Where do I stand

So in a dilemma…

I paid a set price for my entire Class 1 training and tests. Uortunately my DVSA examiner got Covid and cancelled my Mod 4 test. This is fine, training school said I can be rebooked for free.

However the training school are now billing me for the 2 hours training I was mean’t to have before my test - they cancelled this when they got told my test was cancelled. I have been told I can claim this back from DVSA but need to settle the invoice I have been sent (this clearly states its money is for Mod 4 training only). This training was I included in the set price.

On investigation the DVSA state this in regards to claims…

Expenses you cannot claim
You cannot claim for:

the cost of driving lessons before the date of your test
any training course you arranged before a particular test appointment

Am I right in thinking that I shouldn’t be paying again; that DVSA will not refund training I was going to have prior and that it isn’t my problem they cancelled the training.

Help :frowning:

So to be sure, it was the school that cancelled the 2hrs booked for before the test?

Roadielife:
they cancelled this when they got told my test was cancelled.

.
I can see that they might think it good to postpone this training time*, and carry it over to be 2hrs before your re-scheduled test.
I can`t see how they can cancel it, and then charge you for it?
.
Seems peculiar to me.

*even then they should have consulted you first, surely.

Franglais:
So to be sure, it was the school that cancelled the 2hrs booked for before the test?

Roadielife:
they cancelled this when they got told my test was cancelled.

.
I can see that they might think it good to postpone this training time*, and carry it over to be 2hrs before your re-scheduled test.
I can`t see how they can cancel it, and then charge you for it?
.
Seems peculiar to me.

*even then they should have consulted you first, surely.

yes so the day before my test the dvsa cancelled then the driving school said that they are cancelling my training. Which is a fair point. But I don’t think it sounds right that I should pay again in hope that DVSA would refund the training (which on the website shows it’s not claimable).

They said my test can be re-booked for free but they need to charge me for training again, then I can claim the training costs back from DVSA.

I also thought it didn’t sound right, I just didn’t want to kick off if I wasn’t correct.

The law is simple.
They can not charge you for something they have not provided.

Now if you got covid and had to cancel it then they could charge you. But you was clearly available.
What I suspect is true is that maybe the trainers can get some reimbursment from the DVSA in regards to wasted time due to a cancelled test. But it is not down to it is on them. Maybe they are trying to get money off you and the DVSA?

I’ll try and find the apporiate legislation but if I can’t do some research into it.

Think of it like this.
If your plane trip gets cancelled due to a pilot being ill you get a full refund.
If you miss your trip due to you falling ill you get nothing.
There is quite a lot of information in regards to airplane travel, covid etc. Which although is a very seperate thing from what your doing you might find that the legislation is close enough to apply to yourself.

Whatever you do do not pay for it again and demand that you get your 2 hours training that you paid for.
Because if you pay for another 2 hours training you could end up in the exact same situation in which you get your training/test cancelled due to another covid infection.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable then me can comment on this.

Roadielife:

Franglais:
So to be sure, it was the school that cancelled the 2hrs booked for before the test?

Roadielife:
they cancelled this when they got told my test was cancelled.

.
I can see that they might think it good to postpone this training time*, and carry it over to be 2hrs before your re-scheduled test.
I can`t see how they can cancel it, and then charge you for it?
.
Seems peculiar to me.

*even then they should have consulted you first, surely.

yes so the day before my test the dvsa cancelled then the driving school said that they are cancelling my training. Which is a fair point. But I don’t think it sounds right that I should pay again in hope that DVSA would refund the training (which on the website shows it’s not claimable).

They said my test can be re-booked for free but they need to charge me for training again, then I can claim the training costs back from DVSA.

I also thought it didn’t sound right, I just didn’t want to kick off if I wasn’t correct.

To repeat what you said in a different way:
.
The school cancelled your 2 hrs before the test, but still charged you for it.
.
They will offer you 2 hrs before next test, and charge you for that.
.
So they are charging you for a 2hr lesson, that you could have had?
You didn’t cancel or refuse, did you? They cancelled it.
.
Does that sum it up?
Looks clear enough to me what has happened, no matter what they say.

There is also no requirement for you to have your mod 4 training right before the test
Although it’s common practice, you could of easily of carried on with your training and done the exam another time.

They cancelled the training when they did not need to. The examiner being sick is irrelevant.