Terms and Conditions

Weekly Lessons Terms and Conditions

  1. Lessons   Please be ready when your lesson is due to start.  The instructor will not come to the door, they will wait in the car for you to come out. They will wait a maximum of 10 minutes before classing it as a no show / cancellation   (Which is chargeable as within 48 hr cancellation period).

2    Licence & Sight   Please ensure you have a valid signed licence and that you can read a number plate at a distance of 67 feet.  If you need glasses or contact lenses to read the number plate, you will need them on all your driving lessons.   In June 2015 DVLA removed the requirement of the paper part of the driving licence. It’s your responsibility to ensure that your photocard licence is within date. To enable driving school to make sure you don’t have any endorsements or penalty point we will need to take details of your Driving Licence Number, National Insurance Number and Postcode, we will then check your information with that on the DVLA register.   This information will be passed on to your driving instructor. By providing your driving licence number you are permitting us to book and hold a driving test in your name on our business booking service.

3. Cancellations

Unfortunately, due to the increased number of cancelled lessons BDS has had to fall in line with other driving school and implement a policy for the short notice cancellation of driving lessons.

Once a lesson is booked into the diary that lesson will be payable unless an alternative lesson is booked in the same week.

  • Any lessons cancelled and not re-booked in the same week will be subject to at £10 charge.
  • Any cancellation within 48 hours of the lesson will be payable in full.
  • Should the lesson be pre-paid and they are cancelled within the 48 hours one of the pre-paid lessons will be deducted as payment.
    (If it was a 2 hour lesson then 2 hours will be deducted).

We hope this is self-explanatory, should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on 01253 320080.

4    The Car   The School will provide a car, which is fully insured for driving tuition and driving test.  The insurance details can be produced if required.   

5. Attire   Wear comfortable lightweight clothes and low-heeled shoes for best results

6    Alcohol Please bear in mind the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol, drugs and medicines in relation to your responsibility to other road users. Also remember that alcohol can still be in the system the morning after the night before.  Any pupil attended a driving lesson who appears under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be allowed to take the driving lesson, or any lessons in future.  If you are taking any medication please ask the doctor if is okay to drive.

7    Tests    The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) state that you should not present yourself for a driving test until your driving is up to the required standard.  The length of training to reach this standard varies greatly from one individual to another.  Therefore it is in your own interest to take your instructors advice on when to take the driving test, as it is false economy and very dangerous to present yourself for a test too early.  If you book your own driving test and your instructor feels you are not ready, they may withdraw the use of the driving school car and their ADI number from your test application, the driving school will not be liable for any loss of DVSA test fee. If the Driving School or instructor has booked the driving test on your behalf, they have the right to cancel. If its outside the DVSA cancellation policy you will lose the test fee and it will not be refunded. If the Driving School or instructor has booked the driving test on your behalf, they have the right to cancel. If its outside the DVSA cancellation policy you will lose the test fee and it will not be refunded. If the driving school has booked the test on your behalf – please DO NOT amend that booking, doing so may result in the test being cancelled and you losing the test fee.

8    Books to read   The DVSA recommend that you read the following books “Driving The Essential Skills”, ”Know your Traffic Signs” and “The Highway Code”.  All these are published by the DVSA and are available from most bookshops and libraries.

9    Theory Test      If you have not already taken your theory test please make it a priority, you are not able to take your Driving Test until you have passed your theory.

10  Payment          All lessons are payable 48 Hours prior to the lesson taking place.  The preferred option of payment is direct to the instructor, but you can also pay via the BDS APP, the BDS Website or phone the office. If payment is not received then your lesson may be offered to another customer.

Please note that all lessons purchased as a block booking or vouchers must be used within 4 months of purchase and are not transferable.

11. Refund Policy   Advance payment for driving lessons by card or cash will be covered by our refund policy, and if the payee decides not to go ahead with the lessons, they will be refunded less a £5 administration charge.  However, we do require 48 hours’ notice of a cancelled lesson, if a lesson is cancelled for any reason without 48 hours’ notice; we reserve the right to charge for that lesson.

12  Progress          Your driving instructor will keep records of your training and progress, if you have any questions or problems discuss them with them

13. Privacy Policy  Whenever a new pupil starts taking lessons with us, personal information is acquired relating to the pupil. This personal information is necessary in order for us to deliver our service. This information is collected every time an enquiry is made, by email or telephone. When we book in a new pupil, we request the following information as standard-Title , Full name, Postal address,  Telephone numbers, Email address, Driving experience

Blackpool Driving School (BDS) will never share any information about any of our pupils, past, present or future, and all personal details will be kept secure.    Blackpool Driving School would like to take your photograph once you pass your driving test and use it on our Website Wall of fame / Facebook and / or other marketing materials.  Please inform us if you wish to opt out of this

We hope this is self-explanatory, should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on 01253 320080.

Intensive Driving Course Terms and Conditions

Intensive / Fast Pass Course Terms and Conditions

By booking a driving course with BDS Driving School you are indicating that you have read and understood the terms and conditions and agree to be bound by them. 
‘You’ or ‘trainee’ means the learner
‘BDS’ or ‘Driving School’ means BDS Driving School
‘Instructor’ or ‘trainer’ means the self employed instructor

Wherever possible our terms and conditions are written in plain English and are designed to be fair both to you the trainee and ourselves the trainers.

If you have any doubt as to the meaning or understanding of them or you feel they are unfair please contact ourselves prior to ordering any training course or product. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have fully understood them and any financial or other implication they may hold for you.

Your contract/ agreement is with BDS – Blackpool Driving School, 68 Bleasdale Avenue, Blackpool. FY30DW.   

You may contact us by e mail to hello@blackpooldrivingschool.co.uk. You may contact us by telephone 01253 899909 during office hours.  Outside those hours a messaging service is in operation should we be unavailable to talk to you immediately we will ring you back as soon as is reasonably possible.

  1. Each course is for the total amount of hours booked. The total hours of the course booked includes the time required for taking your practical test and drive home / drop off point at the end of the course.
  2. A deposit of £200 is required on acceptance of booking, the balance of the course fee must be paid at least 3 weeks prior to the course commencement date as detailed in the booking confirmation, (payment in full is required on booking where a discount has been applied to the standard course fee or its less than 3 weeks to the start of the course). If payment is not received, in full, 21 days prior to the course starting, the driving school have the right to re-advertise and sell the course and any payments made prior to that date may be forfeited. All deposits made are refundable in full at any time upto 3 weeks prior to the course starting. After that date unless we can re-sell the same course (Same price / Hours) see term 6 below – no refund can be made.
  3. The course can be rescheduled at any time up to 30 working days (Monday to Friday, excluding public or UK bank holidays) prior to the course commencing for any reasonable reason. (The original course commencement date as detailed in your booking confirmation will be applicable to the terms of payment unless otherwise agreed). Any requests to cancel a course should be done by email to hello@blackpooldrivingschool.co.uk.
  4. Placing bookings on hold
    BDS Driving School may contact you for additional information, it’s your responsibility to check for messages and emails, if we get no response from messages and / or emails for 14 days we will place your booking on hold.  If your booking is on hold for 90 days then the booking will expire, the course will be cancelled and no refunds will be issued. It is your responsibility to check emails and or text for correspondence from BDS Driving School, if your details change you must inform us ASAP.
  5. You have the right to cancel your booking up to 14 days after you complete your phone or online order with BDS Driving School. A full refund will be provided when you cancel within this period.
    You can cancel the course using the cancellation form found on our website or via email to hello@bdsdrivingschool.com 
  6. If the course is less than 3 weeks away then you will waive the right to the 14 day cancellation period as we will have to hire the vehicle for the course once the deposit is made. (as per reg. 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013)

    Outside the 14 day cooling off period the following fees apply
    Bulk Booking / Intensive Course Cancellation Fees
    3 Weeks notice: Fully refundable
    2 Weeks or less notice: Up to 100% of the amount paid

  7. Fair Refund Policy

The above fees will only be charged if the instructor or driving school cannot fill the training slots you have booked. If they can fill the slot on a like for like basis (ie a 30 hour course for a 30 hour course at the same price), we will issue you with a refund (less an admin fee of £50).  These charges are in place to cover any admin fees incurred in the original booking of the course. Once the course starts there will be NO refunds allowed for any reason.

Any eligible refund will be made back onto the card that the initial payment was made. Refunds can take upto 10 working days to process.

If you fail to turn up or decide to curtail your training at short notice (less than 21 days notice) and your instructor cannot fill the slots you have cancelled, you will be charged for the lessons or have them taken off your course allowance.   If you start your course and decide, for whatever reason, (including illness), you do not wish to continue with the course NO refund is due.

8. You must produce your driving licence on the first lesson and also provide it on the driving test.  It is your responsibility to ensure the information on the licence is correct and the driving licence is in date.  If you lose it or turn up for your course without your licence you will not be permitted to continue and you will lose the full course fee and DVSA test fee.

9. Loss of licence by means of road traffic offences or criminal activity or by any other means will not allow the course to be cancelled outside of the cancellation period as detailed in 2 / 3.

10. In June 2015 DVLA removed the requirement of the paper part of the driving licence.  So that the driving school can make sure you don’t have any endorsements or penalty points we will need to take details of your Driving Licence Number, National Insurance Number and Postcode, we will then check your information with that on the DVLA register.   This information will be passed on to your driving instructor. 

11. A change of instructor or type of car is not possible once the course has commenced.

12 By the nature of learning to drive and the time restriction it is not always possible to provide additional hours training once the course has commenced so please ensure you book the correct course for your requirements

13 Tuition will start at the agreed time and place as detailed in the course schedule, this may be changed at any time prior to the course starting, subject to an agreement between the trainee and the instructor. However, once the course has started if you are unable to make the times agreed for any reason (including sickness) the instructor may not be able to amend the hours at short notice and you will forfeit any hours you miss.  If you are unable to continue with the course due to personal reasons or being un-well we will not be able to offer any refund or reschedule the course at short notice.

14 The Driving School will book a driving test as part of the course.  DO NOT amend / cancel that test.  It will be managed by the Driving School. Any amendments or cancellations of the driving test will forfeit any deposit / payments paid on a course.  If you cancel a test and it results in a lost course for the instructor, you may be liable for the full price of the course.

15 We aim to book your test to be at Blackpool Test Centre, however, the choice of driving test centre will be that of the driving school and will depend on where the course is taking place and availability of test dates and times when booking the driving course.  We currently book Blackpool Test Centre 99% of the time.

16. You must sign a declaration when attending a driving test that you have lived in the UK for at least 185 days in the last 12 months. This is a legal requirement.

17. If we book accommodation on your behalf as part of the course, the hotel/ guest house booked on your behalf require 14 days notice to cancel the room, if 14 days is not given, they will charge for a minimum of 1 nights accommodation. 

18. In the case of minors under 18 years of age our contract will be with the responsible adult with whom the agreement is made.  We will use the email that is provided at the time of booking, it is the trainees responsibility to forward the information as appropriate.

19. Any disagreement should be taken up with the driving instructor or with the school itself. The school promises to account for any money paid directly to the school, however as our instructors are franchisees and are self employed any monies paid to the instructor constitute a contract between the instructor and the client and we cannot account for monies paid to the instructor. We do however accept responsibility for instructors upholding our code of practice.

  1. If your driving instructor has to abort or cancel a training session on the day of the training session or during a training session due to illness, personal crisis, accident, or car mechanical failure, you will be offered training equivalent in time to the amount of time lost, if this occurs in the first hour of a training session, the whole training session may be rescheduled. If this cannot be offered before your test date, your test date may need to be rescheduled to a mutually convenient date. If another instructor has to be sourced, they may not be a BDS Instructor but will be a fully approved ADI and it may be a different vehicle.
  2. If the training session is cancelled at short notice due to adverse weather or road conditions by your trainer or the DVSA or transport provider you will not be entitled to compensation for travelling or otherwise.   If your transport provider fails / strikes / or industrial action has an impact on your course, BDS will not be not be liable for any delay and if your course is delayed any hours missed will be deducted from your course and not refunded.
  3. If your training has commenced and delays occur during the training session, not limited to but including road traffic conditions, road works, or accidents beyond our reasonable control and the trainer advises that the training subject cannot be completed because of this, the remainder of the subject will be completed at the next training session before commencing the new subject. The trainer, if necessary and at their discretion, may extend the training session to accommodate this.
  4. All pupils must pass the legally required eyesight test (20.5m or 67 ft). This will normally be conducted by your driving instructor on the first lesson, should you fail the eyesight check the course would have to be abandoned until you have corrected your eyesight. Any agreed hours / test booked in with the instructor would be lost and not refunded. It is advisable to have your eyesight checked before beginning any course.
  5. You must be in a fit and proper state to drive a motor vehicle. If in the trainer’s opinion you are not fit to drive through but not limited to illness, tiredness, attitude, alcohol or drugs, they may refuse to train you or may at any time terminate your training session.  If you are suspected of being over the alcohol or drugs limit you may be requested to take a roadside saliva test.  If that comes back positive the course will be terminated and nothing will be refunded.
  6. BDS Driving School have a zero policy regarding abuse. If the instructor is being threatened or is subject to verbal or physical abuse you will be asked to leave the vehicle, irrespective of where you are, the training will terminate at that point and the remainder of the course will be cancelled and no money will be refunded. The instructor reserves the right to withhold service and future bookings if the learner does not adhere to the level of conduct stated in these terms and conditions, including disrespect/rudeness/arguing/driving without appropriate care/planning to attend a driving test when not ready. The learner may lose any lesson fee in which the terms are not met. 
  7. You must act responsibly and respectfully in the car and in communication taking care with the vehicle and following instruction.  Learners must help keep the car clean and fresh by wearing appropriate footwear / clothing and clean, smoke-free clothing and maintaining a high standard of personal cleanliness.
  8. If you are under 18 years of age and we ask you to leave the vehicle we will contact your parents or responsible adult and ask them to collect you, we will ask you to wait at the tuition vehicle until they arrive, however we cannot be held responsible if you refuse to wait. If you are not collected within 60 minutes of being asked to leave the vehicle your instructor will attempt to contact the responsible adult to advise them that at their discretion, they may leave you to wait on your own.
  9. The car will have fully comprehensive car insurance which covers all drivers, including the DVSA examiner and trainee during training and the DVSA tests, this includes legal cover.
  10. All training will be conducted in the trainer’s car which will be mechanically safe and functioning, the car will be clean and presentable inside and out and will be fitted with dual brake, clutch (if manual) and interior mirror.
  11. If you have requested training in your own vehicle and the instructor has agreed, than you are responsible to ensure that its fully road-worthy and insured for the purpose of instructor and also for the use on test , if applicable.
  12.  The trainer is self employed and will have their own public liability and indemnity insurance policy
  13.  Unless otherwise agreed the course price does not include the driving test fee.
  14. If you book a course and you have not passed the theory test we will NOT be able to book the driving test.  Please arrange to take the theory test as soon as possible and inform BDS of your Theory Test Certificate number to enable us to book the driving test.  If there are no available tests left to book on the last day of your course, we will book the next available date and confirm the date and time with you.  You may be given the option to take additional lessons prior to the test date at an additional cost. Practical test availability is subject to test made available by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). You may still be required to complete the course as booked and we would book a driving test at a later date.
  15. The DVSA have a cancellation policy on their driving tests.  They require 3 clear working days to amend or cancel a driving test. For instance, a test on a Friday would need to be cancelled on a Monday to avoid losing the DVSA Test fee.  
  16. When booking your own driving test, it is your responsibility to inform us of the correct date, test centre and time of the practical driving test and to check that we have the date, test centre and time correct on your booking confirmation which will be e-mailed to you prior to your course commencing by the DVSA. You are responsible to check your emails for any changes of tests or cancellations by the DVSA.
  17. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) state that you should not present yourself for a driving test unless you have reached the required level of competency. The length of training to reach this standard varies greatly from one individual to another. Part of the training course may involve a “mock driving test” with the existing driving instructor or another one within the BDS group, if you fail that mock test the instructor may not present you for your driving test and if it’s within the DVSA cancellation period you will lose the test fee.  It is in your own interest to take your instructors advice on when to take the driving test, it is false economy and very dangerous to present yourself for test too early.  If you book your own driving test and your instructor feels you have not reached the required standard, they may withdraw the use of their car and their ADI number from the test application.  If the driving instructor or the driving school has booked the driving test, it remains their booking and they have the right to cancel it without your consent.  If its outside the DVSA cancellation policy you will lose the fee and it will not be refunded.
  18. We cannot guarantee that you will have reached a level of competency to achieve a driving test pass, however in this unlikely event we will advise you at the earliest opportunity and we reserve the right to refuse use of our car on the day of the test, if this means you are unable to take the driving test examination, we will not refund your DVSA fee. We will honour all hours of the course paid for.  If you have booked your own driving test it is your responsibility to cancel it with the DVSA.
  19.   If the trainee chooses to terminate the course before all the hours are completed
    then you will forfeit any remaining hours, and not be eligible for any refund for lessons/ test fee / travel or hotel costs.
  20. If your driving test is cancelled or rescheduled for any reason by the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle
    Standards Agency) or by yourself within 20 working days of your course commencement date or after the course has commenced, we cannot be held responsible nor guarantee to be available to take you to test on the rescheduled date and time, whilst we will do everything possible to help you, your course may have to go ahead as scheduled and no refund can be made, you may be able to claim limited compensation from the DVSA if they cancel it at short notice , your driving test may, at the instructors discretion, be carried forward to the new test date.  If the DVSA cancel your test due to strike action or examiner availability, we will not be liable for any loss suffered and we will offer lessons as booked instead of the test time.
  21. If the DVSA cancel or amend your test time at short notice this is not grounds to cancel the course – we will continue with the course as booked and the time allocated for the test will be offered as a lesson.
  22. If the DVSA change the time / date of the test to a time outside your original date then we will not be responsible for any additional travel costs / hotel costs or additional training costs required for the new test date.  
  23. The course tuition hours quoted include use of car for driving test and the journey home (if living in Blackpool) or an agreed drop of place after the driving test.
  24.  When taking an intensive Driving Course, it is not possible to drive continuously, therefore, short breaks can be arranged between you and your instructor.
  25. All courses are booked and based on average learning capabilities and are a guide only, no guarantees are implied.  Estimations have been based on the experience that you notified us of when you made the initial enquiry.
  26. Intensive courses are often 6 or 7 hours a day and are physically and mentally demanding and so are not suitable for everyone.  It is your responsibility to make the decision whether an intensive course is the correct course for you. If you suffer conditions such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism, Asperger’s (or any other condition that you feel needs to be mentioned) please consider whether an intensive course is the correct learning environment for you, our instructors are not expected to be experts in tuition in these specialist fields.  If you feel you have a condition that requires additional learning practices, please add that time to your course.
  27. If you require any additional support on test or will be heavily pregnant at the time of the test, please inform us at the time of booking.  Details of the support available can be found on the DVSA website  www.gov.uk/driving-test/disablity-health-condition-or-learning-difficulty
  28. All courses must be completed within 12 calendar months starting from the month the booking was originally made. If you do not participate in the course before the 12month period has ended you will have forfeited the course and any fees paid.
  29. The DVSA require 3 clear working days to cancel a driving test to be able to obtain a refund for any tests booked.  If you do not attend the driving test for whatever reason this fee will not be refunded by the DVSA or the Driving School.
  30. In providing your driving licence number you are permitting us to book and hold a driving test in your name on our Business Booking Service.  If you fail your test at the end of the course – we will automatically re-book a test in Blackpool for you in an attempt to offer you a short notice test cancellation and a retest.  Please let us know if you do NOT wish us to offer this service to you.
  31. Any personal data provided to BDS Driving School by you will be held and processed in accordance with our privacy policy and the data protection act 2018. Your data will be used as follows:
    to arrange and manage theory and practical driving test,
    to arrange for a driving instructor to contact you regarding lesson,
    to process your payment for the tuition fees and the test fees,
    to contact you as may be necessary concerning your tuition,
    to contact you with your consent regarding marketing communications (alerts, promotional material, newsletters, etc.)
  32. We ask successful pupils for a photograph / video / review to be added
    to the website or social media.  If you
    do not wish to be included in this please let your instructor know.
  33. BDS Driving School will only give your personal information to other third parties where the law either requires or allows BDS Driving School to do so.
  34. COVID-19; If the course has to be cancelled due to the instructor / trainee testing positive for COVID-19 then the course will be postponed to a later date. The trainee must provide proof of a positive PCR test (Lateral flow not accepted). If a PCR is not provided then the course will be cancelled and not postponed.
  35. We take all customer complaints seriously. Any complaints / grievances must be made in writing within 24 hours of the course completion by email to hello@bdsdrivingschool.com or within 7 days by registered post to Blackpool Driving School, 68 Bleasdale Avenue, Blackpool FY3 0DW.  We aim to investigate and respond to all complaints within 28 working days.
  36. Force Majeure – Blackpool driving school will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform its respective obligations under the contract if the delay or failure results from events or circumstances outside its reasonable control.  No additional costs can be claimed for ie, travelling, accommodation or loss of earnings. “Force Majeure” ie including but not limited to :Acts of God, accident, war, civil unrest, riots, breakdown of communication facilities, natural catastrophes, fire, flood hurricane, earthquake, explosions, strike, lightning, prolonged shortage of energy supply or fuel, acts of state or government action or restrictions, lockdowns or quarantines.
  37. Limitation of Liability
    This section states BDS Driving School responsibilities to you as our customer and what we can, or can’t, be held liable for BDS Driving School does not exclude or limit its liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. Neither BDS Driving School nor the driving instructors shall be liable to you for any loss or damage where, and to the extent that:
    there is no breach of a legal duty owed to you,
    the loss/damage isn’t a reasonably foreseeable result of a breach of legal duty,
    any loss or damage results from any breach, action, or omission by you,
    any loss or damage results from circumstances or matters outside of the reasonable control of BDS Driving School, the driving instructor or you,
    You are taking the driving tuition as a private consumer, not in connection with business. Consequently, BDS Driving School shall not be liable to you for any losses connected with business in any way, including loss of profit, loss of business, or loss of business opportunity.
  38. You agree to inform BDS Driving School of any issues you experience regarding your course in a timely manner. Any issues that occur prior to the final day of your course which are only brought to BDS Driving School attention after your course has been completed will not be considered by BDS Driving School.
  39. By completing a booking / making payment you indicate that you have accepted the terms and conditions, please do not book if you are not happy to be bound by them.