Topclass Driving School Terms and Conditions
These terms set out the basis on which driving lessons and courses are offered by your local Topclass driving instructor. Your contract for tuition is with your local instructor, not with Topclass Driving School directly. Each instructor is an independent, self-employed franchisee who has agreed to be bound by these terms. The Topclass Booking Office acts as booking agent for the network.
Your Instructor
Your driving instructor is an independent, self-employed franchisee of Topclass Driving School.
Lessons
You must hold a current, valid provisional, full or international driving licence and produce it at your first lesson. You must meet the legal and medical fitness-to-drive requirements, including being able to read a number plate at 20.5 metres (about 67 feet) using glasses or contact lenses if you normally wear them.
The tuition contract is between you and your instructor. You and your instructor agree the timing, location and duration of lessons directly with each other, and each lesson you book constitutes an agreement between you and your instructor.
Pupils are expected to take at least one lesson per week to maintain consistency and progress.
Where Topclass makes bookings, supplies information, or takes payment on your behalf, it does so as your instructor's agent as is standard practice across UK driving schools (e.g. AA, BSM, RED). Topclass is not responsible for disputes between you and your instructor, except where a payment was taken directly by Topclass and is owed back to you (see Refunds, below).
A roadworthy car will be provided, taxed, insured, MOT’d, fitted with dual controls, and serviced to the manufacturer's schedule. Smoking is not permitted in the vehicle, breaks can be taken outside it. Topclass and your instructor are not liable for personal property left in the vehicle, except where loss or damage results from their negligence.
Payments and Bookings
Lessons can be paid for in advance by card or BACS via our website, or directly to your instructor by cash bank transfer or card (ask your instructor whether they accept card payments directly). Payment must be received within 48 hours of a lesson being booked if the lesson is due to take place within 48 hours payment is required immediately. Your account must remain in sufficient credit to cover all booked lesson, if sufficient credit isn’t available, a lesson slot isn’t secured and may be released to another pupil. Topclass is not responsible for payments made directly to an instructor, please get a receipt. If you pay Topclass directly, we remain responsible for that payment and any refund owed on it.
Lessons, motorway lessons, refresher and Pass Plus courses are valid for 3 months from the date of purchase. Lessons must start before the expiry date and be completed within 6 months of purchase. Any lessons not used within this period will be lost and no refunds will be given after it. your statutory rights are unaffected.
Intensive Courses
A 25% booking fee secures your course; the balance is due 2 weeks before the start date, or in full at booking. Invoices are available on request. If you cancel within 14 days of booking, (the day you pay your booking fee) you're entitled to a full refund including the booking fee provided the course hasn't started yet. See Your Right to Cancel below. If your course has already started within those 14 days, you're only charged for what's been delivered, with the rest refunded, in line with Refunds below. Once 14 days have passed since booking, the full amount including the booking fee is non-refundable, whether the course has started or been completed. If you cancel before paying the balance you lose the booking fee but owe nothing further Unlike ordinary lessons and block bookings, intensive courses are not covered by our money-back guarantee.
If we must cancel your course, you will only be charged for lessons already completed. We’ll offer you new dates for the rest or refund them.
Your Right to Cancel (14-Day Cooling-Off Period)
If you bought your lessons or course online, by phone, or anywhere other than in person at our business premises, you have the right to cancel within 14 days of purchase without giving a reason, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. This applies equally to ordinary lessons, block bookings, and intensive courses.
If you ask us to start lessons within this 14-day period, you're agreeing to waive part of this right: any refund due will be calculated as set out under Refunds below, with no admin fee. After the 14 days, refunds are calculated the same way, but a £10 admin fee applies.
If you book a further block of hours after completing an earlier one, each new payment starts its own fresh 14-day period, counted from the date of that payment, regardless of how long you've been a pupil with us.
If you paid your instructor directly by bank transfer or another remote method, before meeting them, this same 14-day right still applies your instructor is responsible for honouring it, not Topclass, since they took the payment.
If you paid your instructor directly by cash at a lesson, this same 14-day right applies, and your instructor is responsible for honouring it. Refunds in this case follow the same rules as set out under Intensive Courses above or refunds below, depending on what you paid for.
Whether paid by cash or bank transfer, a payment made directly to your instructor is a private transaction between you and your instructor. While your instructor has agreed with Topclass to follow these terms, Topclass is not liable for any refund or dispute arising from a payment it did not receive.
To cancel, contact the instructor you booked with. If you booked through Topclass contact us at info@topclassdrivinglessons.com or 0333 772 0393.
Refunds
Refunds for lessons, block bookings (e.g. Try Us and See), and any pre-pay deal not used up before you pass your test, are all worked out the same way, in two steps:
- What you're charged for hours already used. If for any reason your entitled to a refund, Lessons taken are recalculated and charged at our standard rate (£37/hour manual, £39/hour automatic), and the remainder is refunded to you accordingly. Where any discounted block isn’t completed, the discount no longer applies, and lesson taken are charged at the standard rate in the same way, including for an intensive course cancelled within the 14-day cooling off period.
- Whether an admin fee applies. If you're cancelling within 14 days of payment (see Your Right to Cancel above), the balance is refunded in full with no deduction. If you're cancelling after the 14 days, a £10 admin fee and any payment processing charge incurred at booking (currently 1.5%) are deducted from the balance.
Refunds are processed within 7 working days (excluding Sundays and bank holidays). Refunds are only available within the validity period set out in payments and bookings above, once lessons have expired no refund will be given.
Intensive courses and gift vouchers are not covered by this money-back guarantee once the 14-day cooling-off period has passed, see Intensive Courses above and Gift Vouchers below
Gift Vouchers
Vouchers/virtual gift cards are valid for at least 3 months from purchase, to allow for instructor availability. Lessons must start before expiry and finish within 6 months of purchase.
Vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash and lost or stolen vouchers can't be replaced or transferred (to prevent fraud). Pupils should only sign a voucher over to an instructor once the lessons it covers have taken place.
If you cancel within 14 days of purchase, you're entitled to a full refund, provided no lessons have been taken yet see Your Right to Cancel above. If lessons have already started within those 14 days, you're only charged for what's been delivered, with the rest refunded, in line with Refunds above.
Once 14 days have passed since purchase, vouchers are non-refundable, regardless of how many lessons have been used. Unlike a direct block booking, a voucher is bought as a gift, without a start date or lesson schedule attached at the point of purchase — the recipient chooses when to begin, rather than buying into an active, ongoing booking themselves. So, like most gift vouchers, it isn't covered by our ongoing money-back guarantee once the cooling-off period ends.
Call our office to arrange your first lesson once you're ready. Lessons can be booked in 1, 1.5 or 2-hour blocks. Please allow 1–4 working days for postal delivery of physical vouchers.
Offers
Try Us and See and block-booking discounts must be taken in 2-hour slots and paid in advance. One special offer per pupil. Offers are aimed at beginner drivers; if you're not a beginner, the difference must be paid directly to your instructor.
Discounted hours are valid for 3 months from date of purchase lessons must start before the expiry date and be completed within 6 months of purchase. Any lessons not used within this period are lost and no refunds will be given after it. To qualify for try us and see or block booking
Cancellations
Lessons must be cancelled with at least 48 hours' notice, directly with your instructor. Changing the length of a lesson counts as a cancellation for this purpose. Without 48 hours' notice, your instructor may charge for the lesson, unless you provide a doctor's certificate or other reasonable evidence of the circumstances.
Arrival and waiting time: On arrival at the agreed pick-up point, your instructor will send you a message to let you know they're there. If the lesson hasn't started by 10 minutes, your instructor will also call you. If the lesson still hasn't started by 15 minutes, your instructor will take a timestamped photo of the location as a record for Topclass, send you a message confirming they're leaving, and the lesson will still be chargeable.
Your instructor only needs to show that contact was attempted using your correct, on-file phone number not that you read or answered it. Please keep your contact details up to date.
Your instructor may cancel a lesson at short notice (chargeable) if you appear unfit to drive due to alcohol, drugs, or any condition that would make driving illegal. Your instructor may also postpone lessons for safety or operational reasons (e.g. severe weather, vehicle breakdown, illness) any fees already paid carry forward to a rescheduled lesson.
Your instructor may withdraw the test car without notice if you're not judged to be at test standard. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure the test vehicle is roadworthy and complies with all legal requirements. Your instructor isn't liable for vehicle faults outside their control and isn't liable for indirect or consequential losses, though this doesn't limit liability for death, personal injury, or loss caused by their negligence (see below).
Your instructor isn't responsible for test cancellations made by the DVSA (e.g. for weather, sickness, or staffing). Where this happens, the standard 2-hour lesson fee for the test period remains payable; your instructor will advise on claiming compensation from the DVSA.
Liability
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or anything else that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
Complaints
Please raise any complaint with your instructor first. If unresolved, or if you booked through the Topclass Booking Office, call 0333 772 0393, or email info@topclassdrivinglessons.com with your name, address, contact number, your instructor's name, and full details of the complaint, for the attention of the Quality Control Director.
If we can't resolve things between us, we'll help you take the complaint to the DVSA. You can also refer the matter directly to the registrar of approved driving instructors: DVSA Driving Instructor Team, instructorconduct@dvsa.gov.uk or use an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider.
These terms don't affect your statutory rights as a consumer and are governed by the law of England and Wales. By booking driving lessons with Topclass Driving School, you agree to these terms and conditions.
Address: Topclass Driving School, 8 Willowby Gardens, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8TB
Telephone: 0333 772 0393 | Email: info@topclassdrivinglessons.com
Office Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 10am–4pm (closed bank holidays)