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Can someone hold my hand and keep me strong please, just made a complaint about someone

88 replies

ZombiesAteMyBigToe · 25/07/2013 10:47

Just had terrible driving instructor, really bad service, endangered me, didn't give good value tuition. Wasted a fortune on this guy's service.

Today I decided to do something about it and complained to his company.

They are going to phone me back soon and I am feeling very weepy and weak which is pathetic, I don't want to cry, I want to get some of my money back at least. This is my first proper complaint ever, I am usually too terrified to do anything about it, but the sharp intakes of breath when I tell people what he did have finally convinced me to do this.

I could do with a big mumsnet kick up the arse. Or a hug. I dont know which.

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EdwiniasRevenge · 20/08/2013 10:48

BRILLIANT!!!

I bet you are chuffed to bits :)

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RenterNomad · 20/08/2013 10:59

Hurray! It also adds weight to your arguments about the earlier instructor. Is this your first test with the new person?

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ZombiesAteMyBigToe · 20/08/2013 12:17

Grin

very happy and shocked as i made some errors i thought would fail me. also fluffed every manoevre in pre test lesson due to nerves. alsi had examiner with a reputation fir being tough.

hill start in neutral, rolled back and still passed.

it was my second test with this instructor, but the last test was two weeks after my last one with twat features and she only had eight hours with me before it.

yesterday dh let me drive through london at rushhour,through the rotherhithe tunnel and then driving back at night. that was fun!

now on the beach with dcs,dh at home. drove here 40 minutes without another adult. feels good. kids ecstatic.

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ZombiesAteMyBigToe · 20/08/2013 20:02

And it looks like my phone stole all my capitals.

Had a lovely day with the DCs at the beach, they had so much fun.

The fluffed hill start wasn't even the worst mistake but I was so incredibly nervous anyway, plus I got the examiner who everyone dreads Grin. But the examiner could obviously tell the difference between nerves and lack of knowledge.

So now I can finally post the serious complaint/demand for refund letter to Nippers and get down to some serious driving Grin.

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RenterNomad · 20/08/2013 20:32

Even though you were wuth thr new instructor by then, it WAS too short a time, and also allows you to compare post-fail approaches: bet Twatface was rubbish!

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ZombiesAteMyBigToe · 20/08/2013 21:35

Ha, twat features used to say 'bet you thought you were going to pass that time' or 'you really thought you were going to get it that time didnt you' (no shit sherlock!) and get me angry with the examiner for being 'unfair'. Then tell me to book the next test and lessons, during which we would not practice at all the things that had caused me to fail. He would also not let me drive back from the centre.

New instructor said 'well one of those faults was disputable but you did make this mistake, never mind'. Then not only did I drive back from the centre but we redid the parts of the test route I had failed on immediately so I could see what they felt like to do it right. Talking it through calmly but supportively all the way.

And she gave me a hug and told me that I was a good driver, I just got nervous and made a silly mistake.

I posted from the test centre earlier whilst she was telling one of her instructor friends about twat featuresGrin (and after phoning DH of course).

However the sound of the car grinding in neutral as I put my foot down on the accelerator will not be something I will forget easily. Turns out that hill starts (and driving position/cockpit drill etc etc) as we also learnt today were a bit of a gap in my knowledge!

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RenterNomad · 20/08/2013 21:56

You see, if there's any weaselling about whether your complaint is justified, you have two excellent examples of how a good instructor debriefs a test, and how a shit one doesn't.

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ZombiesAteMyBigToe · 02/09/2013 14:00

Its taken me a while to get round to it, but I finally (!) posted the complaint/refund letter to Nippers today. I'll update here when I hear from them.

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RenterNomad · 02/09/2013 18:41

Good luck. Did you post to the DSA at the same time?

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ZombiesAteMyBigToe · 02/09/2013 22:38

Dsa accept by email too, so I emailed them a copy about a month ago. I posted their pathetic and unhelpful reply on the blog. Haven't heard anything since.

Do I need to send a paper copy too?

I also got a phone call from the BBC Watchdog programme today, so I sent them everything I have and will keep them updated too. I gave the lady a link to this thread . Also sent her a link to the blog as I wasn't as articulate as I could have been as had been dealing with squabbling DC all day.

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EdwiniasRevenge · 02/09/2013 23:23

Well done.

How did watchdog know about it?

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ZombiesAteMyBigToe · 03/09/2013 08:09

I emailed them about a month ago when I was still incandescent.

Grin

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RenterNomad · 03/09/2013 14:05

Good work! Transparency is a great antidote to corruption!

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