That examiner wouldn’t go on record but I did get a serving and retired examiner to both give written statements after assessing my driving and I got an LGV trainer with 30 years of experience to give me a statement.
I have since passed my tests so it was never a case of me being a crap driver like Brad was trying to say.
ItsJoe:
That examiner wouldn’t go on record but I did get a serving and retired examiner to both give written statements after assessing my driving and I got an LGV trainer with 30 years of experience to give me a statement.I have since passed my tests so it was never a case of me being a crap driver like Brad was trying to say.
I am wondering if you have a case of getting your money back because of service not rendered
That means either contacting your credit/debit card provider or going through small claims court
They’re taking you to.court over £250? When you’ve already given them £2000 and been massively let down by the?!?! Wow!
Even if you do owe the money you’d think as a gesture of goodwill toward a customer they let down that they might waive it.
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IronEddie:
They’re taking you to.court over £250? When you’ve already given them £2000 and been massively let down by the?!?! Wow!Even if you do owe the money you’d think as a gesture of goodwill toward a customer they let down that they might waive it.
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If they are going to court then can you put in a counterclaim 
ROG:
IronEddie:
They’re taking you to.court over £250? When you’ve already given them £2000 and been massively let down by the?!?! Wow!Even if you do owe the money you’d think as a gesture of goodwill toward a customer they let down that they might waive it.
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If they are going to court then can you put in a counterclaim
I do hope op has a good solicitor and is exploring such options.
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I’m working with a solicitor now, he’s doing it completely free of charge which was really nice of him! He got me some assessment drives with a DVSA examiner, a former DVSA examiner and a few LGV trainers that have been in the business for decades and all their reports were scathing. We went up to the yard that I was practising the reversing on and found that the setup was outdated and they were still teaching pupils on that outdated setup when we went up there.
I just wish I found this forum and did proper research before choosing this company. I have to hand it to Brad though, a customer makes a complaint and he tells me to “grow some balls”. 
But cases like this are not uncommon. For as long as anyone with a licence for 3 years can buy a truck, stick L plates on it and call themselves a “driving instructor” the situation wont change. Strange when you have to be registered and qualified to teach someone to drive a Fiesta. (Please do not tell me that this is all fine cos folks can already drive. You will be amazed!)
There are 2 registers for LGV instructors: National Vocational Driving Instructor Register (www.lgvregister.org) and RTITB. Instructors on either register have gone through a testing regime to establish their ability. And this is repeated every 5 years. Whilst this doesn’t guarantee perfection, at least the instructor has demonstrated their knowledge and ability to actually do the job. And this is quite different to having a driver sitting in the passenger seat.
A typical CAT C training vehicle is IRO 10 years old. Absolutely no problem if correctly maintained and if it drives exactly as it should. But some of these trucks have done a million kms (literally). We have just parted with our 2 oldest CAT C trucks at just over 4 years and just over 5 years old with a maximum mileage of 140,000 kms. They have been replaced with 2 brand new trucks giving us an average age of 12 months on our CAT C fleet. So there are huge differences out there if the candidate spends the time to find out. What grieves me is that none of this should be necessary and folks shouldn’t end up either in court or taking their trainer to court.
The industry is unregulated. Membership of either register is entirely voluntary. It really is a case of “buyer beware”. Sadly, the potential candidate has no option but to do the research and do some legwork to figure out who might be any good and who isn’t.
Whenever I have this little rant (which is all to frequent), I always go out of my way to make it extremely clear that there are some perfectly good trainers out there who don’t appear on any register. The reasons for this are not clear. It just increases the challenge to the candidate a little greater as they sift through the dross to find the better trainers. In the same way, an older vehicle can be absolutely fine. And a brand new vehicle does not guarantee brilliant instruction. It’s the combination of sound vehicle and excellent training that counts.
Pete 
You’ve hit the nail on the head there Pete. My problem was, I never knew what to expect. So when I turned up on my first day of training and just got straight into the wagon and told to drive I thought that was normal and this was to be expected. It was only when I left and went to other training provider did I realise just how bad that previous training was.
Peter Smythe:
But cases like this are not uncommon. For as long as anyone with a licence for 3 years can buy a truck, stick L plates on it and call themselves a “driving instructor” the situation wont change. Strange when you have to be registered and qualified to teach someone to drive a Fiesta. (Please do not tell me that this is all fine cos folks can already drive. You will be amazed!)There are 2 registers for LGV instructors: National Vocational Driving Instructor Register (lgvregister.org) and RTITB. Instructors on either register have gone through a testing regime to establish their ability. And this is repeated every 5 years. Whilst this doesn’t guarantee perfection, at least the instructor has demonstrated their knowledge and ability to actually do the job. And this is quite different to having a driver sitting in the passenger seat.
A typical CAT C training vehicle is IRO 10 years old. Absolutely no problem if correctly maintained and if it drives exactly as it should. But some of these trucks have done a million kms (literally). We have just parted with our 2 oldest CAT C trucks at just over 4 years and just over 5 years old with a maximum mileage of 140,000 kms. They have been replaced with 2 brand new trucks giving us an average age of 12 months on our CAT C fleet. So there are huge differences out there if the candidate spends the time to find out. What grieves me is that none of this should be necessary and folks shouldn’t end up either in court or taking their trainer to court.
The industry is unregulated. Membership of either register is entirely voluntary. It really is a case of “buyer beware”. Sadly, the potential candidate has no option but to do the research and do some legwork to figure out who might be any good and who isn’t.
Whenever I have this little rant (which is all to frequent), I always go out of my way to make it extremely clear that there are some perfectly good trainers out there who don’t appear on any register. The reasons for this are not clear. It just increases the challenge to the candidate a little greater as they sift through the dross to find the better trainers. In the same way, an older vehicle can be absolutely fine. And a brand new vehicle does not guarantee brilliant instruction. It’s the combination of sound vehicle and excellent training that counts.
Pete [emoji38] [emoji38]
Do you think the lgv training industry will ever be regulated properly? I get the impression this is a battle you’ve long been facing that hasn’t changed much.
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IronEddie:
Do you think the lgv training industry will ever be regulated properly? I get the impression this is a battle you’ve long been facing that hasn’t changed much.
LGV training industry might won’t ever be regulated properly. It is up to existing good training companies to teach members of public how to choose a good training provider. There are always good companies and companies with monkey reputation. Good one as PSTT (I have really good experience so far), EP Training Services, Chevron and few more (I just hear about them but I have no personal experience) will defend themselves as they have a very high standards.
The other thing is to do your homework. When you thrown significant amount of money, you need to ensure you spend it wisely. It’s worth to have a look around, do research, ask your colleagues, visit on the site and then book your course.
You, as training companies, DVSA, DVLA, VOSA and operators should lobbying to government to set proper legal regulation. It is in all of us interest to have a high standard to follow.
I wish this lad who face a problem, all the best and hopefully he’ll solve the problem and find a really good company to get a proper training.
Thanks Artur, I found a brilliant training company and have past my tests with them!
I don’t think the industry will be regulated anytime soon. The quote, from a high up in government, is “there is no political will to introduce legislation”. I lobby DVSA continually on the subject. But, if we’re to be cynical, where is the incentive for them to do anything about it. More tests, retests etc = more revenue for DVSA.
So it really is down to the individual to do their homework. There are a number of very good trainers out there. Just a matter of finding them! And, of course, what doesn’t help is the perpetual lies on websites coupled with photoshopped pictures.
I make myself extremely vulnerable as sponsor of the forum cos if we get anything wrong the world will know - and very quickly! Thankfully, all feedback has been positive to date.
Pete