might then look again at whether the instructor is a “fit and proper person” to be registered as an instructor, and may strike them off the Register of Approved Driving Instructors, effectively preventing them from working legally as a driving instructor in the UK.

These are similar to the rights you would have when making any transaction directly with any UK trader, with the added assurance that BDLO will always have your interestes at heart. If there are any problems with any individual instructor, they will not be allowed to remain on BDLO.

Are there additional benefits to booking a “Meet and try” lesson via BDLO?

Yes. As well as driving lessons being made available to you at genuine special rates, (we do a price check ourselves against what the instructor normally charges and what they offer on BDLO), all pupils that have booked via BDLO will have immediate access to FreeOnlineTheoryTests.co.uk to help prepare for the theory exam.

When you book your Meet and try lesson, you will be asked to provide a password for your account. That password, and your email address, will be all you need to get access to over 2,500 mock theory questions and over 100 hazard perception clips, all provided in a structured training environment with reports and analyses of the progress you are making.