Hi,
Found you guys after searching for HGV training. Can you help? I can get a delivery job with my work if I get my HGV C licence…trouble is I don’t know where to start!
I’ve called a couple of companies I saw in the papers. One of them, Clearstone seems good at £1149. Is this a good price? Thought I’d ask you guys as I don’t have time to ring round all day. They also say I can pay in 6 months…is that a con? (I can see from other threads that they arent that popular! why?)
Cheers guys,
JT[/b]
Hi JT
Thought I’d ask you guys as I don’t have time to ring round all day.
Not a good start there, Id highly suggest making the time to ring round, and more than that, go and meet prospective schools face to face before starting ANY training.
There are lots of excellent companies out there trying to help you. However there are also enough con men out there to give you serious worries.
Best of luck with your training,
Alex
JT
Welcome to the site I would suggest you do a search on this site for Clearstone and I am sure will find some interesting information to digest before parting with your money
JTWhalley:
(I can see from other threads that they arent that popular! why?)
WELCOME JT
Blimey, take it easy mate.
You said that you’ve seen from other threads that Clearstone aren’t that popular and then ask why 
WADR mate, I don’t understand the question. You have only to actually read the threads to fully understand. 
Then you expect somebody to spoon-feed you, because you don’t have time 
Scarab and The Biker’s suggestions are perfectly good, and it’s exactly what I’d do if I were in your shoes, so now you have a choice.
Just how badly do you want to get into the transport industry?
IMHO, you might need to reconsider your attiude mate, because if it remains unadjusted, you might’nt last 5 minutes.
Just to show that I can also be helpful, I’d start by telling you that there’s a shortage of LGV drivers, so you could save a bundle of your cash by telling your boss that you’re prepared to do the training, if he’s prepared to pay for it.
Alternatively, you could always do some research, unless you’ve already got so much cash that you don’t care. 
Have you looked into funding for upskilling 
There’s still a chance of doing Cat “C” for free, even if your boss won’t pay
Just be aware that your boss probably knows about the shortage and might be playing you for a fool.
I would recommend ONLY going with a DSA registered instructor. It may cost another £100 but it’s worth it. I did an assessment with a driving school (which happened to be a bloke with a wagon) and whilst he may be able to teach you to drive, would he be able to teach you to pass your test…they are two different things.
Think about it, would you let your kids learn with a recognised and qualified insrtuctor for their car test, or some bloke down the pub who last passed his test 30 years ago?
If you go with a DSA registered instructor he will be trained to instruct you to show what they DSA examinerds are looking for to pass the test.
Nearly anyone on this site could show you how to drive a wagon, but whether you could pass the test on it is a different ball game. Incidently, I paid around £1100 for my class 1.
I would not recommend a gauranteed pass school personally, as everytime you fail you will have to pay for the re-test. I think the pass just covers you for training.
Phone the DSA and they will have a list of guys in your area.
dangerousdave:
I would recommend ONLY going with a DSA registered instructor. It may cost another £100 but it’s worth it. I did an assessment with a driving school (which happened to be a bloke with a wagon) and whilst he may be able to teach you to drive, would he be able to teach you to pass your test…they are two different things.
Think about it, would you let your kids learn with a recognised and qualified insrtuctor for their car test, or some bloke down the pub who last passed his test 30 years ago?
If you go with a DSA registered instructor he will be trained to instruct you to show what they DSA examinerds are looking for to pass the test.
Nearly anyone on this site could show you how to drive a wagon, but whether you could pass the test on it is a different ball game. Incidently, I paid around £1100 for my class 1.
I would not recommend a gauranteed pass school personally, as everytime you fail you will have to pay for the re-test. I think the pass just covers you for training.
Phone the DSA and they will have a list of guys in your area.
Sorry mate but the info above is rubbish.
An ADI LGV instructor cannot do the job any better or worse than one who is not. The only true way of finding out ‘how good’ a particular instructor is would be to ask those that they have trained.
The DSA ADI LGV instructor test only demonstrates that an instructor can pass that test - it does not teach better instructing.
Cheers for the info…not sure about the comments about my attitude though!
I just asked the question because I see all the huge ads in the Sun for Clearstone - yet they got a bad press on here. Some of those threads were quite old so I wanted to know whether they were still that bad! I also just wanted an opinion on the price - I don’t know what a C licence should cost in the market.
My boss has offered to chip in…I need to find a place and a price then I’ll chat with her.
Thanks again (most of you!),
JT
JT you don’t say where in London you are, but my son recently took his class C with a driving school in Crawley and it cost him about £800, hope this is of help.
bob
Bob Fairbrother:
JT you don’t say where in London you are, but my son recently took his class C with a driving school in Crawley and it cost him about £800, hope this is of help.bob
If you have a recommendation then post the name and/or website of the company - it is allowed on this site for this purpose.
Hi there, glad you are thinking about getting your licence. Just thought I’d let you know how I got on. maybe give you a wee bit help etc.
I paid myself through class 1 & 2, and found that the best thing to do was find as many companies as possible so I searched yellow pages, internet and even asked around.
I spoke to between 40-50 companies (I was prepared to travel so had a broader range to choose from) and was able to discard a few such as the ones with sky-high prices or that sounded like they were operated in a ‘half-arsed’ manner!
When I got loads of quotes, I played them all off against each other to get a good deal, and eventually took class 2 in November with class 1 last month. In the end I got both for a total of £1505, which to me is an excellent deal (tho I did get £200 towards my class 2 from a company in Scotland).
Just for the record, I went with a company called Lagta for my class 2, couldnt fault them at atll, and for my class 1 I went with Scania, again highly recommended.
Finally, and this is just my opinion, I wouldnt touch clearstone at all. They go on about how you get extra retests to justify a sky high price, but what if you pass 1st time? Also all they do is sub-contract your booking to a local firm, so do what I did and cut them out and go direct to a local firm, and get lots of quotations! Hope this helps a wee bit mate, good luck with the training.
Paul.
JTWhalley:
Cheers for the info…not sure about the comments about my attitude though!
Hi JT, I commented on your apparent attitude, because it seemed to me that you were expecting to be spoon-fed and couldn’t be bothered to make a few phone calls or visit some training schools. If you re-read your post and imagine that it wasn’t yours; what would you think
JTWhalley:
I just asked the question because I see all the huge ads in the Sun for Clearstone - yet they got a bad press on here. Some of those threads were quite old so I wanted to know whether they were still that bad! I also just wanted an opinion on the price - I don’t know what a C licence should cost in the market.
You don’t strike me as one of those people who says “it must be right , because I read it in the Sun.”
Seriously though, my best advice is to do a search of the forums with the search thingy, and you’ll discover who has a reputation in your area. No matter where you’re from in the country, I’m confident that the question has been asked before. I’d agree that the threads are old, but with a little detective work, I’m sure you’ll come up with a shortlist.
JTWhalley:
My boss has offered to chip in…I need to find a place and a price then I’ll chat with her.
You hadn’t mentioned that in your first post
I did my best to give you a reality check and some avenues of enquiry, which aren’t common knowledge
Now I know your boss is prepared to chip in, there’s a scheme for upskilling, whereby it’s either free, or part/full cost is paid from funding available for the purpose. As a starting point, some colleges deal with this scheme.
You (or your boss) might need to find time to make a phone call or two and fill in a few forms though.
The funding I have in mind depends on the size of the company
From all the posts so far, it looks like you’re on your way, so my next tip is to suggest that you read the post that’s part of ROG’s signature, because there’s a lot of very useful info collected together in one place for you.
JTWhalley:
Thanks again (most of you!), JT
I wonder who “most” means 
dangerousdave:
I would recommend ONLY going with a DSA registered instructor. It may cost another £100 but it’s worth it. I did an assessment with a driving school (which happened to be a bloke with a wagon) and whilst he may be able to teach you to drive, would he be able to teach you to pass your test…they are two different things.
Think about it, would you let your kids learn with a recognised and qualified insrtuctor for their car test, or some bloke down the pub who last passed his test 30 years ago?
If you go with a DSA registered instructor he will be trained to instruct you to show what they DSA examinerds are looking for to pass the test.
Nearly anyone on this site could show you how to drive a wagon, but whether you could pass the test on it is a different ball game. Incidently, I paid around £1100 for my class 1.
I would not recommend a gauranteed pass school personally, as everytime you fail you will have to pay for the re-test. I think the pass just covers you for training.
Phone the DSA and they will have a list of guys in your area.
here here. though to a degree, i can see both sides here. i.e. that a non DSA registered instructor can have a good pass rate.
shouldn’t this thread be in the new & wannabe section?
Jonathan. DSA ADI. RoSPA Gold (car)
Driveroneuk:
shouldn’t this thread be in the new & wannabe section?Jonathan. DSA ADI. RoSPA Gold (car)
There’s always a smartarse. 
Done.
P.S. I haven’t forgotten the pm I owe you.
DSA registered or not
The main reason that companies want instructors to be registered is so they can put it on their advertising which looks good to potential clients.
I met an instructor at Weedon DTC quite recently who had just finished his part 3 drive and therefore is now DSA registered - He said to me
“just had to go through all this to keep my job because the company insisted but it has not made any difference to my ability as an instructor”
I think that says it all.
ROG:
I met an instructor at Weedon DTC quite recently who had just finished his part 3 drive and therefore is now DSA registered
err? Part 3 is test of instructional ability. Part 2 is Driving Test. Part 1 Theory.
Driveroneuk:
ROG:
I met an instructor at Weedon DTC quite recently who had just finished his part 3 drive and therefore is now DSA registerederr? Part 3 is test of instructional ability. Part 2 is Driving Test. Part 1 Theory.
Correct - he had just done the part 3 on-the-road drive where the examiner pretends to be a trainee and I believe that part of that drive is a demo by the instructor - but I could be wrong.
Thanks for all the info guys. I went with a company called AdvantageHGV - they work a bit like Clearstone but are far better value.
I paid £899 for a 5 day course and I’m off to EP Training in Leatherhead. I contacted EP and I actually got my course cheaper from Advantage than I could if I had booked directly with EP! They have a good reputation down in Leatherhead and all the instructors are DSA approved.
Again - thanks for the tips. I’m sure I’ll be hassling you all before I take my test. Any tips to passing 1st time?!
Cheers,
JT
JTWhalley:
I paid £899 for a 5 day course and I’m off to EP Training in Leatherhead. I contacted EP and I actually got my course cheaper from Advantage than I could if I had booked directly with EP! They have a good reputation down in Leatherhead and all the instructors are DSA approved.
That’s a great move on your part JT, EP Training do indeed have a good reputation.
Please pass my regards to Ed and his son when you see them.
If you need ADR, I’d advise you to go with EP Training for that too.
I don’t normally do “recommendations” but I do make an exception in the case of EP Training. IMHO, they’re in the premier league of training providers.
JTWhalley:
Again - thanks for the tips. I’m sure I’ll be hassling you all before I take my test. Any tips to passing 1st time?!
As I mentioned, ROG has some excellent tips, if you follow the link in his signature.
There’s a lot of good info all in one place including other links to useful stuff.
Looks like you’re well on your way now JT, so please keep us informed and feel free to ask more questions.