Want to become a driving instructor? A hard lesson...
Discussion
I've posted this in GG but wanted to do this here too for others to be aware, I can't name and shame, but it's been *******ly ******* me mad - they're based in ******, UK [mod edit no you cant name and shame]
Other Thread said:
I wasn't going to post anything about this, but it's really pissed me off, so I thought I'd share this with you:
My brother-in-law always wanted to become a driving instructor - he was a HGV driver and the hours were killing him and his family, he took VR, bought a car and "invested" in a driving "school".
The trouble began there, he signed a contract with the "school" and they paid for his training for which he was bound, contractually, to pay a weekly sum for. However, that weekly sum was set in the contract, that about being about £120 a week - and that was regardless of whether he was giving lessons or not.
Those lessons were booked by the "school" above and allocated to the driving instructors that were part of that "school" - the owner/manager of that school did not, however, make any effort to book or get lessons for the instructors and it was left up to them - the bookings went to a central number and were farmed out, seemingly, randomly.
There was no onus on the "school" to get or book lessons as they just didn't bother and left it up to the newly qualified instructors to advertise for the "school" - the owner of which was clearly quids in.
My BIL found that without advertising, he couldn't get many lessons in and found himself struggling to provide for his family - Any private lessons he was doing didn't really cover it and calls to the central number never seemed to get to him. He struggled to make the weekly payments and things got on top of him and the family.
Under much pressure he took this matter to the CAB and, eventually, an employment solicitor - who looked at the contract and observed that it was one of the worst weighted contracts he'd seen in that whatever my BIL did, for the term of the contract (3 years), he was bound to pay the "school" that sum of £120 whether or not he got lessons to cover that with nothing stated that the owner was bound to assist with advertising.
I advocated taking this to through the courts, but the advice he was given was that even if my BIL won, he would be out of pocket as he'd have to pay legal fees - My BIL has had to settle and take out a loan to cover it just to end this and stop all the stress that he and the family have been under.
Admittedly, he should have read and checked the contract, but he didn't (I think there's many of us that are guilty of that) and this is the position he's found himself in.
I won't name and shame but it's a "school" based in Grimsby, but I feel that I should as the owner of this driving school clearly knows what he's doing and knows that he has people over a barrel once they sign with him.
My brother-in-law always wanted to become a driving instructor - he was a HGV driver and the hours were killing him and his family, he took VR, bought a car and "invested" in a driving "school".
The trouble began there, he signed a contract with the "school" and they paid for his training for which he was bound, contractually, to pay a weekly sum for. However, that weekly sum was set in the contract, that about being about £120 a week - and that was regardless of whether he was giving lessons or not.
Those lessons were booked by the "school" above and allocated to the driving instructors that were part of that "school" - the owner/manager of that school did not, however, make any effort to book or get lessons for the instructors and it was left up to them - the bookings went to a central number and were farmed out, seemingly, randomly.
There was no onus on the "school" to get or book lessons as they just didn't bother and left it up to the newly qualified instructors to advertise for the "school" - the owner of which was clearly quids in.
My BIL found that without advertising, he couldn't get many lessons in and found himself struggling to provide for his family - Any private lessons he was doing didn't really cover it and calls to the central number never seemed to get to him. He struggled to make the weekly payments and things got on top of him and the family.
Under much pressure he took this matter to the CAB and, eventually, an employment solicitor - who looked at the contract and observed that it was one of the worst weighted contracts he'd seen in that whatever my BIL did, for the term of the contract (3 years), he was bound to pay the "school" that sum of £120 whether or not he got lessons to cover that with nothing stated that the owner was bound to assist with advertising.
I advocated taking this to through the courts, but the advice he was given was that even if my BIL won, he would be out of pocket as he'd have to pay legal fees - My BIL has had to settle and take out a loan to cover it just to end this and stop all the stress that he and the family have been under.
Admittedly, he should have read and checked the contract, but he didn't (I think there's many of us that are guilty of that) and this is the position he's found himself in.
I won't name and shame but it's a "school" based in Grimsby, but I feel that I should as the owner of this driving school clearly knows what he's doing and knows that he has people over a barrel once they sign with him.
netherfield said:
For not a fortune a Solicitor would have looked at the contract and advised him better.
Reading the contract himself he could easily have missed something or not understood it's meaning.
Having owned a business, you tend to learn the hard way sometimes.
That's very true - a lesson heard-learned.Reading the contract himself he could easily have missed something or not understood it's meaning.
Having owned a business, you tend to learn the hard way sometimes.
£2500-£3500 gets you AA or BSM training - not the £18k that the company above quoted.
james_tigerwoods said:
That's very true - a lesson heard-learned.
£2500-£3500 gets you AA or BSM training - not the £18k that the company above quoted.
realistically its closer to 4-5k once you've paid for all the lessons, exams,tests etc£2500-£3500 gets you AA or BSM training - not the £18k that the company above quoted.
My wife did this a year or so ago, buying the lessson, course notes package throught LDC. who provided quite a good package, although Jo still ended up buying extra lessons.
As jo does it part time to fit in around other things she didnt sign up with any schools after qualifying. a lot of the school/franchise deals are a bit scarey. with you needing 2 days a week full just to pay the fees. But as with everything read the contract, and do your research.
yur bil does sound like he was shafted, but 5mins with a calculator would have highlighted the problems with the deal...
From what I've seen at close quarters, being a driving instructor can be rewardig but its a very saturated industry and rates can be very low.. and costs can be high...
a single hours lesson can use a gallon of fuel alone so how places can offer lessons at a tenner i've no idea ( well actually they ramp the cost up to 25+ after a few lessons).
As advert that tells you its easy and you will be earning 30k pa is strayinga little from the truth. you proabably can earn 30k a year if your prices are hign, you work 7 days a week and can fill every hour, without any gaps to actually get to people etc etc...
The ADI exams are in 3 parts. Pt.1 is simply the hazard and theory test that all provisional drivers must now do, but with 100 questions instead of 50, and a higher pass rate for that, and the hazard clips section. Pt.2 is again a simple one, just a driving test, but 1 hour long and allowing for just 6 minor mistakes. Moving on to Pt.3 is where it gets harder. You must accrue 40 hours of ORDIT registered tuition to allow you to apply for a PDI (Provisional Driving Instructor) license, which allows you to teach paying customers, and must also be 'sponsored' by a current ADI. This lasts six months, during which you can have up to 3 attempts at the Pt.3 exam. This exam involves the senior examiner role-playing a learner of two standards. Half and hour as a relative beginner, another half as a near test standard driver. You must show you can control the lesson, impart good knowledge, spot mistakes and rectify them quickly. You are scored on 'core competency', which is the ability to identify, analyse and rectify faults.
Pt.1 can be done alone with a copy of the 'Highway Code', and a practise on a DVD.
Pt.2 can also, but a good read through 'DSA Driving Essentials' will brush up your driving to how the DSA want you to teach others, which might not be how you drive naturally. A couple of hours with an instructor, or ORDIT trainer would help here.
Pt.3 is obviously where it gets serious, with 40 hours of professional tuition to pay for, then you PDI license to buy. After that you will need a suitable car with duals, box, decals etc. And you need a way of getting customers too. This is where people can get stung into signing their life away with a driving school for sponsorship and clients. In all fairness, 6 months is the max you should be forced to commit to, and the franchise fee needn't be astronomical with a local independent firm. EXAMPLE
Pt.1 can be done alone with a copy of the 'Highway Code', and a practise on a DVD.
Pt.2 can also, but a good read through 'DSA Driving Essentials' will brush up your driving to how the DSA want you to teach others, which might not be how you drive naturally. A couple of hours with an instructor, or ORDIT trainer would help here.
Pt.3 is obviously where it gets serious, with 40 hours of professional tuition to pay for, then you PDI license to buy. After that you will need a suitable car with duals, box, decals etc. And you need a way of getting customers too. This is where people can get stung into signing their life away with a driving school for sponsorship and clients. In all fairness, 6 months is the max you should be forced to commit to, and the franchise fee needn't be astronomical with a local independent firm. EXAMPLE
Slight update - he wasn't stung for the full amount on a technicality. The company (un-named) didn't put him in for the part 3 so was, sortof, in breach of contract.
However, the guy has since rectified this and one of his neighbours is now tied in to, and screwed by, this same contract.
The lesson remains to read it first.
However, the guy has since rectified this and one of his neighbours is now tied in to, and screwed by, this same contract.
The lesson remains to read it first.
£120 a week isn't that bad if they DO send you lots of business.
I guess that is the issue here. If they advertised and found you lessons to fill your books, you'd be happy.
I guess the contract didn't say the company would offer any promise or reduced weekly fee if they didn't provide enough customers etc!?
Sounds like a reasonable system if it works both ways, but it didn't... indeed a case of RTFM, or RTFC to be technically correct
Dave
I guess that is the issue here. If they advertised and found you lessons to fill your books, you'd be happy.
I guess the contract didn't say the company would offer any promise or reduced weekly fee if they didn't provide enough customers etc!?
Sounds like a reasonable system if it works both ways, but it didn't... indeed a case of RTFM, or RTFC to be technically correct
Dave
Mr Whippy said:
£120 a week isn't that bad if they DO send you lots of business.
I guess that is the issue here. If they advertised and found you lessons to fill your books, you'd be happy.
I guess the contract didn't say the company would offer any promise or reduced weekly fee if they didn't provide enough customers etc!?
Sounds like a reasonable system if it works both ways, but it didn't... indeed a case of RTFM, or RTFC to be technically correct
Dave
And that's the thing, they didn't seem to help with getting him business.I guess that is the issue here. If they advertised and found you lessons to fill your books, you'd be happy.
I guess the contract didn't say the company would offer any promise or reduced weekly fee if they didn't provide enough customers etc!?
Sounds like a reasonable system if it works both ways, but it didn't... indeed a case of RTFM, or RTFC to be technically correct
Dave
And no, the contract said nothing of the sort
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