Payment & Booking Policy

How payments, bookings, cancellations and refunds work at West London Driving School. Please read before booking a lesson or package.

Last updated · August 2026

Payment Making a Booking Cancellations & Rescheduling Refunds Credit & Expiry Gift Packages

Section 1

Payment

Pay-as-you-go lessons must be paid in advance — either at least one week before the scheduled lesson, or at the start of each lesson if paying by cash.
Block bookings and packages must be paid in full before lessons commence.
Payments may always be made directly to your allocated instructor by cash or bank transfer.
Where online card payment is offered on our website, it is processed securely by Stripe. Your card is authorised at booking and only charged once your instructor confirms — a booking cancelled before confirmation releases the hold and takes no money.
Card payments for lessons with a participating instructor go directly into that instructor’s own Stripe account: as independent franchisees, the instructor is the merchant, and West London Driving School never holds these funds. Online card availability may vary by instructor and can be withdrawn at any time.

Section 2

Making a Booking

Students confirm bookings by replying to a confirmation text from their instructor, which may include payment details.
Lessons are typically scheduled for two hours unless otherwise agreed. One-hour sessions may be available at the instructor’s discretion.
Any booking made through our website, by phone, text, or messaging apps (e.g. WhatsApp) constitutes automatic agreement to our Terms & Conditions.

Section 3

Cancellations & Rescheduling

A minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required to cancel or reschedule a lesson or driving test. Less notice will result in the full lesson fee being charged.
All cancellations must be communicated directly to your allocated instructor by phone call or text message.
Once a cancellation is requested, the lesson is considered cancelled — a confirmation from your instructor is not required for it to take effect.

Section 4

Refunds

We aim to deal with refund requests fairly and without argument. The rules below never reduce your statutory right to cancel within 14 days — see Your Right to Cancel in our Terms. Refunds are requested directly from your assigned franchisee instructor, not head office.
For block bookings, refunds are calculated at the standard hourly rate for hours used; the balance is refunded. A £30 administration fee applies to discretionary refunds outside the 14-day statutory period. It is never deducted from a statutory cancellation, which is refunded in full.
Discretionary refunds are issued on the last Friday of each month; requests after the 15th are processed the following month. Refunds under your statutory right to cancel are not batched — they are paid within 14 days of your cancellation. Intensive and semi-intensive courses are non-refundable once the course has started, because the dates are reserved exclusively for you. Your 14-day statutory right to cancel still applies before the course begins.
Intensive courses: instructors will endeavour to fully commit to the published or agreed dates and times. If unforeseen circumstances force a change mid-course, replacement dates or times will be offered — students must remain reasonably flexible to accommodate these adjustments, which do not give rise to a refund. Fixed-date courses booked online are secured by card authorisation and charged on instructor confirmation.
Online card payments: a booking cancelled before confirmation releases the card hold with no charge. Once a payment has been taken, refunds are issued by the merchant that received it (your instructor’s Stripe account for participating instructors) back to your original card.

Section 5

Credit & Expiry

All purchases (lessons, packages and courses) are converted into credit, measured in hours.
Credit is kept alive by taking lessons. The clock runs from your last completed lesson — or, if you have not yet taken one, from the date of purchase.
Dormant at three months. If three months pass without a completed lesson, your account is marked dormant and we will contact you.
Forfeiture at six months. If six months pass without a completed lesson, any credit still remaining may be forfeited. We will write to you before this happens, and the decision is made by your instructor — credit is never cancelled automatically.
Credit will not expire while you have a lesson booked and confirmed.
Your weekly slot is separate from your credit. Students who miss three consecutive weeks of a fixed weekly slot will forfeit that slot. You keep your credit; the time may be offered to another student.
No refunds are issued for forfeited credit.
These periods may be extended at our discretion — for example for illness, bereavement, or a break agreed in advance. Speak to your instructor.

Section 6

Gift Packages

Gift packages can be purchased without specifying a start date, time, or instructor. Scheduling on redemption is subject to instructor availability.
There may be a waiting period of approximately 1–3 months before lessons commence during busy periods. We recommend redeeming gift packages early.

This policy summarises our payment and booking terms. For the full legal terms — including liability, medical & legal requirements and test-day conditions — see our Terms & Conditions.

Questions about payment or booking?

Get in touch before you book and we’ll happily explain anything in plain language.

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