“Very disappointing experience – poor communication and lack of accountability
My son turned 17 in November and was extremely excited to start learning to drive. After researching instructors online, I chose Bill Plant Driving School, particularly as they advertise themselves as “National Driving School of the Year 2025”. Based on this, I felt confident booking a block of 10 lessons and paying in full upfront.
Unfortunately, after just three lessons, the allocated driving instructor began completely ghosting my son — no replies to messages and no return of calls. This was very upsetting for a new learner who had been enthusiastic and motivated, and it significantly knocked his confidence.
I then attempted to contact Bill Plant customer services for support. On one occasion, I was left on hold for over an hour and a half with no answer. When I later rang again but selected options as a new customer, the call was answered almost immediately. This was extremely frustrating.
When I explained the situation, I was told that Bill Plant were not responsible, as the instructor had already been paid, and that our issue was solely with the instructor. I was also told this was stated in their website T&Cs — however, at no point during booking or payment was I directed to these, nor was it made clear that Bill Plant would take no responsibility if an instructor failed to deliver lessons.
As a parent, I expected a national company with a strong reputation to offer support, accountability, or at least basic customer care when things go wrong. Instead, we were left chasing an unresponsive instructor and receiving no meaningful help from the company itself.
This experience has sadly damaged my son’s confidence at a crucial stage, and I would strongly advise other parents to think carefully before paying upfront without clear guarantees of support.”
“My instructor name William Sharif advised me to book my driving test and I did so on his recommendation. After booking, he is now refusing to take me to the test, stating I am not ready, without providing adequate notice or alternative arrangements. This has caused me stress and potential financial loss. I have messages confirming his advice to book the test”
“totally over the moon to say I passed my driving test first time with zero minors! 🚗✨
My examiner even called it a perfect drive.
A massive thank you to Zunair and Bill at Planet Driving School—your guidance, patience, and support made all the difference. I appreciate you both so much! 🙌”
“I had lessons withTony. Hes absolutley amazing, profesional, patient, friendy. Im happy to say i passed recently. Thank you Tony for all your support”
“My daughter was taught by Amy Beatrup who was absolutley fantastic. She took over from another driving instructor (not connected to Bill Plant) who had ruined her confidence. Amy was so encouraging and build back up her confidence and has just recently passed her test... Would recommend”
“I completed over 40 hours of practice with Bill Plant using the same instructor and car, only to be let down right before my test. Despite booking the test based on their confirmation, they failed to provide the promised car for cover. This shows a complete lack of responsibility and professionalism.
If a driving school cannot guarantee test cover after so many hours of paid lessons, then the lessons hold no real value. Extremely disappointing experience – I would not recommend this school to anyone who wants reliability and proper support.”
“Absolutely horrible. The instructor called Nisari from this company was manipulative and exploitative. ONE DAY before my test he raises the price to use his car to £230 this is ridiculous.”
“My entire experience with Bill Plant has been absolutely incredible. From my very first call with their team to the comprehensive training I received, every step has been top-notch. Thanks to their support and resources, I’ve successfully passed my Part 3 and am now a qualified ADI. I can’t thank this company enough for helping me get to where I am today!”
“I had such a great experience training with Bill Plant. The instructors were knowledgeable, supportive, and really took the time to help me build my confidence. The course was well-structured and flexible, which made it easy to fit around my current job. I felt fully prepared going into each part of the ADI process. Couldn’t recommend it enough!”
“I had a lesson with David he took me to the bottom of my street and asked me to read a reg plate from what he said was 20 metres as I was unable to read it he said he wasn’t able to teach me but wanted £30 cash only for the ten minutes he spent with me”
“Liars. Take your money and then near the start of the lessons they say no instructors available and offer to make you a refund so you have a very short time to find spaces somewhere else which is very difficult.
Rude customer service, the guy kept interrupting me, rushing me on the phone, I wasn't able to have a discussion with him, he was very rude and I made extraordinary efforts to remain calm and collected despite his attitude and rudeness.”
“I had a driving instructor with bill plant a man called Phillip, he was strange and very bad with people who have anxiety with driving, made weird comments to me and made up lies about me to the company when me and my mum made a complaint about him. DO NOT DRIVE WITH HIM”
“I just called the call centre to make an enquiry, but the staff member I spoke to was quite rude. He refused to speak with me simply because I was calling from a private number. I wasn’t aware that calling from a visible number was a requirement to have questions answered.”
“Rude and unprofessional call centre staff. Male was pushy, stand-off’ish and extremely unpleasant to deal with. His arrogance and self certainty totally put me off allowing a female use this service!”
“I was driving on the m62 on 3 April about 4pm . I was in a vw t6 so sitting higher than the average vehicle . A white vw golf , I do have the reg as it’s on dash cam . The driver in a bill plant car drove along side me in the outside lane texting on his mobile for 5/10 minutes at about 60 mph .. is this what you teach your drivers…”
“Awful company - picked my son up - drove him 20 minutes away - he drove for 10 minutes - instructor drove back.
Tried to complain to customer services , completely unresponsive and eventually offered £10 refund”
“I had a driving instructor in Leeds and this dodgy man cancelled 2 back to back lessons last minute (only gave me 25 minute notice both times). Not only that, he would prefer cash payments and cash payments would have to be made in 1 week advance which is strange.”
