[lostwomen]

Hi All, October 2006 I paid cash in full desparately wanting to become a driving instructor, unfortunately we had a serious family problem, I became so depressed, couldnt get any lower, i wrote to passmasters who refused to give a refund. Our court case came and went, told myself now was the time to make a fresh start, I phoned passmasters october 2008 telling them of the situation we had been through and asked if I was still able to proceed with the course after 2years has passed, I was told not to worry, they would start the course afresh from january this year, another 2years, which i thought was very decent of them, I have studied constantly and feel ready to go ahead with my first test.
Today I just happend to brouse through what imformation i could find to help me through the course and came across this website, I have read that once i start the part 2 training, Im had!! because I'd have to sign for lessons I'd recieve,
Do you think it would be better for me to try to get a refund now before I go any further, Im actually frightend now to go ahead for fear of been taught incorrectly, I know there is a driving instructor in the area and have been told the name of the person who will be teaching me, turns out its the driving instructor, who has recently let my sister down with her driving lessons, another situation thats making me feel uneasy with passmasters.
Would the only way i could recieve a refund in full be if I could supply them with Doctors letters, Thanks..

[Nomatterwhat]

Dear lost woman if I was you I would ask for your money back and run as far away as possible from passmasters. I am trying to claim my money back from them I paid using the finance offer which i have paid in full to benefit from the interest free over 12 months. I have trained with passmasters now for less than a year i am not happy with their service at all. The driving instructor is very good thats where the good stops passmasters are happy to promise the earth what they are doing is giving such a bad service that we get bored stop our lessons when we try to get our money back they come up with alot of excuses they refuse to give our money back no skin off their nose if we don't like the service. As a member of Motor Standards agency i will be be highlighting the situation also with the DSA this should not be allowed to continue. Nobody else gets money up front for shoddy work unless your a cowboy this is clearly what passmasters are.
All the best nomatterwhat

[formerPMinstructor]

[Nomatterwhat]

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunatley I long to be a driving instructor even though I feel let down by Passmasters I will continue to seek out a company that is not all glossy brochure. I know I am at fault too I jumped on the first company I read about, I just feel they are not as supportive as they could of been. I have spoken with the director of passmasters he made it very clear he was not interested in my ambition, I soon realised he is only interested in the money and not my ambition. You are right I should not be on here moaning about this however I want other people to think before jumping in with both feet. I am surprised that the Motor Schools Association of which I am a member & DSA are not pointing this out to people showing them how difficult it is to become a driving instructor it appears to me these companies have been getting away with misleading people. I will take your advise try citizen advice.

King Regards

[RotHeissPfefferStreber]

I don't think FormerPMInstructor was referring to you, Nomatterwhat.

Don't get bogged down, though, in what the schools aren't telling you: no company in the world advertises its services and then tries to put you off buying those services by telling you how bad things are.

The failure rate is well known if people look - but they only see what they want to see in the beginning. Then they start blaming others when reality hits home - that is what FPMI was referring to (covered in other current threads).

The one thing you have got to realise is that no matter how much you want something, you might not be cut out for it - or you may simply lose out on the luck of the draw.

This applies to everyone who has ever tried and failed/succeeded at the three exams. Whether we agree that the exams are discriminating or not, you have to pass them - and no matter who you train with there is a 94% failure rate.

[formerPMinstructor]

[lostwomen]

Thankyou for your reply, Ive wanted to be an instructor for many years,but have waited till my children are of an age to be left on there own, Ive been taking my sister out which i am happy to say has built her confidence up imensely that her instructor can see a difference in her, Driving, Handling, confidence etc. Your right it is what ive been reading on this site that has put doubts in my head as to going ahead with passmasters, Im not going into it for a sky high salary, Ive been driving for over 20years being told by many of my passengers how safe they feel when in the car with me, I would very much like to pass this on to learner drivers.

[ferret75]

Hi all

I signed up for a Pass masters course approx three year ago.

I did the one day induction but not done any of the course or passed part one.

The reason is that I injured both my shoulders and have had lots of problems with them and my neck. Which has made driving safety impossible and also painfull.

I also discovered in that time that I have a Enlarged heart and high blood pressure problems im only 34, and Im concerned about future insurance and medical implications.

As I said I only have had the one day induction and no training as such.

With my health worries and shoulder & neck injuries, I was wonder if it would be worth trying to get some of my money back, as following the career isn't really possible or wise anymore.


I did write to Passmasters last year explaining this and asking that some sort of arrangement could be made, but I just got a letter back stating no refunds are given and there's no time limit for the course.

Has anyone any advise how to do this or has anyone had any joy getting a refund from Passmasters.

Many thanks all

[Nomatterwhat]

I am sorry to hear about your situation. if I was you I would go to a solicitor the first half hour is free. Due to you circumstances you should get your money back, passmasters are never going to complete your training you think they would look into this matter further however they are hoping you will not create to much fuss and go away leaving them with a nice sum of money for doing nothing. There has to be something you can do. All the best.

[ferret75]

I was thinking of getting legal advice, and to let Passmasters receive a letter from them and they might take it more seriously.

I know they running a business but I paid £2800 for a one day induction. Even if I got the majority of that back id be happy.

I'm going to get my letters and dates prepared then ring a solicitor next week will see how it goes.

Thanks for the message wish me luck hehe

[formerPMinstructor]

[ferret75]

Hi there thanks for the message.

Well I took the finance option which was train now pay in a year.

I paid the full finance in Full £2800 before the year was up so was interest free.

Of course if I didn't pay before the year then I would have gone on the finance plan with the interest.

I settled in full.

I'm not sure if it changes anything but any advice helps.

Many thanks

[formerPMinstructor]

[ferret75]

Hi again thanks for the reply. Well I'm hoping they understand that and I maybe accept the majority of the money back instead of all so they can cover costs etc.

I'm going to ring a solicitor this week and arrange a consultation and see what they think.

Hopefully a good outcome will come from it in time.

Thanks for the advice and info.

[DarrenOP]

Has anyone been successful getting a refund from these?
A good friend has been ripped off by these so I'm going to help him to try and get his money back since I've had dealings with scam companies in the past and pursuing them for refunds.

I'm going to contact trading standards and possibly form a group on Facebook to bring people together who want to challenge Passmaster but in the first instance I'd like to know how others got on in the past challenging Passmaster.

[formerPMinstructor]

[Brightonman]

I have heard the same gripes time and again, the only variation is the type of product and the organisations providing it. The only advice that I can give is NEVER PAY UP FRONT FOR ANYTHING unless it is on a credit card and even then, be very careful! In the scheme of things, £2,800 isn't a lot of money compared to the stress, frustration and cost of trying to get any money back.

[RotHeissPfefferStreber]

Especially when you just decide you don't want the product because you can't use it.

And the more a product is advertised, the more of this type of person gets taken in by the fantasy.

[John Howieson]

Been reading comments bout the training of driving instructors with interest. I was made redundant 4 mnths ago and because ther is a shortage of vacancies in auto trade decided to look at something else, supposed to go to Red Driving School tomorrow for an informal interview. Thanks to you guys for pointing out some of the pitfalls in training as i honestly didnt know that pass rate was as low as it is. Im still going along tomorrow but at least i am going with my eyes wide open and be less likely to just jump right in ther and sign away a few thousand quid. Has any one had any dealings with red ad how do they compare with Passmasters

[RotHeissPfefferStreber]

Red does what it says on the tin. You pay money, they train you.

Most training establishments do exactly the same - but FPMI is best placed to give any specific information about Passmasters (anything I would say would just be hearsay).

Just one piece of advice: sift through the crap and make your own decision about who to go with (and I don't mean FPMI's information is crap). Don't let other people decide for you.

Hang on: two pieces of advice. Only go for this if you really want the hassle associated with being an instructor. Qualifying isn't a walk in the park, and being an ADI isn't a luxury cruise

[formerPMinstructor]

hey John

Some honest advice for you mate based on my time training with and working for Passmasters. Where this company is concerned, and many others too, the Instructor Training Industry is easy money, about 3K per client that they take on. There is no process of selection and all they're looking for is a willingness to part with your money but more preferably a willingness to take on credit. As with all advertising which is legal, although misleading to many, they make highly inflated claims about earnings, timescales and levels of customer care and support.

This is a small company with limited cars working out of rented office space, with a one person 'Call Centre', and despite having only a few cars who they cannot keep busy, they seek to take on more and more PDIs every month. Why? Are they expanding? No....they know that for every ten PDIs who start training only one is likely to succeed. Its 30K pure profit and the truth is that they don't want you to pass. Why? i hear you say...well, if you pass they have to find you pupils and the more instructors they have the more pupils they need to source. Passmasters isn't a big enough entity to cope with that.

I've said this in the past, and some have disagreed with it, but from my own experience, and that of my colleagues, of my own area and surrounding areas it really isn't the best time to be an instructor. All the big franchise driving schools are slashing prices to keep pupils coming through the door but they're not cutting franchise prices so, result? Many instructors are going it alone and still struggling. Every time i'm at the test centres instructors are moaning about the lack of work. Instructors who were normally on the road all day are now spending half their working day at home. Some areas may be lucky and not experiencing this down turn, or admitting it, but the 'credit crunch' is certainly taking effect in my experience. And on top of this the schools still want you as a PDI with promises of huge earnings. They are making money out of you!

I have no experience of RED driving school myself but i've heard the gripes and bitching about them. Many complaints about RED are similar to Passmasters so you will have to draw your own conclusions there John.

[John Howieson]

Hi former PMinstructor thanks for your advice mate its much appreciated. I was totally undecided what to do until now, you dont sound like a bitter twisted ex employee with an axe too grind, if you were i wouldnt pay any heed to what you were saying, you have probably saved me a lot of aggro and money with your sound advice. So as i said thanks a lot mate and all the best.

[RotHeissPfefferStreber]

Oh, look. A retard wants everyone to take notice of him.

Isn't it cute?

[RotHeissPfefferStreber]

Just to clarify - some dickhead posted a huge wad of pictures which completely screwed up the page laout of the most popular topics on this site.

Admin has deleted that post, but not my reply to it, so no one take umbrage

[jonin60seconds]

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