Hi everyone,
When I booked my class 1 training with J Coates in May (which was a disaster as I posted here), I had also booked with Surrey & Hampshire LGV Training, which has depots in Fleet, Hants and Chobham, Surrey, both of which are fairly convenient for me. I paid £1,049 for four days’ training plus a test. However, the following day they rang me back and told me that I couldn’t have the days I booked because they had taken the vehicle out of service, as there were problems with it related to the weight it was now having to carry because of the new regulations, which was reducing its pass rate. I immediately called other schools and found J Coates who could book the same days I had booked with S&H. I therefore called S&H later in the day and said I had found training elsewhere and would need a refund.
She said she would have to “open a case” and this involved me printing out a form with my bank account details and sending it to them in the post, which I did. However, the day before my test, which was about three weeks later (with the money still not paid), I contacted them and asked them to put a hold on the refund because I may need to use their services if I failed the test. I did not get a response to this. However, when I did fail, I decided to go back to Wallace, which meant I needed my money refunded. I tried calling the company but could not get through to customer services; when I called the number all I got was some guy who said he was one of the trainers waiting for a customer (which sounded a lot like a ■■■■-and-bull story to me). However, he said he would pass the information on.
By 27th June the money still had not been paid and I wrote them an email that asked them to pay promptly or I would have to take legal action. Their “customer service” agent, Maria Casas, wrote to say she had not paid the refund because I had asked her to put it on hold, and that if I still wanted a refund she would have to “make another offer”. I then heard nothing until I wrote to her on 4th August. She then sent me another “offer” for only only £419! This is supposedly because their “terms and conditions” state that there was a “cancellation fee” of 60% if I cancel after more than a month. (Note: I cancelled after less than one day.) However, I paid the original money on condition of services rendered; I asked for a refund the day after, with no services either rendered or offered, as no new dates had been agreed.
Does anyone know if I still have the right to a full refund? I am asking if people actually know what the law states, i.e. can they impose a “cancellation fee” in these circumstances? I had not booked dates and then cancelled at short notice, the usual reasons for a cancellation fee. In addition, if they had just refunded my money promptly, without requiring me to jump through hoops, they would not still have had my money by the time I failed that test. They had accepted my money over the phone without my seeing or accepting any such terms. I don’t see why they couldn’t just refund it onto the same debit card, as most companies do, or just sending a cheque to my address.
Also, the day I first cancelled, I got a phone-call while at work from the same guy who first took my money. He angrily demanded to know why I had cancelled, basically accused me of lying about the reasons (I gave the excuse that JC had artics rather than drawbars, but the real reasons were [a] JC were offering the same dates and I had lost confidence in them because they had been willing to book me on a vehicle that had problems affecting its pass rates). He just would not get off the phone, even when I told him it was my perfect right to cancel.
I’ve been advised to go to the Small Claims Court - just wondering if I have a case. Again, I need people who know the law.
