CBT & A1 Licence - major problem :-(

[Paul the 6th]

Originally Posted by Miss Alpinestarhero

Nope I didnt request it, i didnt even know that they had arranged for a special instructor. I was under the impression that the riding school were doing it all themselves anyway.

£90 is the full fee for training, they didnt take the card details beforehand but I just gave it to them this morning when they asked for it (i wish i refused to pay the full fee now but i just wanted them to p*ss off).

sorry to hear all this maria it's always easy to think about what you should have said after the event but it's done now.

Think the main thing is, don't let it put you off riding.

[long story about not being put off riding]
It's the riding school which is at fault here, not the whole concept of riding bikes. When I was doing my das training I had a slightly near miss with a car who changed lanes but I hadn't done a lifesaver check either so I didn't realise he was there, so it was 50/50. The instructor more or less yelled in my ear then we pulled into a residential estate 2 mins later where he was furious at how close me & said car had come. In all honesty, I was close to tears. I felt disappointed in myself, and also that I'd nearly been rubbed out before I'd even got my licence...

Anywho, instructor told me to calm down & compose myself, then we had a 10 minute chat about what went wrong and headed back out onto the road. The last hour of the tuition went really smooth and when we got back, instructor said "well, I think that was exactly the sharp learning curve you needed - you're doing lifesaver's left, right and centre at exactly the right time...."
[/end of long story]

Use this as a bit of a learning curve you might feel a bit dismayed by the whole situation and possibly even wondering whether riding is for you, but compose yourself, pick up the phone and call round some riding schools to ask if they can accomodate you. Explain the bits you're worried about, any special requirements etc. and you'll be able to judge how understanding they are by the response you get. Then when you've found an instructor/school who says "come on down, we'll sort you out", you'll be back on form again

Only just seen this. That's outrageous that the training school were so rude to you, so unnecessary!
Hope you find an alternative school.

Just a quick question.. why are you doing your A1 test? The A2 test is the one that'll give you 33bhp for two years and then anything after. IIRC A1 only lets you ride a 125. I could be mistaken though...

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by joshmac

I could be mistaken though...

You are

[yorkie_chris]

Yes A1 keeps you stuck on a 125 license ... a bit like a permanent CBT.

What you want is the A2 test

[anna]

As everyone on here has stated, absolutely outrageous of any riding school treating you in this manner.

I would write a big long nasty letter to them, and then I would also write a nasty letter about them to a certain motorcycle journal too

Please don’t let it put you off, there are some fantastic riding schools out there, let us know how you go with shop addicts suggestion.

thats quite shocking for someone to be treated in such a way and i would take my custom elsewhere.

on another note as someone has mentioned would it not be possible for you to remove a section of your helmet to allow you to wear your hearing aid. and then for the audio head phone, may i suggest these (upper left). they are much flatter and thinner than the picture suggests and you could place these in the near vicinity of your ear (maybe just in front of your ear lobe).

i suggest this because when shadowing a doctor once for work experince i lost count with the number of people who had hearing aids and complained they where too loud/sensitive and didnt know how to adjust them. (I am assuming yours can also be adjusted in some way)

i really hope you can find a way to train and if its anyhelp there is a nice bike school in wimbledon (elite motorcycles training). i did my whole bike test with them in 5 days and while im not sure on how they would cater for your needs they were extremely helpful when i was booking my test so maybe worth a shot.

hope it works out for you. atb

[Spiderman]

Originally Posted by Miss Alpinestarhero

I can speak fine & dont sign (oo that rhymes!) though so I hope no-one starts worrying if they can talk to me at the AR09!

Just dont do what i always seem to do....give har a hug whilst still nattering away. How will she lip read when my lips are kissing her on the cheek and saying "so nice to see you again blah blah.."

Originally Posted by Paul the 6th

The £90 cancellation fee should be enough to cover their costs ....
Not sure if trading standards or some kind of regulatory body would be interested to hear about this?

Good point..leading to...

Originally Posted by Miss Alpinestarhero

Nope I didnt request it, i didnt even know that they had arranged for a special instructor. I was under the impression that the riding school were doing it all themselves anyway.

£90 is the full fee for training, they didnt take the card details beforehand but I just gave it to them this morning when they asked for it (i wish i refused to pay the full fee now but i just wanted them to p*ss off).

Maria my love, was there anything on any paperwork they gave you that mentioned ANYTHING about a cancellation charge? if not call your card company right away and explain what happened and how you felt under pressure to give then your card details. They will reibusre you and argue it with the comapny in question. if you have not been given prior written warnign about cancellation carges and the sacle of them then they cant just impose it. From the sound of them they probably didn't if they choose to shout at their customers for breaking down of all things. What a bunch of a-holes!!!

Also try these guys, http://www.ride2freedom.com/ , they used to be based in the card park behind the J&S in Watford which isnt really in watford but just off the A41. Its only about 5 mins from Apex corner so Matt will know how close that is. Nice bunch so i hope they can provide the trainging you require.

Good luck hun

Very sorry to hear about all the kerfuffle. Training school sound very unhelpful.

Carrying on the discussion of helmet modifications etc, could you not just get one of them p!ss pot lid / army style helmet things to use for your training? The ones that don't cover your ears? I admit they may not offer the best accident protection but it would get the job done. (to be honest I don't even know if they're legal here, just thinking out loud)

I saw loads of people in Japan wearing them. I don't want any 'you can't wear one of those, they don't offer adequate protection' type posts - I'm just trying to offer an alternative; and certainly one that I'd consider if it worked and got the job done. Obviously you can wear a 'proper' lid without your hearing aids after you've passed

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

You are

Don't think so David..

Originally Posted by direct.gov.uk

A1 test:

Light motorcycles with a cubic capacity not exceeding 125cc and a power output not exceeding 11kW (14.6bhp)A1

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Yes A1 keeps you stuck on a 125 license ... a bit like a permanent CBT.

What you want is the A2 test

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by joshmac

Don't think so David..

ell, it gave you something to post :P