Your instructor and GoldStar Driving Academy
Your instructor is a self-employed franchisee (‘your instructor’) of GoldStar Driving Academy ( ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’).
GoldStar Driving Academy acts as an agent for your instructor in receiving your payments for driving tuition other than payments made directly by you to your instructor. Where GoldStar Driving Academy makes bookings with or supplies any information or documentation to you or processes any payments for your lessons, they act as the agent of your instructor.
The contract for driving tuition is solely between you (‘you’) and your instructor.
Tuition
Tuition is only available to persons who meet the following criteria:
Aged 17 or over or aged 16 or over and in receipt of the higher rate of Disability Living Allowance (mobility component); and
hold a valid UK provisional driving licence; and
legally entitled to drive in the UK.
Lessons
You and your instructor are responsible for agreeing on all matters relating to the timing, location and duration of individual lessons.
You must notify your instructor of any matters which affect your ability or entitlement to have driving tuition, for example, but not limited to any lack, or loss, of a valid UK provisional driving licence.
Responsibility:
The driving school acknowledges that mechanical or tyre issues may arise during the driving lessons.
The responsibility for the maintenance and roadworthiness of the vehicle lies with the driving school.
Vehicle Inspection:
The driving school commits to regular inspections and maintenance of its vehicles to minimize the risk of mechanical failures.
Pupils are encouraged to report any noticeable issues with the vehicle before the commencement of the driving test.
Pupil Acknowledgment:
By participating in the driving test, the pupil acknowledges the possibility of mechanical or tyre issues and agrees not to hold the driving school liable for any resulting consequences.
Alternative Arrangements:
In case of a breakdown during the driving test, the driving school will make reasonable efforts to provide an alternative vehicle if available. However, this is not guaranteed.
Safety First:
The driving school prioritizes the safety of both the pupil and the examiner. If a mechanical issue compromises safety, the driving test may be terminated, and a retest may be scheduled at the discretion of the licensing authority.
By proceeding with the driving test, the pupil agrees to abide by these terms and conditions.
Cancellation of lessons
If you wish to cancel a lesson a minimum of 48 hours prior notice should be given. Cancellations by you must be directly between you and your instructor.
If you do not give at least 48 hours’ notice of cancellation you will be charged for the lesson(s) concerned in full. Please note that in the event of you having booked your driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) stipulates that you need to give three clear working days to cancel your test. This may mean that you may/will lose your DVSA test fee if your instructor says you are not ready for the test within this three-day notice period.
Timekeeping & Traffic delays
Our instructors cannot be held responsible for delays due to traffic delays
For any lesson start time that is running late, the pupil will be contacted by the instructor in advance (phone signal provided)
Where possible, our instructors will make up any lost time at the end of the current lesson or add to a future booking
Any loss of test fees, due to late arrival, is non-refundable by either GoldStar Driving Academy, their Instructors or DVSA
We will use your data for the purpose(s) for which you have provided it. It may also be used for marketing, research statistical purposes and crime prevention.
If you give us information about another person, in doing so you confirm that they have permitted you to provide it to us to be able to process their 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.
In the case of personal data, with exceptions, you have the right to access and if necessary rectify information held about you by formal written application to GoldStar Driving Academy
By providing us with your data and contact details, you consent to the use of that data and to your being contacted by GoldStar Driving Academy, by post, telephone, email, SMS or other electronic means, to inform you about products and services which it considers may be of interest to you. These sources are collected by:
Mailchimp
Gmail
However, you can unsubscribe from these messages at any time.
Your calls to the Customer Service Centre may be recorded for security, quality monitoring and training purposes
Photographs and In-Car Training Videos
You agree to allow GoldStar Driving Academy / Franchised Instructors to post pictures of your driving test pass on our social media pages.
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. These Standard Checks are called at random by the DVSA for them to check that all driving instructors are adhering to the high standards of tuition set by the DVSA. These videos will be posted as “unlisted” on our “Driving Instructor Training Academy” YouTube site and are used solely by our Driving Instructor Trainers to assess and improve the standards of our driving instructor franchisee’s tutoring.
As afore, GoldStar Driving Academy ltd are agents for your instructor in receiving your payments for driving tuition other than payments made directly by you to your instructor. Where GoldStar Driving Academy makes bookings with or supplies any information or documentation to you or processes any payments for your lessons, they act as the agent of your instructor.
Payments and lesson bookings
You must pay for any tuition on the day of the lesson in cash.
Price changes
The cost of prepaid tuition is based on the lesson price in force at the time of booking and, except the circumstances set out below, will be honoured for 12 months thereafter irrespective of any price increase that may occur between the date of booking and when the lessons are taken. Any unused lessons remaining after 12 months have elapsed shall have any lesson price increase applied before the lessons which shall become payable by you.
Circumstances where, if you have prepaid, you will be either be required to pay an additional amount beyond the cost of your pre-paid lessons or receive a refund of some of your prepayments (as applicable):
Where you have moved postcode area and requested reallocation to another instructor because your current instructor does not operate in the new postcode area, you will be required to cover any difference in the hourly rate between those instructors where your new instructor charges a higher hourly rate or, where your instructor charges a lower rate, you will be refunded the difference.
Where you have requested to switch instructors within the same postcode area and your new instructor charges a higher hourly rate than your previous instructor, you will be required to pay the difference in the hourly rate or, where your instructor charges a lower rate, receive a refund of the difference.
Where you have requested to switch instructors in the same postcode area and your new instructor charges a supplement (for example an additional fee for tuition in a car with automatic transmission), you will be required to pay any such supplement.
Where you have not undertaken any lessons for three months and have been reallocated an instructor after a price rise in tuition has taken place you will be required to pay the difference in price for your remaining lessons.
Refund policy and warranty
You are entitled to cancel your prepaid tuition at any time (for the provisions relating to the cancellation of individual lessons please see ‘Cancellation of lessons’ above). If you have not taken any lesson(s) at the time of cancellation you will be entitled to a full refund of any amounts paid directly to GoldStar Driving Academy, excluding any booking fees subject to the points below.
If you have taken lesson(s) at the time of cancellation you will not be eligible for a refund on any lessons taken, including the booking fee (if applicable).
If you have taken lesson (s) at the time of cancellation you will be required to gain any refund from the driving instructor directly, as he/she would receive the complete booking payment (as per Payment and Lesson bookings above)
Where it is possible to do so, we/your instructor will refund you using the same method you used to pay for your lessons when you made the payment. If for any reason we are unable to do this, we reserve the right to refund you by any other method we deem appropriate.
We may request additional information from you to confirm your identity to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007; we will also use this information to ensure adherence to our Merchant Operating Instructions for card collection facilities.
Refunds may take up to 10 working days to reach you or your account.
Refund of partial block booking will be made pro rata on any lessons not taken.
If you have paid your instructor for the tuition you wish to cancel, your instructor will refund you adhering to the same principles as set out above.
Transfer-ability of lessons
You cannot sell or transfer lessons to any other person, which have been purchased in your name.
Limitation of liability
Your instructor and/or GoldStar Driving Academy are not liable to you for any loss or damage caused where, and to the extent that:
there is no breach of a legal duty owed to you by the relevant person or body;
such loss or damage is not a reasonably foreseeable result of such a breach;
any such loss or damage, or increase in the same, results from any breach or omission by you
any such loss or damage results from circumstances or matters outside of the reasonable control of the relevant person or body.
Your instructor and/or GoldStar Driving Academy shall not, in any event, be liable for losses relating to any business interests you may have including, without limitation, lost profits, lost earnings, loss of opportunity or business or business interruption.
You are reminded that GoldStar Driving Academy is not a party to the contract for driving tuition itself, which is between you and your instructor. This does not affect any liability that GoldStar Driving Academy may have for any loss or damage you may incur which is caused directly as a result of any breach (including negligence) by it or them of any legal duty owed by it or them to you.
Nothing in these terms and conditions will affect any statutory rights you may have as a consumer.
Insurance
Your instructor will carry the appropriate motor insurance, should you be involved in a collision as a learner driver while in control of driving the instructor’s tuition vehicle.
Driving Test :
In the event of mechanical or tyre issues during the driving test, the driving school is not responsible for any inconveniences caused to the pupil.
There will be no refunds issued by the driving school as such incidents are considered unforeseeable and can occur at any time.
Law applying to terms and conditions
These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of England and are subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
Complaints procedure
If you have any concerns or complaints about any part of your driving tuition which cannot be resolved with your instructor, please contact the GoldStar Driving Academy Customer Service
Customer care
Your contract is between you and your instructor.
In the rare event of any problem arising, you should resolve this with your instructor immediately. We recommend no further lessons are taken until the matter is resolved.
In the unlikely event that you are unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion, we will be happy to investigate further until the matter is resolved. Please note that we will require evidence of any financial transactions and lesson times before we can investigate. Therefore, your Driver Record (provided to you by your instructor) details must be kept accurate and up to date. Should you require us to investigate any matter, please contact our Special Investigations team by one of the following methods:
Call: 07939 448899 or 07984 667 551
