Thousands of learner drivers to be refunded after driving schools crackdown – are you affected?

Learner motorists are in line for a refund after the UK’s largest driving school was fined for using drip pricing on lesson bookings.

The AA has been ordered to pay back almost 100,000 learners by the competition watchdog over the use of an illegal practice known as drip pricing.

Two schools run by the motoring service – AA Driving School and BSM Driving School – now have to pay back thousands of drivers after the decision.

It will also have to pay out a £4.2 million fine.

Here is a roundup of what the decision means and who is eligible for a refund.

How many drivers are affected?

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered the AA to refund more than 80,000 learners, who were not shown the upfront prices when booking online.

Who is eligible for the AA refund?

To be in line for the money, you will have booked lessons on the AA and BSM sites between April and December 2025.

New customers were only shown the full price, including the £3 booking fee, at the checkout, after lessons had already been chosen and personal details entered.

Learners will receive around £9 on average, but the exact amount will depend on how many packages they bought separately.

In total, the AA has to refund over £760,000.

Why has the driving school been fined?

The two driving schools were found to have used drip pricing, meaning they did not include a £3 booking fee in upfront prices, but it appeared later in the booking process just before payment.

It is illegal to hide a mandatory fee from consumers.

Drip pricing was widespread and cost consumers billions each year until it was outlawed by the Conservative government.

The AA said it was disappointed with the watchdog’s investigation outcome, but it would begin making refunds.

A spokesperson for AA driving schools told Metro: ‘Although the £3 booking fee was made clear to customers prior to their purchase, we acknowledge it should have also been displayed at the start of the online booking journey. 

‘Having listened to the regulator, we made immediate changes to our website to make the £3 booking fee more prominent. We are now refunding all relevant customers.

‘Whilst we are disappointed with the outcome of the investigation, we have fully cooperated with the CMA throughout and would emphasise that protecting consumer rights has been central to our business for more than 120 years.’

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: ‘If a fee is mandatory, the law is clear: it must be included in the price from the very start – not added at checkout – so consumers always know what they need to pay.

‘At a time when people are watching every pound, dripped fees can tip the balance. And when it comes to something as important – and costly – as learning to drive, people deserve clarity.’

Meanwhile, the driving industry continues to be in turmoil after a backlog of driving tests, a hangover from the Covid-19 pandemic when testing paused.

The average wait time for a test is now around 22 weeks, compared to five weeks before the pandemic.

Absurd wait times have forced some learners to resort to desperate measures like booking any slot they can find, hundreds of miles from the roads they know just to secure a test.

Meanwhile, bots and third-party websites were hoovering up slots and selling them on for a premium.

The government announced measures last year to crack down on the backlog, including releasing 10,000 extra driving tests each month and using military driving examiners to help ease the situation.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Comments Add as preferred source