Best route for training

There are probably quite a few similar threads, but I’m checking that I’m not making a mistake. I was contacted by hgvtraining.co.uk in regards to an enquiry I’d made and they’ve quoted me what I regard as a decent price for training(Class C). I live in Glasgow, and there are a few local options (Ritchie’s, Highfield Heavies, GTG to name a few) but the quote from hgvtraining was a few hundred less than any of these. I’m fairly confident of passing as I have previously driven 7.5 tonne vehicles, but like I said I just want to know if the benefits (if any) of training with a local firm outweigh the saving by using this company. Thanks in advance.

My advice.

1: AVOID THESE
2: Get to visit a few different training schools
3: Pay by credit card (if you have one)
4: Send me twenty quid for the advice.

The people you talked with are “Sales Agents” and basically have “NOTHING” to sell. Ask them if you can visit two or three of their training centres so you can get an idea of what goes on. They’ll decline, unless you pay upfront. Then phone the training school directly and ask the same question. The answer will be of a greeting - than the previous “cough up first pal” attitude.

Go directly to a training school and pay the price. There might be a difference in price - but DON’T be fooled by price alone.

sinxtr:
There are probably quite a few similar threads, but I’m checking that I’m not making a mistake. I was contacted by hgvtraining.co.uk in regards to an enquiry I’d made and they’ve quoted me what I regard as a decent price for training(Class C). I live in Glasgow, and there are a few local options (Ritchie’s, Highfield Heavies, GTG to name a few) but the quote from hgvtraining was a few hundred less than any of these. I’m fairly confident of passing as I have previously driven 7.5 tonne vehicles, but like I said I just want to know if the benefits (if any) of training with a local firm outweigh the saving by using this company. Thanks in advance.

Hi sinxtr,

You’re spot-on that there are similar threads, and there’s even one in which the OP has mentioned the same company that you’re considering:

:arrow_right: Want to Become a Truck Driver - NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE) - Trucknet UK

My advice to you is the same as I gave the OP in that other thread… For your own peace of mind PLEASE ask to visit the training centre at which you’ll train.

After all, you would want to see the vehicles and meet the instructors before committing to spending ANY of your money wouldn’t you :question:

If somewhere else seems cheaper than a provider that you CAN visit, then you probably haven’t compared like-for-like.

For instance have you asked whether VAT is included in the price they’ve quoted you :question:
What about theory tests and your medical :question:

:bulb: Unless you do some proper research, you could end up spending more than you need to.

BTW, there are a number of inaccuracies on that company’s website, so personally speaking I would steer well clear.

Thanks for the quick replies. Yeah, the fact that i could only contact them via a call centre didn’t inspire confidence, any questions I asked were answered with a generic response. Medical fees extra, ‘professional advice from our professionals…’ plus three calls a day since last Thursday asking if I was going to make a payment. I’m going to go for a local option. Thanks again. :wink:

sinxtr:
Thanks for the quick replies. Yeah, the fact that i could only contact them via a call centre didn’t inspire confidence, any questions I asked were answered with a generic response. Medical fees extra, ‘professional advice from our professionals…’ plus three calls a day since last Thursday asking if I was going to make a payment. I’m going to go for a local option. Thanks again. :wink:

Hi sinxtr,

I like this bit: ‘‘professional advice from our professionals…’’ :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

If they’re the same ‘professionals’ who put the incorrect info on the website, then there’ll probably be some interesting discussions between candidates and actual providers. :wink:

One other thing that I noticed… they mention CPC and use the JAUPT logo, but a provider should put their JAUPT approval number on it like you’ll see on these two examples…

TN member Peter Smythe: (AC 0040) :arrow_right: http://www.truckdrivertraining.co.uk/

TN member Chevron Training: (AC 00084) :arrow_right: http://www.chevrontraining.co.uk/

If you contact that other company again, you might ask them what their JAUPT approval number is… :grimacing:

When getting a price quote ask exactly how much training time that refers to because many brokers will give a lower price for a course but that course may only be for 4 days instead of the usual 5 days quoted by others

Made up example of how brokers work … practical C course only - no dcpc or theory etc
LGV school quotes 1115 for a 5 day C course (200 x 5 days + 115 test fee)
Broker quotes 1015 for the ‘course’ but fails to mention its only for 4 days (200 x 4 days + 115 test fee)
Broker pays LGV school 915 and pockets 100

Hi there sinxtr!

Welcome onto the forum mate.

Well, it seems you’ve been lucky and through coming here and asking the question, have been saved from losing a lot of your hard-earned thanks to great advice from Dave, ROG and macci (with the exception of his 4th bit of advice! lol).

I wish you luck in your training whoever you choose. Don’t forget to post a diary of your training here on the forum for everyone to laff, err… I mean, get inspired by! :laughing:

All the best! :sunglasses:

Yeah thanks to all the above replies, much appreciated. I’ve contacted a couple of local training centres and arranged to visit so I can work out my best option. I’ll report on my progress when I start, hope it doesn’t turn into a book :laughing:
If anyone else reads this who are thinking of LGV/HGV training, I’d advise you to do the same. While there’s nothing to suggest that the people that contacted me (hgvtraining.co.uk) were misleading me, the manner in which queries are answered and information is given implies that they don’t give a flying once you hand over your money.

I did class 1 & 2 with riches.great company from my exp.id recommend them to anyone

This is all good advice…my 2 penneth worth go with someone local/small you’ll find that they will know the examiners(possibly quite well-poss socially) only go with someone who will take you out around the test routes for a couple of hours for a FREE assessment then get them to quote you a price. Some rookies are naturals some need two weeks to grasp the concept of a split/side shift gearbox. The idiots on the end of the phones 0800’s are all sales monkeys on commission

macci:
The people you talked with are “Sales Agents” and basically have “NOTHING” to sell. Ask them if you can visit two or three of their training centres so you can get an idea of what goes on. They’ll decline, unless you pay upfront. Then phone the training school directly and ask the same question. The answer will be of a greeting - than the previous “cough up first pal” attitude.

they know how to sell not drive! Good Luck…

Is your test centre local to you? If so, spend a morning at the tea bar and see who comes and goes. Get an idea of the vehicle they’re driving and speak to the people who are getting trained.

I would also recommend Ritchies if your within Glasgow.

I recently used them, even although Lagta is a 2 minute drive away - if you can get the £200 ILA the total with Ritchies for EITHER Class 2 or 1 is around £760.

Good bunch of guys,friendly and knowledgable. They also are DSA approved, so your reversing exercise is done on site at Ritchies and your test starts and finishes there. You can also pay £20 a day for the driver training to count towards your CPC (28 hours in total).

Charlie

m1cks:
Is your test centre local to you? If so, spend a morning at the tea bar and see who comes and goes. Get an idea of the vehicle they’re driving and speak to the people who are getting trained.

Hi, short of a word-of-mouth recommendation, I’d say this is a great idea. Just done my class C at the test centre in Grimsby, and all the trainers use the same ‘wagon’ at break times. Only bad point I see is that any student driver you talk to will be likely prior to their test, so you won’t really know the schools success rate that they’re with.

My advice, would be definately check your local driving school - I did just that, and must say I had a good experience with them, pass first time. I did have to pay for my ‘assesment drive’ (which seems to be usually free from what I read on here) but I did get a lot from it. I left with a definite ‘You need 4 days training’, and also a list of things that were my ‘bad points’, such as crossing hands when turning, etc. My assesment drive was 30 quid. My 4 day course including the test fee was 1065 quid, I paid my own theory, hazard & medical before hand.

Not sure if you’ve told us your locality ? Maybe someone can recommend a local trainer based on their experience?

Cheers, and best of luck,
Steeps