Terms and
conditions.

1. Bookings and enquiries

Element Driving School is operated by Mark Richardson as a sole trader. Contact Mark on 07548 251293 or email info@elementdrivingschool.co.uk for booking enquiries and customer service. For lesson cancellations, follow section 6 below.

All lessons are subject to availability and confirmation. Please speak to Mark before making payment to confirm lesson arrangements, the price and the applicable terms. An enquiry or payment alone does not guarantee a particular appointment.

Before you enter a contract, Mark will provide the required business contact and geographical address details, the agreed services and price, and any applicable cancellation information in a form you can keep.

2. Lesson length, location and availability

All standard lessons last two hours. Lessons start and finish at Barnstaple Bus Station and take place in Barnstaple test areas. Lessons are on weekdays only, subject to availability.

Lesson dates and times must be agreed with Mark. Additional gap-fill appointments are subject to availability, with a maximum of two lessons per week unless expressly agreed otherwise.

3. Prices and block bookings

Standard tuition costs £45 per hour: £90 per two-hour lesson. A 10-hour block costs £400 and is delivered as five two-hour lessons, equivalent to £80 per session.

Automatic tuition is planned for 2027. Dates, vehicles, instructors and automatic tuition prices have not yet been confirmed. The prices above apply to manual tuition. Any different service, intensive course or test-day arrangement will be quoted and agreed separately before booking. Price changes apply to future bookings and will not retrospectively change a prepaid block.

4. Booking deposit

A £100 deposit is required to secure your booking. Mark will confirm in writing how the deposit is credited against your tuition before payment. It is an advance payment, not an additional charge on top of the agreed tuition price.

The deposit reserves tuition time and is normally non-refundable if you cancel, but only to the extent necessary to cover a lawful cancellation charge or actual loss. It is not automatically forfeited in every circumstance. Any deduction must take account of costs saved and replacement bookings. Statutory cancellation and refund rights take priority.

5. Payments

Lesson payment is due by the Friday before the week of the lesson, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Advance payment is required to secure appointments. If payment is overdue, Mark may release an appointment after notifying you.

Payment methods and any outstanding balance will be confirmed directly. Please retain your payment confirmations and check your Total Drive records.

6. Learner cancellations and non-attendance

Please give at least 48 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or move a lesson. This means 48 consecutive hours, including weekends and bank holidays, not working days. Contact Mark directly by phone or text; an undelivered message is not reliable notice.

If you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice or miss a lesson, the charge may be the full applicable session rate: £90 for a standard lesson or £80 for a two-hour lesson within a £400 block. The charge will not exceed the actual loss caused by your cancellation or the applicable session rate, whichever is lower.

Reasonable efforts will be made to refill the appointment and reduce the loss. Replacement bookings and costs saved will be taken into account. You will not be charged twice for the same lost appointment, and a deposit will not be retained in addition to a charge for the same loss.

This policy does not override any statutory cooling-off right.

7. Changes or cancellations by the instructor

Mark may need to cancel, postpone or rearrange a lesson if unable to attend or safely provide tuition. Reasons may include an agreed driving test taking priority, mechanical breakdown, accidents, illness, holidays, severe weather, unavoidable traffic, or another event preventing attendance.

You will be told as soon as reasonably possible. A driving-test priority change must be confirmed with you. If Mark cannot provide a prepaid lesson, you may agree an alternative appointment or receive a refund for the tuition not provided. There is no learner cancellation charge for an instructor cancellation.

These arrangements do not remove any remedies available under consumer law.

8. Licence, eyesight and fitness to drive

You must hold a valid licence entitling you to undertake the tuition and bring it when requested. Mark may ask to check your driving entitlement before tuition. You must meet the legal eyesight requirements and wear any required corrective lenses.

Tell Mark about any condition, medication, injury or other circumstance that may affect safe driving or require adjustments. You must not attend under the influence of alcohol or drugs or when otherwise unfit to drive. Tuition may be stopped where continuing would be unsafe; any charge must be fair and reflect the circumstances and actual loss.

9. Safety and conduct

Follow safety instructions and treat the instructor, vehicle and other road users respectfully. Mark may intervene, use the dual controls, or stop a lesson when necessary for safety.

Abusive, threatening or dangerous behaviour may result in tuition being ended. Any payment retained or further charge must be proportionate and lawful. Unused prepaid tuition will be refunded after any justified deduction.

10. Progress, practice and test readiness

Tuition is tailored to your experience, progress and learning needs. No number of lessons, pass date or test result is guaranteed. Any estimate of the hours you may need is guidance only.

Mock tests and feedback help assess readiness. Mark will give an honest professional assessment; passing a mock test does not guarantee success in the practical test.

11. Driving tests and use of the tuition car

Discuss test dates and car availability with Mark before booking or changing a practical test. Tuition-car use must be agreed in advance and any test-day charges confirmed separately.

The car is available only where Mark considers you test-ready, including after the pre-test assessment. It is not hired out to unknown candidates. If safety concerns mean it cannot be provided, Mark will explain the reasons promptly and discuss the available options.

Any consequences for test fees or other losses depend on the circumstances and your legal rights. Nothing in these terms removes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

12. Ending tuition and unused credit

You may end tuition by contacting Mark. The 48-hour policy applies to any booked appointments, subject to statutory rights. Mark may end tuition for a legitimate reason, including an unresolved safety concern, serious misconduct or non-payment, and will explain the reason.

Unused prepaid tuition will be refunded after deducting tuition already delivered and any fair, lawful cancellation charges. Completed lessons from a £400 block are valued at the agreed block rate of £40 per hour, unless a different fair arrangement was clearly agreed before purchase. No arbitrary administration penalty will be applied.

13. Gift vouchers

Where gift vouchers are offered, they are valid for 12 months from issue. The value, issue date and expiry date will be confirmed at purchase. Redemption is subject to lesson availability and the relevant booking terms.

Please contact Mark in good time to arrange lessons. Statutory cancellation and refund rights remain unaffected. Contact Mark if exceptional circumstances prevent use before expiry.

14. Online and telephone booking cancellation rights

Where the Consumer Contracts Regulations apply to a booking made online, by telephone or away from business premises, you generally have 14 days from the day after the contract is made to cancel without giving a reason.

To cancel, tell Mark clearly by telephone or text on 07548 251293. You can use this wording, but do not have to: “I wish to cancel my driving tuition contract, agreed on [date]. My name is [name].” Keep a record of your cancellation.

If you want lessons to start during that period, Mark will obtain your express request first. If you then cancel, you may be required to pay a proportionate amount for services already supplied. The right to cancel is lost on full performance only where the necessary prior consent and acknowledgement have been given. Applicable refunds will be made within the statutory time limit, normally 14 days after notice, using the original payment method unless agreed otherwise.

The ordinary 48-hour policy does not take away a statutory right to cancel. Full cancellation information will be provided before a qualifying booking.

15. Service standards, liability and complaints

Tuition will be provided with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in these terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded. Your statutory rights and remedies remain in place.

If you have a concern, email info@elementdrivingschool.co.uk with the lesson date and a description of the issue. Mark will investigate and work with you to resolve it. Our customer service and complaints policy explains how to raise a complaint, our response targets and how to request a further review. Where required by law, appropriate information about alternative dispute resolution will be supplied if a complaint cannot be resolved.

16. Personal information, changes and governing law

Personal information is used to respond to enquiries, arrange and deliver tuition, keep appropriate business records and meet legal obligations. See the website’s privacy information and the privacy notice supplied when you book. Total Drive provides its own information about its services.

Changes to these terms will be communicated before they apply. They will not retrospectively remove rights under an existing booking. If part of these terms is unenforceable, the remainder continues where lawful.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory consumer protections that apply to you. Nothing restricts your right to bring a claim in a court available to you under consumer law.