Driving Instructors

All our driving instructors are DVSA-approved and DBS checked by DVSA. They will provide a clean and tidy, insured dual-controlled vehicle, fully taxed with MOT where appropriate.

Lessons

In order to have driving lessons, you must:
Be aged 17 or older (16 or over if disabled and receiving the higher component of the Disability Living Allowance- DLA)
Hold a driving licence that is valid for the UK (provisional, full or an appropriate foreign licence)
Once your lesson is confirmed, you will be asked to get a licence check code from DVLA at: https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence and forward the same to your instructor. It is your responsibility to provide your instructor with proof that you have a valid licence to drive before the commencement of your first driving lesson. If you fail to provide this proof, your instructor is entitled to refuse to conduct the driving lesson but may still charge you for such driving lesson.
You must also inform your instructor if you have any health conditions or taking any medications that may affect your ability to drive.
To be more productive, BigG driving school normally recommends that learners take at least 1 x 2-hour lesson a week, even though more hours can be taken in a week depending on how soon one wants to pass the test. However, consideration will be given for 1.5 hours. The 2 hours allow for more practice time and repetition to take place. Lessons will be booked and confirmed by phone call, text or email, and it is your responsibility to log this in your calendar.

Cancellations

You must give at least 48 hours notice to your instructor if you wish to cancel or re-schedule a booked driving lesson. Failure to do so may result in your instructor charging you the full fee for that driving lesson. If your instructor cancels your lesson for any reason, they will rearrange it with you at a later date and time that suit both of you.

Driving Tests

Once you are ready for the test, your instructor will advise you on when and where to book your driving test. We advise you to book your test through the government website (www.gov.uk/drivingtest). Up to three-hour booking is required on the day of your driving test, and a test fee is payable for the use of the car (see prices). This time is used to allow for one hour of pre-test practice, the test itself and dropping off from the test centre afterwards.
Pupils are responsible for bringing their licence to the test centre. Failure to produce your licence will result in your test being cancelled, but the test and Instructor costs will still be payable in full. Pupils will also be responsible for ensuring the correct test centre, dates and times of the test and for informing the instructor of any changes made by the DVSA. In the event of you having booked your driving test, the DVSA requires you to give three clear working days to cancel your test in order not to lose your test fee. This may mean that you may lose your DVSA test fee if your instructor says you’re not ready for your test within this three-day notice period.
If your test is cancelled at the last minute by the DVSA, your instructor will still charge you but will assist you in recovering the cost for 'out-of-pocket expenses' from the DVSA.

Instructor Liability

We cannot be held responsible for lessons postponed through illness or mechanical breakdown of the instructor’s vehicle. He is she will reschedule your lesson to another date and time convenient to both of you. Your instructor is also not responsible for the cancellation of any lessons booked in the unlikely event that the DVSA have cancelled your test at a last-minute notice. The lesson and the test fees will be charged but will assist you to recover the cost through ‘Out of Pocket Expenses’ offered by the DVSA.

Responsibility

In the interest of Road and Public Safety, the instructor reserves the right to withdraw the driving school vehicle for use on a driving test if the instructor considers the pupil not to be at test standard. The instructor has no legal obligation to make the vehicle available for the test. A suggestion of further lessons will be advised to deal with the issues identified. Your instructor also reserves the right to refuse a driving lesson if they believe you suffer from a medical condition that could affect your ability to drive or take any medicines that state you should not drive. This refusal applies to anyone under the influence of alcohol on non-prescribed drugs. The cancelled lesson for this purpose will still be charged at the full lesson price, and if an advanced payment is made, it will not be refunded.

Payments

Lessons must be paid in advance, at the time of booking the lesson, unless agreed with the instructor delivering the lesson OR there is a remaining balance on block payment made. BigG driving school only accepts payment by cash or via bank transfer. Cheques are not accepted unless directly agreed with the instructor. Payment would be made directly between the instructor and the pupil. Hence refunds for unused lessons will also be made between the instructor and the pupil. Once payment is made to the instructor, BigG driving school accepts no liability to the money paid. Any lessons paid in advance must be taken within three months. Otherwise, the money and lessons will be lost.

Refund Policy

If you decide you no longer wish to have driving lessons through BigG driving school, your instructor will refund any funds remaining. To avoid disputes, please ensure all lessons are recorded.
For security reasons, any refund will be made by bank transfer bearing the name of the pupil. If the lessons are being paid by parents or spouses, payment will be made into their accounts upon agreement with the pupil, parents, spouse and the instructor.

Prices

Prices are set at an hourly rate, and this is subject to regular reviews in line with inflation and cost of living. BigG driving school reserves the right to increase these prices without prior notice.

Passengers and Errands

BigG driving school trains driving instructors, so on occasion, pupils might find a trainee instructor or an ORDIT instructor sitting in and observing lessons. This arrangement will be agreed with the pupil beforehand. Passengers and children are welcome at the discretion of your instructor. BigG driving school aims to provide real-life driving experiences when it is safe to do so.
If the driver wishes to run errands or similar, these form part of the lesson time and are at the discretion of the driver.
If children are being carried, they are the responsibility of the parents. Parents must provide relevant seating equipment, and the instructors reserve the right to end lessons early should the need arise. All children or passengers coming on lesson must be at the prior agreement with the instructor.

Website Disclaimer

BigG driving school has checked the information displayed on this website for its content and accuracy to the best of their knowledge at the time of publication. BigG strives to update the site regularly; however, as this information keeps changing rapidly, BigG driving school accepts no responsibility once the information leaves the site.

Reviews and Photos on website
When you pass your test, your driving instructor will ask your permission to take a picture of you standing by his/her car, holding your Pass Certificate. Once you agree to have your picture taken, you agree for BigG Driving School to put your picture on our website and social media pages. We will also ask you to write a short testimony about your learning experience with us on our website. If you do so, your photo will accompany your testimony. However, you can request BigG driving school to remove your picture from the website by putting the request in writing.
You also agree to allow, when requested and for training purposes only, for you to be videoed during your in-car training session/s with our instructor/s to assist them with further training towards their DVSA required Standard Checks.

Data Protection and use of data (GDPR) – Privacy Policy

BigG driving school will collect and use your personal data for the purposes for which it has been collected. It may also be used for marketing, research and statistical purposes and crime prevention. BigG driving school will take reasonable steps to protect individual information and will not share it with any third party. Any personal data you provide will be held securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. If you give us information about another person, in doing so, you confirm that they have given you permission to provide it to us to be able to process their personal data (including any sensitive personal data) and also that you have told them who we are and what we will use their data for, as set out in this notice. By providing us with your personal data and contact details, you consent to the use of that data and to your being contacted by BigG Driving School.
In the case of personal data, with limited exceptions, you have the right to access and, if necessary, rectify information held about you by writing to BigG Driving School.
Your data will be held for as long as BigG driving school deem it relevant. Once it is no longer relevant, it will be responsibly deleted or destroyed in accordance with GDPR. Should you wish for your data to be deleted before this time, you should request this in writing to us.

Complaints Procedure

At BigG driving school, we strive to provide the highest standard of lessons to our customers. If, at any time, you are not happy with our services or have any concerns or complaints about any part of your driving tuition which cannot be resolved with your instructor, please contact BigG Driving School. We will endeavour to respond to your concerns or complaints within five working days.
Furthermore, we will strive to resolve the complaints within 28 working days.

Changes to the Terms and Conditions

BigG driving school reserves the right to change these terms and conditions without prior notice.