Bristol and Bath Intensive Courses
Terms and Conditions – (October 2025)
1. Course Booking
Bristol and Bath Intensive Courses (“the Company”) acts solely as a booking and administration agent on behalf of independent DVSA- ADI/PDI Driving instructors. When you book, you enter a tuition agreement with an independent instructor. We do not employ or manage instructors.
After booking, you’ll receive confirmation by email. This confirms receipt, not your final timetable. Course dates remain provisional until your instructor confirms. Please do not book annual leave until that confirmation is received.
You may cancel within 14 working days by emailing admin@bristolandbathintensivecourses.com (Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–4 p.m.). If you ask us to begin arranging within those 14 days, you agree that your statutory cooling-off right ends once work starts.
1A. Cancellations After Cooling-Off Period
After the cooling-off period (or once work has begun) cancellations are handled case by case. Refunds are pro-rata, reflecting:
tuition already delivered / allocated;
DVSA or theory-app fees paid; and
reasonable administration costs.
If you cancel with less than 20 working days’ notice, no automatic refund applies.
Illness / personal reasons: Where a pupil cannot attend due to illness or other unforeseen personal reasons, the Company may, at its discretion, offer a transfer or partial refund upon receipt of reasonable supporting evidence. This does not create an automatic right to refund once the cooling-off period has expired.
1B. Change Requests
Date changes depend on instructor availability. If we cannot accommodate your new date, the original booking stands. Choosing not to proceed is treated as a late cancellation under 1A.
1C. Amendments by the Company
In rare cases (e.g. instructor illness, scheduling conflict, or reduced capacity) we may alter your dates. We’ll notify you promptly and offer an alternative. If none is possible, a refund or partial refund will be considered at our discretion. We’re not liable for consequential losses arising from timetable changes.
Repeated postponement: If we must postpone your course more than once for reasons within our control, you may request a refund of undelivered hours, processed under Section 1D.
1D. Refund Process and Timeframes
Once a refund is authorised in writing, instructor / DVSA costs are reviewed and logged. Most refunds are processed within 28 days of authorisation; complex cases may take longer. Refunds are paid to the original payer via the original method.
Where cash-flow timing requires a staged repayment, this will be agreed in writing and honoured as scheduled.
(In exceptional circumstances of temporary capacity or cash-flow constraint, the Company may reschedule courses or process staged refunds provided this is communicated clearly in writing and completed within a reasonable timeframe.)
1E. When Refunds May Be Declined
Refunds may be refused where the course has been substantially delivered; lessons were missed or cancelled short-notice by the pupil; instructor or DVSA fees have already been paid; a reasonable alternative (replacement or reschedule) was offered and declined; or where the request is based solely on dissatisfaction with teaching style without evidence of misconduct or non-delivery.
1F. Instructor Withdrawal or Replacement
If your instructor becomes unavailable — before or mid-course — we’ll make reasonable efforts to re-allocate. If we still hold your funds and cannot replace, a pro-rata refund will be issued for unused hours. If the instructor already holds those funds, any refund must be arranged directly with them; we will assist where possible.
Once payment has been transferred to your instructor, responsibility for the completion, rescheduling, or refund of any remaining lessons passes to them. We will assist with mediation and communication to ensure the matter is resolved fairly, but we are not financially responsible for funds already transferred.
Guide rates: instructor £40–£45 per hour | admin ≈ deposit amount. Exact figures depend on hours used, bookings made, and cancellation status.
1G. Flexible Scheduling and Course Delivery
Courses normally 20 hours (5-day) or 28 hours (7-day). Lessons may be split across days or weeks to fit instructor capacity. You’ll be offered a selection of available start dates; if you can’t commit to any, the course may be placed on hold until mutually suitable.
If an instructor is temporarily unavailable, remaining lessons may be rescheduled. Where rescheduling causes an unreasonable delay or you are unable to continue, a replacement instructor or pro-rata refund will be offered in line with Section 1F.
Key points:
Missed or shortened sessions are not refundable.
Schedule changes require mutual consent once agreed.
Late arrival or early finish does not entitle extra hours.
Instructors / vehicles may be substituted if necessary.
You must hold a valid UK provisional licence and meet DVSA eyesight standards.
DVSA test delays are outside our control and do not constitute grounds for a refund (we will assist in finding the earliest available date).
1H. Payments and Balance Deadlines
Courses may be booked with a deposit or full payment. If a deposit is paid, the balance is due 7 days before the confirmed course start, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Failure to pay may result in cancellation and loss of the deposit to cover administrative and allocation costs. Courses will not begin until the balance is cleared.
Goodwill discounts and credits: Any agreed goodwill payment, credit, or discount is conditional upon full completion of the booked course and test (if applicable). Goodwill payments are processed after course and test completion and are not payable if the course is cancelled or incomplete.
1I. Conditional Discounts and Goodwill Offers
Any discount, credit, or goodwill reduction agreed by the Company is conditional upon completion of the booked course and a driving test attempt (where applicable). If the pupil withdraws or fails to complete the course, the discounted amount becomes repayable and will be deducted from any refund calculation or balance owed.
2. Training and Instructor Type
All tuition is delivered by independent DVSA-registered instructors. This may include Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) or part-qualified instructors (PDIs) licensed by the DVSA to teach while completing their qualification. PDIs are trained to the same national standards and supported by our senior ADIs. If you prefer not to be taught by a PDI, please inform us at the time of booking and we will accommodate this where possible.
Passing a driving test cannot be guaranteed. Additional lessons may be required at extra cost, payable directly to your instructor.
3. Theory and Practical Tests
We can assist with booking official DVSA tests. If a pre-paid DVSA test cannot be secured, the DVSA fee will be refunded in full.
Where no suitable local slot is available, we may book a holding date at another DVSA centre to secure your place in the system; you may later transfer to your preferred centre. Our responsibility ends once a confirmed test date has been secured on your DVSA record.
Test-day vehicle use and distance: Use of an instructor’s vehicle and time on the day of your driving test is a private arrangement between you and your instructor and may incur an additional fee, typically payable directly to them. Some packages include the first-test vehicle use — this will be clearly stated on the product page at booking. The Company cannot guarantee an instructor’s availability for any driving test. Pupils must confirm any proposed or booked DVSA test date directly with their instructor, even where the Company assists or books the test on the pupil’s behalf. Unless otherwise agreed, tests should be booked at a DVSA centre within 10 miles of the pupil’s primary pick-up address.
If your DVSA practical test remains unscheduled for over six months from payment, you may request a refund of the DVSA test fee while we continue assisting in finding a slot.
4. Cancellation Fee Policy
If a refund is permitted, a cancellation fee equal to the deposit may be applied. In genuine emergencies we may waive or credit this at our discretion.
5. Free Theory Retraining
You will have access to our online theory training platform until you pass your theory test.
6. Force Majeure
We are not liable for DVSA test centre closures, weather disruption, illness, industrial action, or other events beyond our reasonable control that affect scheduling or delivery.
7. Mentoring Retest Programme
If you fail your driving test after completing your course, you may request free mentoring support. Submit your DL25 test report within 7 days. Any further training must be arranged privately with your instructor.
8. Our Role as Agent and Payment Handling
We act solely as a booking agent: we arrange courses, coordinate communication, and retain a variable commission. The remainder is allocated to instructors.
Our role is to make the initial connection between pupil and instructor. Once the instructor has confirmed the schedule, ongoing lesson management and communication take place directly between you and your instructor.
Funds are not ring-fenced and may be used operationally before your course. Refunds are made only under these Terms. Commission figures are not itemised on receipts.
9. Instructor Relationship and Responsibility
Instructors are self-employed. You acknowledge that:
Your tuition contract is with the instructor;
They are responsible for lesson quality, vehicle safety, and test readiness; and
Extra lessons, test-day fees, or direct refunds must be agreed with them.
Once payment has been transferred to your instructor, the instructor is solely responsible for delivering the agreed tuition hours in full.
Any agreement between a pupil and instructor to hold back, delay, or privately rearrange hours outside the booked course schedule is treated as a private arrangement between those parties. Such hours remain the responsibility of the instructor once funds have been transferred and are not covered by the Company’s refund or delivery obligations. We will, however, assist in communication or mediation where reasonable to help both sides reach a fair resolution.
10. Complaints and Resolution
If you experience any issue during your course, please let us or your instructor know as soon as possible so we can address it while training is in progress. We may be unable to review concerns raised only after completion.
Please raise issues promptly: (1) with your instructor, then (2) with our admin team if unresolved. We will assist or mediate where possible. Refunds or compensation for tuition remain at the instructor’s discretion unless otherwise agreed.
11. Liability Disclaimer
We accept no liability for injury, loss, or dissatisfaction arising from tuition. Our liability is limited to administration or communication errors within our control. All instructors must hold valid DVSA registration and insurance.
12. VAT Information
VAT is applied where applicable based on our registration status and agency commission structure. As we operate under an agency model, VAT may apply only to the commission retained by Bristol and Bath Intensive Courses. The instructor’s portion of the fee is passed on directly and may not be subject to VAT through us. If you require a VAT invoice, please request this at the time of booking.
13. Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be handled in the courts of England and Wales.
14. Legal Entity Disclosure
Bristol and Bath Intensive Courses is a UK sole-trader business operating under a registered trading name. Full legal details of the proprietor are available in our Privacy Policy and on request, in accordance with UK business disclosure requirements.
Plain-English Summary
Bookings are provisional until your instructor confirms.
14-day cooling-off applies unless you ask us to start sooner.
After that, refunds are fair / pro-rata; standard processing 28 days after approval.
If an instructor is unavailable: replacement or pro-rata refund (if funds held by us).
If the instructor has already been paid: they are responsible; we mediate.
Temporary delays can be rescheduled; long delays → replacement/refund.
Balance due 7 days before start; unpaid balances may cancel the course and forfeit the deposit.
Goodwill/discounts only paid after full completion (course + test if applicable).
Private side-arrangements between pupil and instructor are outside our liability.
Raise complaints during the course where possible.
English law applies.
