Login
Start Free Trial Are you a business? Click Here

The AA Driving School Reviews

4.0 Rating 1,120 Reviews
75 %
of reviewers recommend The AA Driving School
4.0
Based on 1,120 reviews
Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods
Postal Service
Customer Service
Communication Channels
Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In
Under An Hour
Read The AA Driving School Reviews
Visit Website

Phone:

0330 100 7470

Email:

customer.services@theaa.com

Location:

Fanum House, Basing View,
RG21 4EA
Basingstoke

Write Your review

The AA Driving School 5 star review on 5th September 2025
Danielle Bennett
The AA Driving School 5 star review on 24th August 2025
Anonymous
The AA Driving School 5 star review on 23rd August 2025
JF
The AA Driving School 5 star review on 25th June 2025
Anonymous
The AA Driving School 5 star review on 25th June 2025
Anonymous
The AA Driving School 5 star review on 1st June 2025
Kee-Anna
The AA Driving School 5 star review on 22nd May 2025
Benish Ashfaq
228
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
I have booked a lesson with an automatic instructor, I have had past instructors but due to personal circumstances I’ve had to look for a new one. Hearing good things about AA I booked with this automatic instructor. He was awful! He spent the whole lesson throwing sexist, hurtful comments at me about my appearance and where I lived. He made me feel so uncomfortable the whole lesson and was so unprofessional. When I called AA to make a formal complaint they said there was nothing they could do about it and the woman on the phone was dismissive and rude. DO NOT RECOMMEND!
Helpful Report
Posted 2 weeks ago
* This driving school is terrible. I had an unprofessional and aggressive instructor who didn't respond to my calls and messages all day. When he finally showed up 15 minutes late, he told me he was cutting 30 minutes from our lesson. When I explained that I had been trying to contact him to resolve an issue, he told me he didn't care and it was "my problem." When I complained to the company, they refused to help, saying they have no control over their drivers and don't verify who they hire. I absolutely do not recommend this school.
Helpful Report
Posted 2 weeks ago
awful m driving instructor takes money ends early doesnt show up on time acts like he knows it all and i know i should be ready for test now but he just doesnt want me to do it so he can earn more and more money
Helpful Report
Posted 3 weeks ago
Dreadful experience Do not use Recommended Driving instructorcancelled within minutes of lesson 4 out of 5 times We had to beg for money back Another instructor suddenly stopped unreliable poor teacher Do not use
Helpful Report
Posted 3 weeks ago
Useless company. My daughter booked 6hrs of Lessons in may. Was ready for her first lesson with a Paul Waterhouse, he never showed up. You cant speak to anyone at the AA. Daughter is supposed to have her second lesson tomorrow. Who knows if he will show up. Disgusting service, shame on you AA.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 month ago
I had a very disappointing experience with my instructor Terry Leslie Harris from AA Driving School. From the beginning, he was unprofessional and lazy. He would use his phone while I was driving, which is not only distracting but incredibly unsafe. During my paid lesson time, he often stopped to buy coffee, wasting time that should have been spent teaching me—not on his personal errands. His teaching style was poor and unstructured. He didn’t give proper guidance or feedback, and I often felt like I was teaching myself. It seemed like he was more interested in passing the time than actually helping me improve. The worst part came just 10 days before my driving test, when he started canceling my sessions. Then, out of nowhere, he informed me that he wouldn't take me to the test at all. I had been preparing for this test for months, and finding a new date was nearly impossible. After contacting AA, they admitted that he should have informed me sooner and that he would have to cover the test fees—but honestly, this isn’t just about money. It’s about the stress, wasted time, and lost opportunity after months of preparation. Extremely disappointed with both the instructor and the situation. I would not recommend Terry Leslie Harris to anyone. If you're considering lessons with AA, make sure to request an instructor with a proven track record of professionalism and commitment—this was the opposite of that.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 month ago
I haven't drove in 6 years and passed my test 15 years ago in a rural area. I took my first refresher lesson with Danielle in Birmingham today. Within 10 minutes behind the wheel she was shouting at me for making a mistake, when I'd told her she literally needed to start from scratch with me and treat me like a beginner, and that I had significant anxiety around driving. The mistake was around a gear change - I was trying to change down while on a residential road and she said I needed to slow down more before I did it. I imagine this is a common mistake so her reaction seemed quite disproportionate. Would not recommend for anxious drivers at all.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 month ago
I haven't drove in 6 years and passed my test 15 years ago in a rural area. I took my first refresher lesson with Danielle in Birmingham today. Within 10 minutes behind the wheel she was shouting at me for making a mistake, when I'd told her she literally needed to start from scratch with me and treat me like a beginner, and that I had significant anxiety around driving. The mistake was around a gear change - I was trying to change down while on a residential road and she said I needed to slow down more before I did it. I imagine this is a common mistake so her reaction seemed quite disproportionate. Would not recommend for anxious drivers at all.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 month ago
Unreliable and unprofessional – do not recommend. Messaged Jordan Lillie two weeks before my test, and he confirmed booking and availability. As the test approached, he stopped replying to calls or texts, and then failed to show on test day, offering no reason or apology. I was left stranded, stressed, and with no support. If you want someone consistent and communicative, look elsewhere.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 month ago
I started learning to drive with the AA a few years ago and while I figured out how to control the car at a basic level, I struggled to drive independently due to my instructor lacking in sufficient support. He would often tell me what to do instead of letting me figure things out, and never even considered going through a mock test with me before my test date. I therefore had to change instructors and join a different driving school who could meet my needs. After contacting customer support to find another instructor within the AA to replace them, they didn’t come back to me at all. Unfortunately I haven’t had the best experience learning with the AA as my instructor wasn’t able to teach me the necessary information to drive like my new instructor did and they failed to find me someone who could within the organisation. Needless to say I’ve now thankfully passed my test with another driving school but not sure I’d be able to recommend the AA for learning to drive for me personally - they should probably stick with breakdown recovery service in my opinion.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 month ago
I spoke to a lady from AA DRIVING SCHOOL who was putting my 17 year old child down for lessons.. she asked if my daughter has any thing she requires.. my daughter said just for her mum or uncle to sit in the back so she felt safe with a stranger.. the AA worker stated this could only happen on a couple of occasions but driving instructors don’t feel comfortable doing this so maybe no one will offer her any driving lessons. So we asked for a female instructor instead, we were told this wasn’t possible as it’s only 20% driving instructors. The lady spoke to me and my daughter in an aggravated manner because we were adamant for the safety of my child, there will always be a family member in the car. The woman made clear we most likely won’t get any driving instructors offering there service to my child. This will be taken further as that was an appalling service from someone who has to only answer a phone.
Helpful Report
Posted 2 months ago
The login portal stopped working after my son had had 2 lessons; to set up an account we needed to put in an email to which a verification code would be sent....except the code never arrived. We tried a couple of email addresses time and time again with no luck. Our driving instructor (lovely) could not do anything about login issues and we were directed to the aa online chatbot. This just said repeatedly that it didn't understand, couldn't help etc but did not transfer us to an actual human. I tried phoning a helpline number I found online but all the telephone services have been withdrawn. It seems the aa is fine if the online stuff is working but if there's a problem you have no support whatsoever.
Helpful Report
Posted 3 months ago
If I could give zero stars, I would. AA Driving School is not fit for purpose—the quality of instructors is poor and unreliable. They pick and choose students and seem to misunderstand the very idea of teaching. I wouldn’t waste my time or money on them. Look elsewhere
Helpful Report
Posted 3 months ago
Cancelled an hour before the lesson on my daughter's birthday! She was so upset 😞
Helpful Report
Posted 4 months ago
Summary of Complaint – John David Burbidge vs. AA Driving Instructor Gareth Farrell (ADI No. 102155) Complaint Reference: 2010/00272 On 28 March 2020, John Burbidge had a prepaid driving lesson scheduled with AA Driving School instructor Gareth Farrell, at a cost of £60. A confirmation message from the AA the day before indicated the lesson would proceed as planned. However, no communication was made by the instructor or the AA to cancel or postpone the session in advance. The lesson was later marked as "on hold" due to COVID-19. Following this, John was informed the lesson had been cancelled due to the pandemic, but the instructor had already claimed payment for the undelivered service. Gareth Farrell stated he attempted to contact John to verify whether he was a key worker—a claim refuted by John’s submitted call and text logs, which showed no such contact occurred. When a refund was initially refused, the matter was escalated. John submitted a formal complaint to the DVSA, alleging fraudulent conduct and a breach of the AA’s own terms and conditions, which require instructors to provide 48 hours' notice for cancellations. With John's written permission, the DVSA contacted Gareth Farrell for a response. In reply, Gareth asserted that the responsibility was on the student to provide documentation 48 hours in advance to prove eligibility for lessons during lockdown—despite the legal change only taking effect 24 hours prior to the scheduled lesson, making such advance notice impossible. John’s evidence showed he was not contacted and thus could not comply with this condition. Although Gareth Farrell maintained that retaining the funds was justified, the AA ultimately refunded John’s payment, acknowledging the breach of terms. The DVSA concluded they would not take the matter further but confirmed a record of the complaint would be retained on file for two years. While the payment was eventually returned, the situation raises concerns about the conduct and integrity of the instructor, as well as the handling of such issues at an instructor and company level resulting in distress and several weeks spend in resolution. No compensation was offered by AA for inconvenience.
Helpful Report
Posted 5 months ago
The driver never showed up and it took almost 2 weeks to get a refund +5 working days for it to actually end up in my bank.
Helpful Report
Posted 5 months ago
Driving instructor (Wayne Heery) was always late anywhere from 45mins to an hour and half late every time. Lied to me saying it was AAs fault but turns out AA have nothing to do with time. Was always making me take unwanted breaks so he could go on his phone and making inappropriate comments
Helpful Report
Posted 5 months ago
Booked a set of lessons and 3 out of 4 been cancelled by AA. It's hard enough to get an instructor these days and this isn't good enough from a supposed reputable company!
Helpful Report
Posted 5 months ago
AA instructor Luke Morgan is such an unprofessional creature ! Avoid him if u can !
Helpful Report
Posted 5 months ago
DO NOT use Jian Chen. He’s a trainee instructor and I booked with him just to get a feel of 2 hour lessons as I’m getting closer to doing a test. Everything was fine until I got into the car and he couldn’t speak English. The language barrier and broken english made it very difficult to concentrate and to actually follow his instructions. He didn’t understand me at times when I asked for confirmation on where we going because I didn’t understand his directions, which led to dangerous situations on the road. Despite my telling him I had done 30 lessons with another instructor, he frequently tried to grab the steering wheel from me even when everything was fine. He would take over using the dual controls when there was no need (for example at a closed T-junction, I was rolling in gear 1 ready to stop because I couldn’t see and he took the steering wheel from me and forcefully braked).
Helpful Report
Posted 5 months ago
The AA Driving School is rated 4.0 based on 1,120 reviews