Terms & Conditions

Last updated: 18 September 2026

1. About FIRSTLANE AUTOMATIC

FIRSTLANE AUTOMATIC is the trading name of Simon Hull, a sole trader providing automatic driving lessons and intensive driving courses. Business address: Park Drive, Lewes, BN7 2FW.

• Email: Hullsimon22@yahoo.com
• Telephone: 07979 625236

These terms cover your First Drive, regular pay-as-you-go lessons, intensive courses and use of the tuition car for a driving test.

2. Your First Drive — the same offer for everyone

Your First Drive is a 2-hour automatic driving session costing £100, whether you intend to take an intensive course or pay-as-you-go lessons.

During this session you can meet Simon, experience his tuition, have your current ability assessed and discuss suitable tuition before deciding whether to continue. There is no obligation to book further lessons or a course.

The £100 fee pays for this introductory session only. It is separate from and not included in any intensive course price. It is not deducted from a course deposit, course balance or subsequent pay-as-you-go lesson fees.

The £100 First Drive fee must be paid in full at least 48 hours before the scheduled lesson start time. BACS bank transfer is accepted.

3. Regular pay-as-you-go lessons

After your £100 First Drive, regular automatic lessons cost £55 per hour and must be booked in 2-hour sessions, costing £110 per session.

These lessons can be spread over weeks or months, with dates and times agreed with Simon.

Payment of £110 for each subsequent 2-hour pay-as-you-go lesson must be made in full at least 48 hours before its scheduled start time. BACS bank transfer is accepted.

4. Intensive course prices and suitability

Your course hours, price and schedule will be agreed after your First Drive.

These are examples, not guarantees of the hours needed to reach test standard or pass a driving test. Your needs depend on your ability, learning pace and progress. Any additional tuition and its price will be agreed before it is provided.

A course may, for example, be arranged over five days. Course length, daily hours and dates depend on suitability and the agreed schedule; five days is not a guarantee of reaching test standard.

5. Intensive course deposits and payment

After completing your First Drive, you may choose to commit to an intensive course.

A 20% deposit is due when you confirm your intensive programme. It forms part of the agreed course price. The remaining 80% balance must be paid in full at least 48 hours before the agreed first intensive-course session. This start date is separate from your introductory First Drive. BACS bank transfer is accepted. If a programme is agreed less than 48 hours before its start, full course payment is due on confirmation and before tuition begins.

The separate £100 First Drive fee does not count towards the deposit or balance. Retention of payments following cancellation is governed by section 7 and your statutory rights.

6. Cancelling a First Drive or regular lesson

Please give at least 48 hours’ notice before the scheduled start to cancel without a cancellation charge.

With less than 48 hours’ notice, a charge of up to the full session price may apply:

• First Drive: up to £100 for the 2-hour session, for both intensive and pay-as-you-go learners.
• Subsequent regular lesson: up to £110 for the 2-hour session.

Any charge will reflect reasonable loss directly caused by the cancellation, taking account of costs saved and replacement bookings. Contact Simon by telephone or email to cancel.

This policy does not override statutory cancellation or refund rights.

7. Cancelling an intensive course

If you cancel after committing to your course and paying the balance, cancellation charges may be up to the full course price.

Any amount retained will reflect reasonable loss directly resulting from the cancellation, taking account of tuition already provided, costs saved and replacement bookings. Any payment exceeding the amount properly due will be refunded.

A retained deposit forms part of the total cancellation charge and will not be charged twice. Your statutory rights remain unaffected.

8. Driving test fees and test-day car use

Driving test booking fees are additional to tuition and course prices.

The test-day arrangement allows 3 hours of instructor time and use of the tuition car, with the schedule agreed in advance.

For intensive learners, the test-day hourly rate is calculated pro rata from the agreed course price divided by the agreed course hours. The separate £100 First Drive fee is excluded from this calculation.

A maximum of 3 unused prepaid course hours can cover all or part of the agreed 3-hour test-day session:

• If 3 unused hours are no longer required for tuition, they can cover the full 3-hour test-day session without an additional tuition or car-use charge.
• If fewer than 3 hours remain, the uncovered hours are charged at the agreed course hourly rate.
• If no hours remain, all 3 hours are charged at that rate.

The driving test booking fee remains separate in every case. For pay-as-you-go learners, the 3-hour test-day session costs £165 (£55 per hour), excluding the DVSA test fee. Payment is due at least 48 hours before the scheduled session, by BACS bank transfer.

Test bookings, DVSA changes and test readiness

You are responsible for booking and managing your own DVSA driving test and paying the test fee. Agree Simon’s availability and use of the car before choosing a test appointment. A lesson or course booking does not guarantee a test date or the availability of the car on an unagreed date.

If DVSA cancels or moves your test, tell Simon promptly. You may choose an alternative test-day session, subject to agreement, or a refund of unused test-day time. Time already provided is charged at the agreed hourly rate; unused prepaid course hours are restored to your course balance. Any DVSA test-fee refund or expenses claim is subject to DVSA’s rules, and reimbursement is not guaranteed. Simon can provide a receipt for services charged.

Use of Simon’s car for a test depends on a reasonable professional assessment that you can drive safely and independently, and on meeting licence, insurance and DVSA requirements. Simon will explain any concerns as early as reasonably possible and discuss further tuition or moving the test. He may refuse car use where there is a genuine safety or legal concern. Unused test-day time will be refunded or, with your agreement, transferred; this is not an automatic forfeiture of your course payment. Your statutory rights remain unaffected.

9. Scheduling, collection and drop-off

Lesson dates and times are agreed individually. Collection from your address, early starts and alternative drop-off arrangements can be discussed with Simon and are subject to agreement. Availability at every requested time or location is not guaranteed.

Driving-test priority and rescheduling

Practical driving-test appointments take priority over ordinary tuition sessions because test availability is limited and appointments, including cancellation slots, may become available at short notice. Where reasonably necessary to accommodate a client’s confirmed driving test, FIRSTLANE AUTOMATIC may need to reschedule an existing lesson to another time on the same day or to a different day. This policy applies equally to all clients, including you when attending your own driving test, subject to the test-booking, availability and safety requirements in section 8.

Simon will notify you as soon as reasonably practicable, give as much notice as possible and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption. Any replacement lesson time or date will be agreed with you, taking account of your availability. You will not lose any booked or prepaid tuition hours because of a change made under this clause: the full affected hours and any payment will be transferred to the agreed replacement session, without an additional charge or learner cancellation fee.

If a suitable alternative cannot be agreed, you may choose a refund for the affected tuition not provided in accordance with the instructor-cancellation provisions below. Where the change prevents the remaining intensive course from reasonably being delivered within the agreed schedule, those provisions also apply to the undelivered remainder. This clause does not limit your statutory rights.

Instructor cancellations and unused prepaid hours

If Simon cancels because of illness, a vehicle breakdown, unsafe conditions or another reason, you may choose an alternative session by agreement or a refund for the affected tuition not provided. There is no learner cancellation charge. For an intensive course, the refund is calculated at the agreed course hourly rate, excluding the separate First Drive fee.

If an instructor cancellation means the remaining course cannot reasonably be delivered within the agreed schedule and you do not accept an alternative, you may cancel the undelivered remainder for a refund. This does not limit any further statutory remedy.

Unused intensive-course hours are not eligible for a discretionary refund or credit towards later lessons simply because you consider that further tuition is no longer required. Up to a maximum of 3 unused prepaid course hours may instead be applied to your agreed 3-hour driving-test session, as set out in section 8. This allowance covers instructor time and use of the tuition car, not the separate DVSA test fee. If fewer than 3 unused hours remain, the outstanding test-day time is payable at the agreed course hourly rate.

This policy does not remove any refund entitlement arising from an instructor cancellation, tuition not provided as agreed, or your statutory rights. If you choose to cancel any undelivered part of your course, section 7 applies: any amount retained must reflect reasonable loss, taking account of costs saved and replacement bookings, and any excess payment will be refunded. The same loss will not be charged twice.

Refunds due under these terms will be made within 14 days of the refund being agreed or becoming legally due, whichever requires earlier payment.

10. Learner requirements and test readiness

You must hold the appropriate valid driving licence and meet the legal requirements to learn to drive. Tell Simon about any restriction or circumstance that affects your ability to drive safely and lawfully.

Tuition and recommendations are based on your ability and progress. No course or number of lessons guarantees a test pass.

11. Booking confirmations and statutory cancellation rights

Enquiries may be made by telephone, email, the website contact form or in person. An enquiry alone does not create a confirmed booking. Before you commit, Simon will provide the agreed service, price, dates, payment deadlines and these terms. A booking is confirmed when you accept those details and Simon confirms acceptance by email or on paper. A copy of the terms and booking details will be provided in a form you can keep. Bank details will be supplied separately for payment.

If payment is late, Simon will contact you and allow a reasonable opportunity to resolve it before suspending or cancelling the booking. Non-payment does not automatically forfeit sums already paid. Any cancellation charge must comply with section 7 or the applicable lesson cancellation terms and your statutory rights.

For a booking made entirely at a distance, or off business premises, where the Consumer Contracts Regulations apply, you may cancel without giving a reason within 14 days after the day the contract is made. You may notify Simon by email, telephone or another clear statement using the contact details in section 1. The cancellation form below is optional. Statutory rights take precedence over the 48-hour lesson policy and intensive-course cancellation charges.

Tuition will start during that cancellation period only following your express request. Where required, that request will be recorded by email or on paper. If you then cancel during the period, you pay only the proportionate amount for services actually supplied, where the required information and request have been obtained. The right to cancel ends on full performance only if you expressly requested early performance and acknowledged beforehand that full performance would end that right. Paying a deposit does not itself waive your cancellation rights.

Where a statutory cancellation refund is due, it will be made within 14 days of receiving your cancellation, using the original payment method unless you expressly agree otherwise, without a refund fee. Nothing in these terms limits rights relating to services not provided with reasonable care and skill or other statutory remedies.

Optional cancellation form

To: Simon Hull, trading as FIRSTLANE AUTOMATIC, Park Drive, Lewes, BN7 2FW, Hullsimon22@yahoo.com.

I give notice that I cancel my contract for: [service and booking dates].
Contract agreed on: [date].
Customer name: [name].
Customer address: [address].
Date: [date].
Signature: [only if submitting on paper].

12. Questions and complaints

Contact Simon at Hullsimon22@yahoo.com or 07979 625236, including your name, booking details and a description of your question or complaint.

13. Personal information

Please read the FIRSTLANE AUTOMATIC Privacy Policy before submitting personal information. It explains how information is used and handled.