written by bushy123 on 15/08/2018
Wow! I got my driving licence in only seven days with Britannia Driving School. The idea of taking a six-day intensive course on an automatic with Britannia, was an appealing shortcut for me, which avoided fitting in lessons round work for several months in all sorts of inclement weather. Thanks to my instructor (God Bless Him) I can now get into my car on impulse and go anywhere I like – to the countryside, to visit friends, shopping. he has got the patience of a saint and I’m not sure I could have done it without him. FB
written by BroderickStokes263 on 26/04/2018
Would give them 0 stars if I could, what a joke! I paid upfront for lessons, and more than 2 months later had only had 3. Instructor cancelled 3 times and was constantly busy, away, ill... everything under the sun. Of course the lessons are non-refundable and the office staff told me their other instructors are just as 'busy'. Take a look at the Facebook page for similar reviews and staff responses - this will tell you all you need to know. I have reported to the Trading Standards now, completely mis-sold and a waste of money, I learnt nothing.
written by 93Beach on 29/11/2017
The staff at the office are nice until you part with money once then they will be rude unhelpful the teacher they gave me was so greedy all she wanted was money I had lots of lessons with her but she taught me nothing all she did was talk about her problems I feel that she's been very very unreliable and I would like to go for a test I wouldn't use this school they are not good not honorable and I'd be very careful be warned!!!!
written by XYZ11 on 21/11/2016
I would recommend anyone to stay away from booking with Britannia. A couple of days before my test date my driving instructor informed me he won't be able to come along as he's on holiday. I had to consequently cancel my test, loosing out on money and not feeling very confident about my driving at all. Plus I had outstanding lessons I had already paid for with this instructor. When I informed the office they were shocked but unable to apologise or offer me any compensation. Customer service was a joke, rude and unhelpful and made my whole experience really awful. I ended up going with another driving school and passed my test.
written by Zunaina on 23/10/2016
I've attended this Driving School for 11 weeks and all of a sudden, I receive no confirmation from my instructor for 3 weeks. At first I thought hmm, something personal must have happened.. Bare in mind I haven't drove for 3 weeks. I then contacted them if i could leave and told my reason, but i was given no information on why I didn't hear from my instructor and was left with no explanation. The receptionist then said that they have another great local instructor and so i agreed for a new lesson the following week. 3 days before my lesson, she cancelled and told me to do the lesson the next week. Its so unprofessional and I couldn't even choose the days that im available. This has now resulted in me not driving for 4 weeks and there are small things that i dont recall.. Im now going to have to find another company where im not going to be ripped off and left without explanation. Thank you very much. (I didn't even get a record book or learnt any manoeuvres)
written by 466Leach on 10/04/2016
My complaint is with the customer service and that Britannia seems to think it can take our money without providing the service I paid for. I bought my daughter driving 10 lessons over the phone. No mention of terms and conditions and no mention of the term that means if you lose their vouchers you lose your lessons. Someone should tell them that my contract for services was formed at that point over the telephone and they cannot introduce terms after the event and onerous terms require specific attention to be drawn to them. Moreover it Is for Britannia to evidence incorporation of their terms into the contract. The vouchers arrived with an appointments book with terms and conditions on the back. Highlighted I marker pen on the back was a term as to cancellation but not the term as to losing the vouchers meaning loss of lessons. The vouchers have numbers on them so can be individually identified. When those lessons ended I purchased 10 more. This time only vouchers arrived with the receipt. My daughter mislaid them. I rang the Kingston office to ask what to do. I have the receipt and they have a record of the numbers on the vouchers but they insisted that it meant that we would miss out on lessons. I was told they were like "John Lewis or Boots vouchers" which is utter tosh. I asked to speak to the supervisor and was told the supervisor wasn't there. I asked to be rung back and was told that the supervisor wouldn't ring back as there was no point as that was the policy. I have emailed the company but received no response. I intend the refer this to Trading Standards as a first move and bring a small claim if they do not resolve it with me beforehand.
written by on 30/07/2014
I cannot even begin to discuss the problems I have faced using this driving school. The instructor made inappropriate comments throughout the teachings. I was not taught the full driving syllabus including how to drive on A-roads. The customer service team are both incredibly rude and unhelpful, you will be told (as similar reviews have stated) that the managers are all in meetings and to address your concerns in writing, to which you will not receive a reply. They appear very nice at first and more than happy to take your £1000+ for their 36 hour intensive course but it is not until later, if you wish to complain you see their true colours. We are in the process of contacting the Police to discuss the matters as well as taking things further with the relevant governing bodies. In short, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY, having shown them these review they stated they were from "competitors" I assure you this is not the case, use any other driving school big or small but PLEASE DO NOT USE THEM, I would not wish their service on my worst enemy.
Written on: 16/09/2014
THIS IS A COMPLETE FABRICATION!!
YOU SAY YOU WASN'T TAUGHT HOW TO DRIVE ON A-ROADS RIGHT? SO HOW DID YOU GET FROM YOUR HOME TO THE TEST CENTRE? I'M SURE YOU WOULD OF USED A-ROADS DURING YOUR DRIVING LESSONS. MOST MAIN ROADS ARE A-ROADS!! LOL
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS RUBBISH AND THEY WERE RUDE RIGHT? DID YOU CALL THEM UP WITH A BAD ATTITUDE? DID YOU FOLLOW THE COMPANIES COMPLAIN PROCEDURE? AS FOR MANAGERS BEING IN MEETINGS. WELL SORRY, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY DO..
YOU STATED YOU WERE SOLD A 36HR INTENSIVE COURSE RIGHT? WELL I CHECKED THAT OUT AND THEY DON'T SELL 36HR INTENSIVE COURSES!!
DID YOU SIGN LESSONS VOUCHERS? IF YOU DID, THEN YOU SIGNED TO SAY YOU WERE SATISFIED WITH THE LESSONS, AND THAT IS AS GOOD AS SIGNING A CONTRACT!!
AS FOR CONTACTING THE POLICE. UNLESS A CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITED THEN YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME. THEY ONLY DEAL WITH CRIMINAL MATTERS AND NOT CIVIL MATTERS!!
WHEN ONE THING YOU SAY CAN BE PROVEN TO BE UNTRUE, THEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS QUESTIONED!!
WHEN A PUPIL FAILS THE DRIVING TEST THEY LOOK FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME OTHER THAN THEMSELVES. THE INSTRUCTOR, SCHOOL OR EXAMINER ARE ALWAYS USED. "MY INSTRUCTOR DIDN'T TEACH ME PROPERLY", "THE DRIVING SCHOOL IS RUBBISH" AND "THE EXAMINER HAS TO FAIL AND PASS X AMOUNT EVERYDAY". SAME OLD EXCUSES USED BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T LIKE HAVING TO ADMIT THEY SCREWED IT UP AND PASS THE BLAME!! LOL
written by Byrdza390 on 17/04/2014
I passed my driving test with Britannia yesterday and can't thank them enough. Their website was great and the office staff were very friendly. I even got cans of soft drinks whenever I popped into their office. I recommend you to learn with them and enjoy the same success as me. Thanks once again Britannia!!!!xxx
written by Amyy123 on 10/12/2013
I went to Britannia after I received a job offer on the condition that I obtained a licence before my employment commenced in four weeks time. I had previously been sceptical about intensive courses but since I had limited time within which to obtain a licence and was impressed by the course offered by Britannia, I decided to give Britannia’s intensive course a go with Tim as my instructor. I am glad I chose Britannia’s intensive course, weekly lessons had never appealed to me and I passed first time after just a week with Britannia. I understand that intensive courses are not for everyone but I would definitely recommend Britannia’s courses based on my experience. Even in a short time, I have been taught everything to ensure I am a safe driver for life which is why I passed first time. The test is such a high standard, had I not been completely fit to drive, I would not have passed. I’m so grateful for Britannia not only in helping me obtain the licence in time for my new job but also for the thorough teaching that I received by Tim to ensure I was prepared for all situations in everyday driving.
written by Fiona22 on 08/11/2013
Hello. I wanted to let people know that I regret choosing Britannia driving school and going for an intensive course (Manual 39 hour) It may be good for certain people but it is not a good way of learning to be a good driver for life. However I feel the reason why I did not get the full potential out of this course was due to my instructor (grey hair, glasses, beard) who works around the Surrey area. - Not very patient or calm - Talks a lot about his life rather than focusing on the task at hand and passing knowledge. - Bad techniques (Told me to pull off with just the clutch and not to press the accelerator! No wonder I always stalled all the time and he failed to even realised why) - Was late often and never apologized nor made up for it. - It did not help how he actually stressed me out during my lessons by always raising his voice "They will fail you if you keep doing that!!.." On top of this, instead of the 6 hours a day of lessons, I actually only did 5 hours a day as my insturctor was including an hour break at his request (so I was technically paying for my break?! how unfair) Customer service seemed nice and helpful when it came to answering my questions and sorting out my payment but after that when I complained to them they ignored every single email. £131.70 was wasted. It would have been nice to at least get a courtesy reply to even state they won't do that for me, but nothing. This proves that not only is my instructor unprofessional but so was the office team. My current independent instructor is so much better and helpful!
written by Vahsarza on 16/08/2013
Terrible driving school! Do not use Britannia driving school. They are just after your money. The first lesson they offer for £10.50 is where you just sit in the passengers seat listening to the instructor talk about the obvious for a whole hour! No driving involved at all hence no petrol used! Subsequent lessons are no better. The instructors just yap on for half the lesson so they don't have to drive. I didn't get to drive until the third lesson and that was for about twenty minutes. Complaints are totally ignored when you ring or email. In fact they hung up on me saying they were too busy to talk to me about my complaint! Avoid them if you don't want to waste your money!!
Written on: 18/10/2013
I am absolutely agree with the above review. I had my lesson booked but the instructor was not fully qualified. I saw his pink badge. Then i changed my driving school.
Written on: 06/11/2013
All trainee instructors have passed an advanced driving test and have completed a minimum of 40hrs training in instructional techniques. The only thing they lack is experience, but this don't mean they can't pass on their knowledge to help people pass the easy learner driver test!. They have a lot to prove and more often than not will work tirelessly to get things right and get people through their driving test. If you were unhappy with the instructor the office will normally replace them. Changing school would not of been necessary! Maybe the problem is with you and you're looking for someone to blame!
Written on: 06/11/2013
Rubbish. First £10.50 lesson is about the cockpit & controls, so of course you want be going anywhere. Duh, you can't drive! Mouthing of to the office staff will not get you anywhere. If I phone you shouting down the phone, would you hang up? Of course you would you dumb fool. You clearly have some mental issues that need to be addressed. Nobody is listening to me, let me write a bad review. Get a life!
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Shonafelton43's Comment
Written on: 01/12/2017
We have no knowledge of this person, they are not on our database. Obviously you cannot please everybody. We have had no direct complaint from any pupil which is the normal channel for normal complaints so we have to assume this is a fake review.
Our legal department will be getting in touch with the review center to find out the writer of this complaint and if we find its fake our legal department will be issuing proceedings for deformation. Which would cost the writer legal fees, solicitors fees, court costs we hope this will not be necessary.