firstly i apologise in advance if these questions are somewhere else on this forum,
i am intending to get my class 2,i already have the entitlement on my licence and i am ready to take the theory,however my problem is with the practical training because i cant seem to find out which companies are genuine and which are bogus,ie i rang a company called pathway and they quoted me £950 and a job after passing,has anybody heard of them and are they worth it or not.
my other question is this,my dad as been driving trucks for over 40 yrs now and i was wondering if i paid to hire a class 2 truck,which my dad would pick up of course,would he be able to teach me and then i go for my test or is this illegal being as he not an approved instructor,any help on this would be appreciated
one last thing i noticed from reading some of the posts on this forum that the newly qualified class 2 drivers are finding it difficult to get work,however if you are looking for work in the EAST MIDLANDS area then you should ring this agency(i have worked for them doing van and 7.5t work so they are a good agency)their name is SMART RECRUIT and the telephone number is…01332 207766,they are looking for class 2 drivers and would probably give you a chance if you are newly qualified.
Legally you could hire a truck and have your Dad instruct you although you’d probably struggle with insurance and may even be asked if you have an O licence.
Welcome mark41
mark41:
however my problem is with the practical training because i cant seem to find out which companies are genuine and which are bogus,ie i rang a company called pathway and they quoted me £950
All the LGV TRAINING TIPS, including the Recommended LGV training schools that have been recommended by members, can be accessed by clicking on the link in my signature
mark41:
called pathway and they quoted me £950 and a job after passing
THE DRIVER SHORTAGE IS AN ADVERTISING MYTH - Generally more drivers than jobs in the UK
Newbies - Jobs, Agencies & EXPERIENCE & Is the UK short of drivers ? & Was it really worth it?
FAQ forum for info on Posting Pics & avatars, How to use quotes, Driver CPC, and much more…
mark41:
my other question is this,my dad as been driving trucks for over 40 yrs now and i was wondering if i paid to hire a class 2 truck,which my dad would pick up of course,would he be able to teach me and then i go for my test or is this illegal being as he not an approved instructor,any help on this would be appreciated
No need for instructor/trainer to be qualified - just have licence for 3 years
Most hire companies will not insure for learners.
Make sure any trainer you use has current DSA test knowledge for rules and driving procedures.
mark41:
one last thing i noticed from reading some of the posts on this forum that the newly qualified class 2 drivers are finding it difficult to get work,however if you are looking for work in the EAST MIDLANDS area then you should ring this agency(i have worked for them doing van and 7.5t work so they are a good agency).
Then stay with then and they may get you that illusive first foot on the ladder 
Does an instructor have to have a class 1 to teach class 2 Rog?
No they don’t only to have held class C/two for three years or more
For someone to teach driving to another they must be over 21 and held the catagory of licence for which they are teaching for at least 3 years.
If they are teaching a car ‘B’ or motorcycle ‘A’ learner AND BEING PAID FOR IT they must be a qualified DSA ADI. This is not required if the teacher is being paid for licences above A & B.
Oddity - Someone with a D1 on their licence but does not have a PCV cannot teach a new D1 learner as all new D1s are PCV.
thanks for your replies am impressed how quick it was… 
i live in derby so i know there are a couple of reputable training schools about,i have had 2 assessments with 1 in nottingham and 1 here in derby both said i would need 5 to 6 days training,got charged £30 for the assessment for probably no more than 20 mins on the road but i presume thats the norm(correct me if i’m wrong)both wanted to charge me roughly £1200 for the training which i dont know if that is too much or just about right,as soon as i can sell my car i will begin my training…
The average price for a full 5 day 2 to 1 (shared) or 5 half day 1 to 1 (single) training course with a test on day 5 is approximately £1,000.
You are allowed to name training schools on this site - how do you think I got all those members’ recommendations 
ROG:
The average price for a full 5 day 2 to 1 (shared) or 5 half day 1 to 1 (single) training course with a test on day 5 is approximately £1,000.
You are allowed to name training schools on this site - how do you think I got all those members’ recommendations
the one in derby is called harpurs,they mainly deal in pcv and run a fleet of coaches but they do have a small hgv training side to it,the one in nottingham is called jw smithurst,links below,
www.jwsmithurst.co.uk
www.harpurscoaches.co.uk
please feel free to check them out,if i were to choose i would probably go with harpurs as it is 1 to 1 training.i am also looking at possibly going with the scania training school due to the fact that it is reputable but have still got to find out about cost.
Neither of those are on the list compiled from the experiences of site members but that is not saying that they are either good or bad - it just means that no experiences of them have been posted on here - you might be the first to do so 
Scanias school has had a number of good reports from site members as have many others in your general area - see list.
It’s your money so the ultimate choice is down to you.
Personally, I would steer clear of ‘National training providers’ who tend to be just ‘middle men’ with no (or little) training vehicles of their own and just ‘farm out’ to others and take their ‘cut’
Think J Coates do tests out of nottingham, they would charge you jut under a grand for the C course and I would highly recommend them
garnerlives:
Think J Coates do tests out of nottingham, they would charge you jut under a grand for the C course and I would highly recommend them
One member who used Coates at Nttm found a drawback - the reverse pad is at Hinckley so quite a bit of time was wasted (in thier opinion) driving on motorways. This was a real pain if on 1 to 1 training but not too bad on 2 to 1.
We used the bloody one at hemel so i know what motorway driving with coates is 
The pad at hinckley…well let me say this, if you can do the reverse on that, you’ll nail it on the flat, tarmacked dsa reversing area 
thanks for the input guys,i have decided after reading through your recommended schools to go with priestley hgv training based in lincolnshire,they are about 30 miles from my dads house so i will either stay there or get digs at frankies truck stop motel(discounted for priestley trainees… )the cost is £835 inc test fee so a real good deal,will keep you updated on how it goes.