Who can he claim money back from

[BackforGood]

When ds turned up at the driving test centre to take his test, the examiners were on strike and he wasn't able to take it.
D&VSA have refunded him (well, the instructor) the cost of the driving instructor's car for 2 hours, but nothing else.
This seems somewhat unfair to me.
He needs to pay for another test (I think that's £65), plus he needs to retake his theory, as it has now run out (that's £23 I believe) plus he's going to have to have a couple of refresher lessons to get 'test ready' again.

Does anyone know how I can find out who he can claim his additional costs from? Seems unfair for him to bear it when it wasn't in any way his fault.

I said if it came down to it we could investigate chasing it in the small claims court (He'll be up to £180 out of pocket which is a lot to a student), but I'm not sure who it is we would be claiming from.

There is some information here: www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-and-vehicle-examiner-strike-december-2015

Halfway down the page is a link to a form to claim back ou-of-pocket expenses.

I wouldn't think he will be able to claim for refresher lessons or possibly even the theory but he should definitely claim for rebooking the test itself. I think that's what the link noodle posted says..

Thanks folks.
Unfortunately, he's still having to save up and pay out for them though, through no fault of his own
I realise he would only have a claim on the theory as long as he passes his practical on this test, but it's still an expense he's having to find which he wouldn't have, if the examiners hadn't been on strike. Along with bus fare to the test centre, etc, which is trivial to many of us, but matters when you don't have it.
I do feel for him.

thanks for the link NoodleNuts - I'll look now.

I think the link says you can get travel expenses. I do feel for him...it's shitty and not his fault

Thanks ApocalypseNowt

He was practically crying on the day - he was so 'psyched up' for taking it, and just devastated when he got there and couldn't

It seems so unfair - and a bit pointless really.

I should imagine most people taking their test are fairly broke, and they are the only ones to suffer.
I didn't even know anything about a strike so it's not even like they got lots of publicity or public sympathy for their cause so it would seem the examiners have lost their pay for nothing too.

Funnily enough, this happened to DD1 last month. She received an email postponing the test 15 minutes before she was due to take it. At the bottom of the email there was a link to follow to claim expenses. We printed out a form and reclaimed the cost of the lesson immediately before the test and the driving instructor's time/use of car for the actual test.

DD was incredibly upset about it - they get so psyched up as you say, and it was just devastating to have it cancelled at such short notice. The replacement test was allocated for six weeks after the original but in fact we were able to get a cancellation about a fortnight later.

Good luck to him for the retest.

Thanks Tranquility - but did they make you pay for the next test ? This is the bit that seems so totally unreasonable, which is making me wonder if he's got it wrong ?

He couldn't do the test in the next few weeks as
i) He was taking it where he's at University and he would be home over Christmas, and booked in to work
ii) His theory expired a few days after his test date, so he now needs to redo that before he can take the practical.

His theory expiring they won't pay for - they are valid for two years. They'll say that he may not have passed the practical and then he'd have at the very least a four day wait before he could rebook, so he took the risk of his theory expiring.

He should be able to be refunded the test fee and his travel costs, and he's already got the car cost back.

I sympathise, mine was booked too. It was gutting. The local office wasn't sure if they were continuing the strike or not so a group of us sat around for two hours whilst they decided, too.

Oh no - that's annoying Anchor

Yes - that's what I said to him about the theory - it's his own fault for not listening to his mother and getting his finger out earlier, but, in truth, if he'd passed on the day of his test, then he was taking his test in time, so it's still a cost that is incurred by the fact they were on strike.

If you don't ask - you don't get... So it would be worth trying to claim it all and see what you get back surely?

If you weren't to ask for the lesson before or the refresher lessons or the cost of the test then they're definitely not going to give them back to you. If you (or he!) ask then at least there's a chance you might get them back!

That's my thinking zipzap.

Sorry - wandered off - no, we didn't have to pay for the repeat test. We printed off this form: www.gov.uk/practical-driving-test-for-cars/cancelled-or-stopped-tests-and-bad-weather

Incidentally, I wrote a letter of complaint about the short notice and when it reached the top of the complaints pile they rang me with a with a new date. Initially we had tried looking every day for a new date but we were never quick enough to get a cancellation (there's a long waiting list - DD2 has just booked the first date available for the practical test here and it's at the end of June). I'd recommend complaining if you feel up to it.

Sorry, the form is here

Thanks Tranquility - that's helpful