HGV Training Brokers Named

I don’t post on here very often unless it’s for a good reason.

I am sick to the back teeth of HGV training brokers taking advantage of people simply looking to seek a better career.

The other elephant in the room as those so called reputable HGV training companies that choose to work with these leeches.

I have written a blog post that actually names of these brokers.

Link is below and post is also below.

Who are the real HGV training brokers out there?

Essential reading BEFORE you book any HGV driver training.

It is very important you know ALL HGV training companies that claim to be nationwide and advertise online are in fact middlemen, brokers, 3rd parties. They are NOT HGV training companies.

These companies pose as national HGV training and recruitment companies, yet they don’t have one HGV training vehicle between them. Neither do they employ any instructors.

They employ sales people who are commission driven to earn as much money out of you as possible.

We can guarantee using a HGV training broker is a more costly and time-consuming route when compared to going direct to a local HGV training company that will provide the entire service for you.

The real HGV training companies out there are made up of local, established schools. There aren’t any national HGV training deliverers.

It is not right that you are exploited and taken advantage by these middlemen. Our advice is ALWAYS go direct to a good local HGV training company in your area and avoid these brokers .

Please see our top 5 ways to avoid a middleman :

1. Check the company is NOT a broker (please see our list of HGV training brokers below).
2. Beware of companies that do not list their prices online
3. Visit your local HGV driving test centre (not the companies offices) to ensure the company actually has its own training vehicles and is NOT a broker
4. Check the Brokers Terms and Conditions and you will see their refund policy. Most will give you next to nothing back if you cancel with them.
5. DO NOT PART WITH ANY MONEY OVER THE PHONE.

For the first time we list and link all the HGV training brokers that currently operate in the UK. The list below was created in April 2023.

The first group of brokers we shall look at is:

Easy as HGV Ltd
www.easyashgv.co.uk

The LGV Training Company Ltd
www.thelgvtrainingcompany.co.uk

HGV Training
www.hgvtraining.co.uk

Surrey and Hampshire Training Ltd
www.surreyandhampshiretraining.co.uk

HGV Training Centre Ltd
www.hgvtrainingcentre.co.uk

All the above companies are owned by the same person and all operate from the same address, this being Centaur House, Ancells Business Park, Ancells Road, Fleet, Hampshire GU51 2UJ.

If you browse their websites you will see their correspondents all refer to the same address. Yet these groups of companies above all claim to be national providers despite running from offices in Surrey.

Why would you go to companies like the above to undergo HGV training when they don’t have the lorries themselves?

Using these companies will mean you will pay more and it will take longer to obtain your HGV licence.

Vehicle and Logistics Training UK Ltd
Details

HGV Training Services Ltd
Details

HGVT Ltd
Details

Again, these companies are brokers and the directors have a history of starting HGV training companies that then go bust. Advantage HGV and Special Training Services are just a few of their previous failed companies. Their latest incarnations are doing exactly the same as their previous bankrupt organisations. Going by such a poor track record you have to question if the new companies will suffer the same fate as the previous failures.

HGV Training Network
hgvtrainingnetwork.com/

This company is based in Enfield yet claim to have training centres all over the UK . They are just a middleman. If you don’t believe us just go and visit a driving test centre where they run their vehicles from. You won’t find any trucks or trainers as they don’t have any.

Top HGV Training
tophgvtraining.co.uk

We cannot find any details about this company on companies house however we can assure you they are a middleman.

HGV Learning
hgvlearning.com/

This is yet another HGV Training broker based in North London yet claims to be a national provider.

Above are all the HGV Training brokers that are currently listed on the web (April 2023).

We are not saying they are doing any illegal however using any of these companies will cost you more money and it will take you longer to get your HGV licence.

In a cost of living crisis no one has the inclination or means to pay over the odds for a service. The same is true in regard to HGV training brokers. Don’t pay anymore than you need to for your HGV licence.

We always recommend you go direct to a good local training company in your area rather than a broker.

What about insurance brokers or a broker for any other operation. Brokers exist and isn’t against the law.

It is up to the individual to ensure they get the best deal available and go and see the training company in person.

The old saying " a fool and his money are soon parted".

What about agencies they are just effectively brokers.

I’m not disagreeing with what you say in any way but like i said it is up to people to do their own research into something and make sure they are getting the best deal.

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simcor:
What about insurance brokers or a broker for any other operation.

Honest brokers are upfront about being a middleman and pocketing half the cash for doing virtually nothing.

Dishonest brokers pretend to be a nationwide training organisation.

It’s easy to spot a broker. With a broker you won’t be able to visit their training school and see their training trucks, because they don’t have any. All the work gets farmed out to small training schools who get just a fraction of the money that you hand over to the broker (although the broker will never admit that he’s actually a broker).

You can see on the companies house website that the following two people are directors of the following four limited companies:
Directors
MCGHIE, Raymond Martin DOB August 1952
MCGHIE, Thomas Benjaman DOB July 1981
Companies
EASY AS HGV LTD incorporated on 14 January 2008
THE LGV TRAINING COMPANY LIMITED incorporated on 7 April 2009
HGV TRAINING CENTRE LTD incorporated on 24 January 2013
SURREY & HAMPSHIRE TRAINING LIMITED incorporated on 6 January 2014

You can see on the companies house website that the following person is a director of the following three companies:
Director
BENARDOUT, Gary Marc
Companies
HGV TRAINING SERVICES LIMITED incorporated on 12 October 2015
HGVT LIMITED incorporated on 24 July 2019
VEHICLE AND LOGISTICS TRAINING UK LIMITED incorporated on 7 July 2022

carlston49:

simcor:
What about insurance brokers or a broker for any other operation.

Honest brokers are upfront about being a middleman and pocketing half the cash for doing virtually nothing.

Dishonest brokers pretend to be a nationwide training organisation.

You can see on the companies house website that the following two people are directors of the following four limited companies:
Directors
MCGHIE, Raymond Martin DOB August 1952
MCGHIE, Thomas Benjaman DOB July 1981
Companies
EASY AS HGV LTD incorporated on 14 January 2008
THE LGV TRAINING COMPANY LIMITED incorporated on 7 April 2009
HGV TRAINING CENTRE LTD incorporated on 24 January 2013
SURREY & HAMPSHIRE TRAINING LIMITED incorporated on 6 January 2014

You can see on the companies house website that the following person is a director of the following three companies:
Director
BENARDOUT, Gary Marc
Companies
HGV TRAINING SERVICES LIMITED incorporated on 12 October 2015
HGVT LIMITED incorporated on 24 July 2019
VEHICLE AND LOGISTICS TRAINING UK LIMITED incorporated on 7 July 2022

I don’t disagree they are taking advantage of people but that is what brokers do, anyone with a sense of intuition would avoid these types of companies.

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simcor:
…that is what brokers do…

Car insurance brokers don’t pretend they are an insurance company. They are honest and the customer knows that they are a middleman.

It’s completely different with HGV training brokers, as they hide the fact that they are a broker often pretending that they are a nationwide training organisation. However, in the UK there are no nationwide HGV training schools.

The fact that most people who use an HGV training broker regrets it says a lot about this shady and possibly illegal business practice. I’m no legal expert, but to me it sounds like fraud as in obtaining money by deceit.

carlston49:

simcor:
…that is what brokers do…

Car insurance brokers don’t pretend they are an insurance company. They are honest and the customer knows that they are a middleman.

It’s completely different with HGV training brokers, as they hide the fact that they are a broker often pretending that they are a nationwide training organisation. However, in the UK there are no nationwide HGV training schools.

The fact that most people who use an HGV training broker regrets it says a lot about this shady and possibly illegal business practice. I’m no legal expert, but to me it sounds like fraud as in obtaining money by deceit.

Tbh I’m just pointing out there are lots of middle men who do nothing but answer a few calls and pass the work on to another company who actually do the work or provide the service. That is my point.

It’s nothing new and has gone on for decades in many industries.

Like I said it’s up to the person doing the searching to do their due diligence and not just get sucked in by some flashy websites if any of them have flashy websites of course. Years ago a well sorted website meant you were dealing with a reputable company, sadly these days hosting and designing a smart website is so cheap any idiot can do it to make themselves look presentable as a reputable company.

I also fail to see how people get sucked in by these hgv brokers tbh as I would never use one myself, and I’d still want to go and visit the premises or go and see the truck and instructor I would be dealing with before parting with any money.

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And yes I wholeheartedly agree on the fact that if training companies did not do business with these brokers then they would not be able to exist.

So the fact remains if the training providers are happy to take referrals off them these companies will exist.

There are transport companies that also do the same, don’t own a vehicle yet use advertising to get jobs and farm them out to smaller/bigger companies and take a cut for profits for making a few phone calls and doing some admin work.

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simcor:
…that is what brokers do…

carlston49:
Car insurance brokers don’t pretend they are an insurance company. They are honest and the customer knows that they are a middleman.

It’s completely different with HGV training brokers, as they hide the fact that they are a broker often pretending that they are a nationwide training organisation. However, in the UK there are no nationwide HGV training schools.

The fact that most people who use an HGV training broker regrets it says a lot about this shady and possibly illegal business practice. I’m no legal expert, but to me it sounds like fraud as in obtaining money by deceit.

simcor:
Tbh I’m just pointing out there are lots of middle men who do nothing but answer a few calls and pass the work on to another company who actually do the work or provide the service. That is my point.

It’s nothing new and has gone on for decades in many industries.

Like I said it’s up to the person doing the searching to do their due diligence and not just get sucked in by some flashy websites if any of them have flashy websites of course. Years ago a well sorted website meant you were dealing with a reputable company, sadly these days hosting and designing a smart website is so cheap any idiot can do it to make themselves look presentable as a reputable company.

I also fail to see how people get sucked in by these hgv brokers tbh as I would never use one myself, and I’d still want to go and visit the premises or go and see the truck and instructor I would be dealing with before parting with any money.

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You’re a lorry driver in the transport industry with experience of how the sector operates.
If TNUK as a forum about the HGV industry can’t help brand new people as they are about to enter the sector, then I don’t know what the point of it is. The forum should be applauded for the effort taken here and not rubbished by you.

stu675:
… The forum should be applauded for the effort taken here and not rubbished by you.

I’m not seeing that anybody has “rubbished” anything.

Some perfectly accurate things have been said by carlston49 and simcor.

Middlemen have existed in many walks of life for many years, and a fine example of this is insurance brokers as already pointed out… I’ll add mortgage brokers too. Also, what is an estate agent if not a middleman?

So, the concept of middlemen is hardly new.

The views I express here are my own, and not necessarily those of TN UK.

Now we can get to the point… I think it’s common ground that there’s no such thing as a nationwide LGV training company, so where does that leave these “nationwide” LGV training schools?

What they do as a middleman isn’t illegal, but what about their claim to be “nationwide” and some of the other claims they make?

I think that the worst that can be said is that the LGV training brokers’ adverts might be questionable by Trading Standards for honesty and transparency, and might therefore be somewhat misleading, but that’s about all.

I think that the people who use a “nationwide” LGV training school ( = LGV training broker) might do well to do some research rather than simply clicking the website that appears highest in the search results. It’s known that rankings can be bought, so Trust Pilot and other comparison/review sites would be useful to prospective LGV trainees in this regard. After all, those same people probably use a comparison site for evaluating many other goods and services before they buy.

Although I strongly condemn the (IMHO) very questionable advertising practices of the “nationwide” LGV training schools and have great sympathy for those caught out by scammers, it’s hardly the brokers’ fault if people don’t do some homework before blindly rushing to part with their money is it? Caveat emptor and all that!

stu675:
You’re a lorry driver in the transport industry with experience of how the sector operates.
If TNUK as a forum about the HGV industry can’t help brand new people as they are about to enter the sector, then I don’t know what the point of it is. The forum should be applauded for the effort taken here and not rubbished by you.

Yet again you miss the point entirely.

I agree with the sentiment completely that they take advantage of people, I agree they advertise as nationwide when they are not. I agree people should not use them.

But it’s a forum for discussions on both sides, as I pointed out middlemen are nothing new, they have existed forever.

Being in the industry as a lorry driver is totally irrelevant, whatever service I need to buy or item I want to purchase, I look around at prices either in person or online. I compare the prices to each other, I then look at reviews as well with a pinch of salt as they can just be complete crap. I don’t just go and buy from the first link available on the WWW.

It is called making an informed decision and making sure you are getting the best possible deal.

If I wanted a driveway or windows replacing, what would I do? I’ve never bought windows or had a driveway done. I’d do my research to get the best possible price and go with a reputable company, based on a number of factors not just a website. I would contact at least 3 companies for quotes minimum. I’d ask around for word of mouth recommendations.

Again nothin these so called providers are doing is illegal. In fact most of them if you look hard enough (which really isn’t that hard as I only had a quick glance at several of them) say something along the lines of

Network of partners, partner schools etc. As I said before the devil Is in detail.

So yes on the one hand they seem to be “we have nationwide schools”, which isn’t exactly a lie as they do have nationwide schools which they use, they just don’t operate nationwide schools. Again it all comes down to technicalities.

You as a person have the choice to pay a price for a service or item or not. No one is forced to pay over the odds for something.

Oh and as for operating just enough on the right side of the law, businesses of all types have been doing that since the dawn of business and continue to do so to this day.

And as another point if you do end using any provider pay something of the cost on a credit card as then you are covered by your credit card company under section 75. You don’t even need to pay the full amount on a credit card just some of it to be covered.

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Oh and again I had never dealt with any training providers in my life until I decided to do my C+E. In 2016.

My C training back in 2003 was dealt with and paid for by my boss at the time. So I had no dealings with that. It was a small outfit run by husband and wife and was likely chosen by my boss probably purely on price. Was it the best training, that is arguable. I got through my test but it was 2 to 1 training and in a ropy old motor at the time.

I saw the recommendations on here about PSTT and saw Pete’s activity on here, and 99.9% are glowing reports about his company as it was at the time, and they were very local to me so could have popped down at any time, in fact I may have done I can’t really remember. That is the only time I went purely on part advertising (yes Pete paid for advertising on this forum) and word of mouth. Was I disappointed with the service provided in any way. Not in the slightest. Could I have got a cheaper price from somewhere else, quite possibly yes, but I chose to go with a company that had good recommendations and had their own premises you can actually visit. And I felt I got a fair price for the service I wanted.

So I knew very little myself when it came to training companies when I was looking to train. Hence why I did research on here and found an excellent school to train with.

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Brokers are not needed in this industry. Everyone knows that. Those that think brokers should be in the industry or add value are those companies that work with them.

And those that work with them should know better.

You cannot justify the presence of a broker for HGV training. They are leeches and exploit new entrants, You can sugar coat it as much as you want but it’s just one big con.

hgvlgvtraining:
Brokers are not needed in this industry. Everyone knows that. Those that think brokers should be in the industry or add value are those companies that work with them.

And those that work with them should know better.

You cannot justify the presence of a broker for HGV training. They are leeches and exploit new entrants, You can sugar coat it as much as you want but it’s just one big con.

I am in no way justifying them or saying they have a place.

But as long as people use them and companies take work on from then they will continue to exist. It really is as simple as that.

As I said before, doing your due diligence and making sure you are not getting ripped off is the person’s responsibility to ensure they get the best deal.

With your username it’s clear you are likely a training provider so are slightly biased to one side. Nothing wrong in that either, I for example am not biased to either side as I don’t run a training company. But I still would not use or suggest anyone uses such brokers.

If they are doing illegal practises or anything that could stop them operating then report them to the relevant authorities, but I very much doubt any of them will fall foul of anything as they have carefully worded writing in most cases.

You can say the same about any industry that has brokers aka middlemen, none of them are needed or add much to the industry but they exist.

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My name is Sean and I work at EP Training. Just a small little provider in Surrey.

So in essence you are saying it’s down to the customer and buyer beware. Full stop!
What if not everyone is as diligent as your good self and are taken advantage off by slick sales people “pretending” to be something they are not.

Also

To be fair most people coming into the industry for the first time would more than likely not be aware of brokers.
You may get brokers in many walks of life however very few ppeople would think this would be the case for HGV training.

If the broker was upfront from the start and informed the customer the fact were a middleman then the customer can make an informed decision. If they told the customer that they had no trucks or trainers and your going to pay more then fair enough. But they don’t. If they did then the customer would rightfully go direct to a local school.

Brokers are laughing all the way to the bank and they will continue to all the time the industry continues to take their silver and work with them! The people that really loose out are those simply looking to improve their lives. And what a great advert for the HGV training industry. Get your HGV licence and get ripped off right at the start.

hgvlgvtraining:
My name is Sean and I work at EP Training. Just a small little provider in Surrey.

So in essence you are saying it’s down to the customer and buyer beware. Full stop!

Brokers are laughing all the way to the bank and they will continue to all the time the industry continues to take their silver and work with them! The people that really loose out are those simply looking to improve their lives. And what a great advert for the HGV training industry. Get your HGV licence and get ripped off right at the start.

Yes everything is buyer beware in any transactions we do especially in this day and age.

And your last point is the exact same point I’ve made as well.

Anyway im not going to contribute any further to this thread and hope it helps stops some people going to brokers.

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hgvlgvtraining:
My name is Sean and I work at EP Training. Just a small little provider in Surrey.

So in essence you are saying it’s down to the customer and buyer beware. Full stop!
What if not everyone is as diligent as your good self and are taken advantage off by slick sales people “pretending” to be something they are not.

Also

To be fair most people coming into the industry for the first time would more than likely not be aware of brokers.
You may get brokers in many walks of life however very few ppeople would think this would be the case for HGV training.

If the broker was upfront from the start and informed the customer the fact were a middleman then the customer can make an informed decision. If they told the customer that they had no trucks or trainers and your going to pay more then fair enough. But they don’t. If they did then the customer would rightfully go direct to a local school.

Brokers are laughing all the way to the bank and they will continue to all the time the industry continues to take their silver and work with them! The people that really loose out are those simply looking to improve their lives. And what a great advert for the HGV training industry. Get your HGV licence and get ripped off right at the start.

Hi Sean. Thanks for my CE License. Great service from EP [emoji106]

Keep doing all you can to warn people about brokers, it’s not a normal situation, I don’t believe they can be compared with insurance brokers or estate agents. They just prey on people trying to better themselves and rely on them entering a new industry without knowledge of them and how they operate.

Hi Stu

Thanks for your comments.

And there you have it ladies and gentleman. Comments from someone who actually decided to get their HGV licence.

I think Stu’s view would duplicate many other customer experiences.

hgvlgvtraining:
… To be fair most people coming into the industry for the first time would more than likely not be aware of brokers.
You may get brokers in many walks of life however very few ppeople would think this would be the case for HGV training.

If the broker was upfront from the start and informed the customer the fact were a middleman then the customer can make an informed decision. If they told the customer that they had no trucks or trainers and your going to pay more then fair enough. But they don’t. If they did then the customer would rightfully go direct to a local school.

Brokers are laughing all the way to the bank and they will continue to all the time the industry continues to take their silver and work with them! The people that really loose out are those simply looking to improve their lives. And what a great advert for the HGV training industry. Get your HGV licence and get ripped off right at the start.

Some very fair points here Sean.

With the caveat that I’m still speaking from a personal point of view, I’d add that I don’t see any need for brokers in the LGV driver training industry either. The reason for my view is that brokers add burdensome extra cost to candidates, but without providing any unique benefits to candidates.

Most LGV driver training schools offer the whole ‘package’ (medical + theory test etc) for which the brokers seem to make separate (extra) charges, which puts up the price to the candidate. Brokers also seem to inflate the cost of the training above the rate that could be obtained by a candidate who books directly with an LGV driver training school.

Brokers are no different to any other company in that they need to cover their costs + make a profit, but I do agree that brokers are not actually needed for a candidate to complete the process of obtaining an LGV licence.

A possible solution to the ‘issue’ of brokers might be if the government were to introduce some kind of rules containing a low set bar to the profession of becoming an ‘approved’ LGV training provider which a genuine LGV training provider could easily meet, such as a minimum number of test booking per month/year or a minimum number of correctly specced vehicles in possession.

Such a scheme would inevitably need to be paid for, so there would need to be some kind of membership/registration fee, and possibly ongoing verification visits which would lead to increased costs for LGV training providers and an inevitable rise in prices to candidates.

Such a scheme may well have been previously mooted in the past, but the present lack of something of the kind at present may be for a very good reason. Has there been a DfT consultation or a cost/benefit analysis done on the idea of balanced regulation done at some point?

I’m thinking of an adapted version of what SQA’s function is on behalf of the DfT in the ADR driver training industry.

simcor:
I also fail to see how people get sucked in by these hgv brokers tbh as I would never use one myself, and I’d still want to go and visit the premises or go and see the truck and instructor I would be dealing with before parting with any money.

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Speaking from experience: It’s easily done, someone starting out on their HGV journey might not be aware of the existence of brokers nor how they operate, and that they are to be avoided. I was unaware of TN before parting with my money (back in the early 2000’s), had I known this resource was available, I’m pretty certain I would have gotten the info to make a different choice, but hindsight is always 20:20.

It worked out ok, but that was more to do with my extensive previous experience with 7.5T vehicles; the instructor was abysmal in every respect.

Thanks Dave re: fair comments.

I am only saying what most are thinking.

The initial problem is getting the industry to work as one is like herding cats.

DVSA is not interested in setting up any scheme right now.
They are busy dealing with industrial action, trying to get enough blooming examiners and closing HGV test centers.

Some LGV training companies (TP’s) rely on brokerage work to pay wages and run a business.
If they did not do broker the would probably go bust!

Brokers will never pay the same price to a TP (Training Provider) for HGV training services compared to that same customer going direct to the TP. The brokers always demand discount from the TP. That’s a hit on margins for TP’s straight away.

Brokers say that if that customer wants to go back for other services direct to the TP they must go through the broker for a period of 2 years.
Any HGV retests must go via the broker (charges are well in excess of £500) and not direct to the TP.

These are just a few of the demands brokers want from TP’s.

Overall it’s a bad deal for the customer and the TP as both loose out. Unfortunately brokers are here to stay.

However these brokers get the TP’s to sign a contract