Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions of business set out the basis on which driving instruction is provided by Ducale Driving School. They form a contract between you (the client and/or student) and Ducale Driving School and/or the instructor providing your driving training.

“We”, “Us”, “Our” and “Your Instructor” refer to Ducale Driving School and the instructor providing your driving training.

“You”, “Client” and “Student” refer to the person receiving driving instruction.

Ducale Driving School and our instructor abide by a Professional Code of Conduct; copies are available on request.

Every Ducale Driving School instructor is legally authorised to give driving instruction in the UK by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

In order to have driving lessons you must:

• Be aged 17 or older (16 or over if you receive the higher rate mobility component of PIP).
• Hold a driving licence that is valid for the UK (provisional, full or an appropriate foreign licence).

It is your responsibility to provide your instructor with proof that you hold a valid licence to drive before the commencement of your first driving lesson. If you fail to provide this proof, your instructor is entitled to refuse to conduct the driving lesson but may still charge you for it. It is your responsibility to ensure you are fit to drive. You must inform your instructor of any medical condition, disability or injury that may affect your ability to drive.

You must check you can read a number plate at a distance of 20.5 metres (approximately 67 feet, or about 5 car lengths) with any prescribed visual aids (such as contact lenses or glasses) if normally worn. If you need contact lenses or glasses to achieve this, you must bring and wear them on every driving lesson.

Our instructor will always be polite, courteous, tidy and punctual, and will behave in a professional and ethical manner at all times. Our training cars are well maintained, clean and tidy (weather permitting), fitted with dual controls, and fully insured for the purpose of driving training. Our vehicles are strictly a no-smoking environment. No lesson time will ever be used for any other form of business, personal or otherwise, without your express permission.

Safety during lessons is paramount at all times. Responsibility for this safety is shared between the instructor and the student, as set out below.

Suitable footwear and clothing must be worn for every lesson.

It is important to act responsibly at all times and give the task at hand your undivided attention. Should anything distract you during your lesson, or you feel uncomfortable or uneasy about any driving task, please let your instructor know.

In an emergency it is important that you follow instructions and allow your instructor to take control if needed: this may be a verbal instruction, taking control of the steering wheel, or using the dual controls to avoid an incident. Please remain calm; your instructor will find a safe place to pull up to discuss the situation and help you calm down if needed. There is no blame, and any subsequent discussion will focus on what can be learnt.

Instructions will always be delivered in a calm and measured manner. Instructors will not shout, or make sarcastic or derogatory remarks, and will never use improper language or engage in suggestive behaviour and/or physical contact.

You must advise your instructor of any medication you are taking which may affect your ability to drive safely, in good time before your next lesson. If necessary, your instructor may request a doctor's note.

If it becomes apparent that you are unable to concentrate due to illness, tiredness, or your emotional state of mind, your instructor reserves the right to end the lesson early, or may suggest a change of driving activity that can be undertaken safely.

To ensure the safety of you and other road users, your instructor reserves the right to cancel any driving lesson if they suspect you are under the influence of alcohol, drugs or legal highs. If this occurs, the full lesson fee will be charged or forfeited.

Ducale Driving School will not tolerate any form of verbal or physical abuse, whether directed at the instructor, a driving examiner, or any other road user. Your instructor reserves the right to terminate any lesson at any stage if, in their opinion, it is inappropriate to continue because of your behaviour, sobriety or state of mind. The lesson fee will be forfeited.

All training fees are agreed before lessons commence. Any change to lesson fees will always be notified in advance.

All lessons must be paid for either in advance or at the start of the lesson; credit is not offered.

Deposits are taken for any courses booked. This deposit is 50% of the full course price and is due at the time of booking. The remaining balance is then due at least 14 days before the start date and, once paid, the booking is treated as confirmed.

Subject to your statutory cancellation right set out below, deposits and any subsequent training fees are non-refundable if you decide to cancel training once a booking is confirmed and the time has been placed in the instructor's diary. If any booked time is cancelled less than 14 days before the first day of a course, the full fee will be forfeited.

Payments can be made by bank transfer or cash. Where a client falls into arrears with payments, we reserve the right to pause training until the account is brought up to date, which may include withholding use of the training car for a test.

If you book a course or block of lessons with us online, by phone or by email, you have a legal right to cancel that booking within 14 days of the date you book, without giving a reason, under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Where this right applies, you are entitled to a full refund of any deposit or fees you have paid.

If you would like your training to begin before this 14-day period ends, you must expressly request this in writing (including by email) at the time of booking. In that case, if you then cancel during the 14-day period, we will charge you only for any training actually provided up to the point of cancellation, and refund the remaining balance of your deposit or fees.

Once the 14-day cancellation period has ended, or where you have expressly requested an earlier start date and training has begun, the deposit and course fee terms set out above apply in full, including the non-refundable deposit and the 14-day cancellation policy.

Nothing in these terms and conditions affects your other statutory rights as a consumer.

You must give your instructor at least 48 hours' notice if you wish to cancel or rearrange a booked driving lesson. Failure to do so may result in being charged the full amount for that lesson.

Lessons may sometimes need to be postponed at short notice due to illness, mechanical breakdown, or another emergency or unforeseen occurrence; a mutually agreeable alternative lesson will be arranged.

Weekly lessons: where a client pays in advance for lessons, they are entitled to a refund at any time for any unused lessons, usually made by the original payment method.

Where a discount has been given for prepaid lessons and a refund is requested, the lessons already taken will be charged at the full single hourly rate, and the balance refunded.

Courses: subject to your statutory cancellation right set out above, deposits for booked courses are non-refundable. All balance payments are due no less than 14 days before the course start date; no refund is due for courses cancelled within that 14-day period.

In your own interest, please be punctual for your driving lessons. Your instructor will normally wait a maximum of 15 minutes before the lesson is treated as abandoned and the lesson fee becomes forfeited or payable.

A reciprocal waiting time may apply if your instructor is delayed by unforeseen circumstances. Any lost lesson time will be made up, either at the end of the lesson if mutually agreeable, or as soon as possible afterwards.

Driving tests should not be booked without first checking the availability of your instructor and car, and agreeing with your instructor that you are ready for the test.

Tests are usually booked by your instructor on your behalf, to ensure the diary slot is available and does not clash with any other test.

If you book a test yourself, you must notify your instructor of the time, date and location as soon as practicable, and show the confirmation to your instructor for verification at your next lesson.

Driving test bookings take priority over other lessons, so your lesson may occasionally be moved to accommodate someone else's test, or vice versa. Any resulting changes will be notified immediately.

On the day of your test, payment is due to your instructor for use of the car and any lesson hours before the test: usually one hour of training beforehand plus one hour for use of the car on test, at the usual hourly rate.

In the interests of client and public safety, your instructor reserves the right to withhold use of the training car for a test if, in their sole discretion, they assess that you are not ready.

Three clear working days' notice (Sundays and public holidays do not count as working days) is required by the DVSA to cancel or postpone a test. Failure to give the required notice will result in loss of the test fee.

If a test is cancelled due to mechanical failure of the training car, illness of the instructor, or any other reason that is our responsibility, you will be entitled to the cost of your next test fee, paid for by Ducale Driving School. We are not responsible for any additional training fees incurred while waiting for the next test appointment.

Ducale Driving School has no control over tests cancelled by the DVSA.

When a test is cancelled by the DVSA, fees due to Ducale Driving School for driving lessons and use of the car for the test remain payable in full, unless cancelled in line with the normal notice period.

When the DVSA cancels a test because no examiner is available, it may be possible to claim back losses incurred, including a proportion of lesson fees; this is the responsibility of the client, not the driving school.

When a test is cancelled because a client's documents are not in order, fees due to Ducale Driving School for driving lessons and use of the car for the test remain payable in full, unless cancelled in line with the normal notice period.

In accordance with road traffic law, the client is legally responsible for any traffic offences that occur while they are in charge of the vehicle. Your instructor will endeavour to train you to the highest possible standard, but cannot be held responsible for the standard of your driving, or any errors committed, at any time when training is not being given, whether before or after you pass your driving test.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of your training or the standard of service offered, please raise the matter with your instructor or Ducale Driving School with the minimum delay, and no later than seven days from the date of the issue.

Every effort will be made by your instructor and Ducale Driving School to resolve any complaint or issue.