Driving instructor was really rude

[BitPutOffNow123]

I had my first driving lesson yesterday. I've never drove a car before so havnt got a clue what I'm doing. He asked me if I had any experience and I said no none at all.

It started off ok, he was showing me the gears and other stuff in his handbook and after practising the gears then we set off on the road. I was really nervous but was really trying.

I kept forgetting to put my foot down on the clutch while changing gears and he snapped at me and said crossly "your just not getting it" I said "I've never drove before, I'm a bit overwhelmed and I'm getting confused" he said "you should of done this when you were younger, itd been easier for both of us then". I said I was too scared to try when I was younger ( I'm only 29 anyway )

We went on a roundabout and he told me to break slowly, I tried but I'm new to this and breaked harshly, he loudly sucked air in between his teeth and, said hed told me to break gently told me I was too slow with my reactions. He asked me why i wasnt getting it and I said I was getting confused between the clutch and the pedals. ( he was telling me when to use the clutch break ect

I've paid for 10 hours, 2 hours each time and he took me home 30 minutes early but didnt say why and after how horrible the lesson was I didnt feel like saying I'd paid for 2 hours

Am I being sensitive or was he really rude? I want to cancel my other booked for lessons and look to go with someone else but I dont even know how to go about requesting a refund

He sounds awful. I'd complain to the company and ask for a different instructor.

You need to trust your instructor. He doesn't sound very suited to the job.

Change instructor. Sooner rather than later.
I finished my first lesson with a man just like this, got home and burst into tears. On the advice of my mother I kept going hoping it would get better. It didn't and I'll never get all the money I wasted with him back.
I found a lovely instructor through friend recommendation and passed pretty quickly afterwards. Imo you need someone who will make you feel safe and confident.

Yes roundabout on first lesson is weird (unless a mini one on an empty road) as is his knobby comment about learning when you were younger to make his life easier! Wtf.

2 hours is possibly a bit too long i think. if you can do an hour that might be better? Is it some kind of company that aims for you to pass really quickly? Apparently it's hard to get tests booked in so that might not be worthwhile at the moment anyway?

Is it a company where you will be able to access other instructors? Hope you can get your money back if not. If you are dreading your lessons with him it's not going to work out in the long term.

I had 3 manual instructors (men and women) before finding one I was comfortable with, but after a failed test she advised me to switch to automatic instructors in their company and I luckily had another good instructor upon switching and quite a lot more lessons but then passed on next try. So 5 instructors before it clicked

I had my first lesson when I was in my late 20s and all I did was learn how to start the car, get in to gear and move off on a very quiet residential road. No way would I have been comfortable driving around a round about. I'd look for a new instructor if I was you.
My instructor left after a while and his replacement turned up in a very dirty car full of rubbish and kept saying that he visualises his baby being on the front of his car to make sure he's driving safely . Needless to say that was my one and only lesson with him.
It takes time to learn to drive, took me over a year to pass my test and have now been driving 10 years.

Change instructor, he will ruin your confidence.
There are a lot of bad instructors out there, some of them only seem to want easy money and not actually teach.
I had a series of awful ones, including one with anger management issues who made me a nervous wreck. I eventually found a good one who was quiet and patient. I drove 100 times better with him and sailed through my test with 2 minors.

Get a refund and another instructor. Try to persevere with a manual car to keep options open, but consider switching to an auto if you don't get it. As others have said, you need to get on with and trust your instructor if you're going to make progress. Same as learning anything, really. Good luck

What a knobend
All you will achieve is feeling even less confident when driving. Tell him you want a full refund, including for the time today, say he was rude, unhelpful and has made you feel even less competent and confident when driving.
If he refuses, tell him that's fine but you will be reviewing his services online and reporting him to the relevant driving instructor body.

What a bullying pathetic teacher.

I would send a letter cancelling the lessons, explaining why and request a refund by x or further action taken.

He sounds bloody awful! You need to ask for a refund and find a new instructor. I went automatic after doing many manual lessons and not progressing so maybe this could be an option for you.

For what’s it’s worth, I also went on a roundabout in my first lesson so that in itself isn’t unusual.

It is if OP can't find the clutch & was getting the pedals mixed up. If you're a confident driver from the start it would be ok.

My first instructor was similar. He ended up sacking me. I was so relieved after having spent the week thinking of ways to tell him I no longer wanted lessons with him. He saved me a job! Thankfully it was pay as you go so i never had to request a refund. They're inundated with work just now cause of covid backlogs so it should be easy for him to find a replacement for you if you sack him hence a refund should in theory be easy to get. The unfortunate side of that is it may be harder for you to find another instructor but not impossible. I contacted over thirty people before i got a new instructor. But I am so glad I've got this new guy as he is miles better than the last and has really helped my confidence. Honestly don't let this rubbish instructor ruin your confidence!

.

You bumped this up with a dot?