Or is this driving instructor BU?

[Shehz21]

LONG backstory please bear with me. I started my driving lesson a week ago and was really unsure of whether I wanted to stick to the driving instructor afterwards. This week I decided to change to another one and informed my driving instructor.
My driving instructor was apparently fine with it and texted me 'okay'.
However today he sent me a long arse message about how I owe him
a. £40 for having broken his car seat ( he kept telling me to pull harder to adjust my seat and when I wasn't pulling hard enough, he kept pushing me to pull harder till something broke maybe. He said it's okay and will get it fixed.)

B. £42 for the lesson after mine that he had to cancel due to the broken seat.

C. £40 for not having informed him within 48hrs notice of me not wanting to take lessons anymore from him. However he never mentioned this cancellation charges to me.

There was no contract signed between me and him, my provisional driving license had not come through the post yet which is maybe why no contract? Not sure about the procedure tbh.
The reasons why I didn't want to proceed with my lessons with this instructor are because
He kept yawning and looked uninterested throughout the entire lesson.
He pulled up at a mosque to pray for 15mins during my 2hr lesson.
He finished my lesson 15 mins early and waited at the next student house during those 15 mins.
He kept texting while I was practising steering and telling me to stop, he needs to send a message every 5mins or so.

I have clearly told him that I am not liable to pay him anything but he insists I do and that he will get his solicitor to contact me.

Am I BU and getting into this crap for nothing or is he?
Totally ready to be flamed if I'm being U

[MoistMolly]

Just block his number and move on.

[Shehz21]

Thanks for the quick reply Molly. Cheers👍🏽

[katienana]

He sounds really unprofessional, I would ignore him and try to get a recommendation for a new instructor.

[BlueDotty]

He did what? WTF? You owe him Jack Shit!
I don't think you're allowed to drive before your provisional comes through. Is he legit? Did he have a badge in the car like this?

[snowball28]

What a loon, block his number and ignore him. I’d laugh straight in his face if he tried that with me!

[Shehz21]

@BlueDotty Actually he didn't

[BeautyWasTheBeast]

Did you have a lesson before you had your provisional license??? Pretty sure you shouldn't have driven until it came....the first thing my instructor asked for was to see my license!!!

Rest of it... Block his number and ignore. If you broke contract then he did too by not having the full 2 hours, and it's illegal for an instructor to use phone while you are driving.

[BlueDotty]

I'd report him then! Idiot! (Him - not you!)

[Shehz21]

@snowball I actually laughed at that message when he sent it to me but then with his solicitor message coming through, I got a bit worried whether I'm being unreasonable to escalate the matter.

@katie Already blocked and got a new much better driving instructor today!

[Mishappening]

Stopped off to pray in the middle of a lesson! - this sounds like a sitcom!

[gamerchick]

You're not supposed to drive without your provisional I dont think. Mine took a photo of mine and inputted the details into his phone which didn't work at first. He wouldn't start the lesson beforehand.

I'd ignore him and block his number, he's talking out his arse.

[WoogleCone]

His solicitor is likely his cousin or brother!

Pay him no mind, sounds like a loon - an unqualified one at that!

[Saffzy]

I would definitely report him with that behaviour and he’s probably doing the broken seat trick with lots of other pupils.

Like others have said, I’m pretty sure he should have seen your licence before you even drove his car, so sounds a bit dodgy.

[Shehz21]

@gamerchick lol I always like your posts. Thanks for boosting up my confidence that I am not in the wrong here. I did ask him though beforehand whether I can drive as it still hasn't come through but he said it's okay, doesn't matter.

@Mishappening He did and told me he'll be back in a jiffy. 15mins was his "jiffy".

[youaremyrain]

Ask him for his ADI number (approved driving instructor) say you need it for YOUR solicitor

IF he gives you it - report him

[KittiKat]

If he did not have the correct badge, you can report him.

www.gov.uk/report-an-illegal-driving-instructor

[ThePants999]

Block and ignore is correct, but I'd struggle to resist the temptation to tell him that YOUR solicitor will be in touch about the £10 he owes you for failing to deliver a quarter of your lesson.

[PixiKitKat]

If my instructor had an errand to do during my lesson that time would be added onto the end but it was usually just going into the shop for some milk so 5mins max!

He sounds awful though and a danger as an instructor as he needs to be teaching you, not looking at his phone!

[LizB62A]

He should have checked your driving licence number before your first lesson to check that it was valid.
Otherwise I doubt that his driving instructors car insurance would have been valid.
I'm guessing he isn't a qualified driving instructor and also doesn't have insurance.

Apparently you can check driving instructors here: finddrivinginstructor.direct.gov.uk/DSAFindNearestWebApp/findNearest.form?lang=en

If it was me, I'd report him to the ADI for pretending to be a driving instructor, and the police for fraud and letting you drive without insurance (of course, they may have something to say about you driving without a licence !)

[LizB62A]

Ooh and if he used his phone during a lesson, he was risking 6 points on his licence....
despatch.blog.gov.uk/2017/06/14/think-put-your-phone-away-during-driving-lessons/

[Mustbetimeforachange]

I'm pretty sure his insurance isn't valid if you have no licence.

[woodhill]

He's trying it on, don't pay.

[Shehz21]

Thank you everyone!

Mumsnet to the rescue as usual.

Can sleep peacefully tonight🤗

[Aeroflotgirl]

He is chancing his arm, ask him for invoices of the damage. He should have seen your provisional beforehand. His insurance should cover damage at work. My driving instructor requires 1 hour before lesson to cancel.