Thank you for this. I had hoped for a more common sense response from the AA/BSM before now. It looks as though I’m going to need to take a good look through the coronavirus guidance from the gov. and see what might be applicable in my case.

I’ve just sent the course coordinator a message..... ”What bothers me mostly is if I hadn’t paid all of the money up front then I could’ve withdrawn with nothing more to pay...but as it is I paid full fees upfront and so receive nothing if I withdraw. The blanket “no refund” just seems to be so unfair. I’m disappointed that there hasn’t been a consideration of a pro-rata refund. I’m really sorry Mark but I feel that given the amount of money involved that I’ve got no option but to escalate my request and seek support from other agencies. Eg BBC watchdog etc. I stress this isn’t personal...I just don’t feel that if our positions were reversed that you would accept this situation.” I’m ever hopeful of reason and manners sorting things out.

Am i onto plums?

My hope was that the impact of covid on my ability to progress with the training and hence my need to change my plans might be reason to not be so rigid in their application of the t’s & c’s. Are the T’s & C’s fair? That’s really what I’m asking.

Yes. That’s correct. I’ve just been messaging them to ask for confirmation of my receipt and acknowledgement of terms and conditions.

I paid it all by up front in September. As it stands I have received some text books and nothing more. I can’t begin the driving training properly until I pass the theory test which is something that students arrange independently. In all the excitement I can’t recall the t’s and c’s

Seeking a career change after accepting a redundancy from my previous position as headteacher, I paid approx. £2k to the AA/BSM for training / support to become a driving instructor, with a view to becoming an AA driving school franchisee. From my research I had assumed that it would take about a year to complete the training and I had planned to subsidise myself from my savings and supply teaching. Unfortunately, mandatory requirements to obtain disclosures and register with the dvsa took much longer than anticipated as did the time it would take to book a slot to sit the part 1 theory aspect of the course. It was clear that my budget would not be sufficient to support my family with the length of time that my training was in all likelihood going to take. In response to this information it was clear that I would need to look for more teaching work. I received an offer of work on a 24 month contract commencing August 2021 in Hong Kong which was too good to refuse and this would require me to travel out there mid-July 2021. I contacted the coordinator of AA training and explained my situation; that in spite of my firm initial intentions to complete the training I had been forced to re-evaluate what I was doing because of the unforeseen impact of the coronavirus pandemic. After this discussion the AA agreed to suspend my training until I returned from Hong Kong. Although I initially accepted this I reconsidered and made contact again to suggest that £2k was a lot of money to pay out and leave sitting and with a number of outlay costs when I would arrive in Hong Kong it would be of great help to have this money refunded to help with these. In spite of the course coordinator asking me to email a request to seek a refund I have been refused. The AA terms and conditions do indicate that all fees paid are non refundable but am of the opinion that this year has been such an unpredictable year with the pandemic creating difficulties with being able to even get started on the course that there should be a greater level of flexibility in their application. With no formal training yet received I think that the AA’s position is unfair. Should I continue to request a refund?