General terms and conditions

Article 1 – Obligations of HVO Drive

HVO Drive is obligated to ensure:
1. that instruction is provided by instructors who comply with the Dutch Motor Vehicle Driver Instruction Act (Wet Rijonderricht Motorvoertuigen, WRM);
2. that the application for the examination of driving proficiency (hereinafter: the practical exam) by HVO Drive – including the payment of the applicable amounts and submission of the required documentation – is submitted to the Dutch Driving Test Organisation (Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen, hereinafter: the CBR) within two weeks following the date on which HVO Drive agreed in consultation with the student to apply for the practical exam and following payment by the student of the costs of the practical exam to HVO Drive;
3. that the student, having applied for the practical exam through HVO Drive, on the date and time that he/she has been called to take the practical exam has at his/her disposal the same or a similar type of vehicle as was used during the lessons;
4. that the entire duration of the driving lesson, i.e. 50 minutes, is fully utilised for the provision of driving instruction;
5. that insurance has been taken out to cover HVO Drive’s liability towards the student to the sum of at least € 10,000.

Article 2 – Obligations of the student

The student is obligated:
1. to honour the agreed date, time and place of the driving lesson (HVO Drive will observe a 15 minute waiting period) and upon non-appearance at the agreed lesson time without timely cancellation to pay the lesson price in full;
2. to pay the lesson price in full should cancellation occur less than 48 hours prior to the agreed lesson time. Saturdays, Sundays and recognised holidays will not be included for the purpose of these 48 hours. Cancellation is to take place by telephone or in person during HVO Drive office hours (i.e. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Cancellations by e-mail will not be accepted. A lesson will not be charged when late cancellation is due to compelling reasons, such as the funeral of a family member (in the first or second degree) or the student’s immediate admission into hospital;
3. to follow all instructions from the driving instructor during the lessons;
4. to observe the lesson plan agreed with HVO Drive, including the lesson components to be instructed and the number of driving lessons per week, up until the date of the practical exam;
5. to submit valid proof of identification and a valid certificate of theoretical driving proficiency at the practical exam. The student is responsible for obtaining the theoretical certificate in time;
6. to discuss with the examination agency and HVO Drive any medical conditions and/or facts that the student can reasonably expect to influence his/her ability to drive a motor vehicle prior to commencing the driving lessons;
7. to ensure that a driving licence can be granted, on account of the student’s residency status, following successful completion of the practical exam. HVO Drive cannot be held liable should a student be refused a driving licence.

Article 3 – Payment

1. The full amount of the teaching package (in case of payment of the teaching package at once), or the first instalment of the teaching package (in case of payment of the teaching package in pre-agreed instalments) must be paid to HVO Drive within seven days following commencement of the first lesson. Any subsequent instalments must be paid to HVO Drive in full prior to the practical exam.
2. If the student chooses to purchase individual lessons, each lesson will be invoiced separately and must be paid within seven days of the lesson in question.
3. If the student chooses to purchase an intensive training course, full payment to HVO Drive must be effected within seven days of the intake lesson. The application for the practical exam will not be made until full payment has been received.
4. Unless expressly agreed in writing HVO Drive does not accept cash payments.
5. HVO Drive is entitled to increase the price of lessons during the course of the teaching agreement (which when signed is valid until terminated in writing by the student or HVO Drive or following the successful completion of the practical exam by the student). Lessons paid in advance will still be conducted against the lesson price from before the price increase. In the case of an increase in the lesson price the student is entitled to dissolve the teaching agreement in writing within two weeks of being notified of the price increase.
6. Should the payment of lessons not be effected within the term stated the student will receive a reminder invoice seven days after the due date.
7. When the reminder invoice is not paid in full within seven days, the amount payable will be increased with interest. The interest rate will amount to statutory interest increased by 2% on an annual basis. The remaining days of the month in which payment should have been effected will be considered to be a whole month.
8. HVO Drive is, in case of late payment, continually entitled to suspend lessons until payment of the amount owed. Such a suspension is without prejudice to the payment obligations of the student.
9. Should the student remain in default of the amount due, HVO Drive can pass on the claim to third parties for collection. In such a case, HVO Drive is entitled to increase the amount due with collection costs. These collection costs include both judicial and extrajudicial costs. Extrajudicial costs constitute all costs charged to HVO Drive by lawyers, solicitors, bailiffs and any other parties engaged by HVO Drive in order to effect recovery of the amount due. The extrajudicial costs will be at least 15% of the amount due with a minimum of € 68.00.
10. In the case of default HVO Drive is entitled to terminate the teaching agreement in writing, taking into account a period of 14 days, for the subsequent period. Such a termination shall not prejudice, limit or restrict the payment obligations of the student already created in that case.

Article 4 – Application for the examination of driving proficiency (trial test, interim test, driving test, further investigation; hereinafter: the examination)

1. The application for the exam can only be made after the costs of or on account of the application for the examination have been settled. 2. The student is entitled to review the administration demonstrating that his/her application has been filed and/or reserved for a particular date after fourteen days following payment of the application of the examination. 3. Should the examination not take place due to the student arriving late at the place of examination or because the student is unable to produce the required documentation, the costs of applying for a new examination will be for the account of the student. 4. Should the examination not take place due to holidays of the student whereby the holiday period (as per the CBR holiday scheme) was indicated to HVO Drive with the application for the examination, the costs of applying for a new examination will be for the account of HVO Drive.

Article 5 – Examination of driving proficiency

1. Should the CBR, CCV or BNOR cancel the examination at the agreed time due to adverse weather conditions, HVO Drive can, in consultation with the student, offer the student a new examination date. In this case HVO Drive will charge no additional costs. The student is, however, obligated to pay HVO Drive the lesson fee for the lesson prior to the examination, notwithstanding the adverse weather conditions.
2. In the event the student is unable to start or complete the examination due to the fact that:
a. a family member up to in the second degree of the student or the instructor has died and the funeral has not yet taken place or is to take place on the day of the examination;
b. the learner car to be used for the examination is not available and no learner car of the same or a similar type is available;
c. the learner car to be used for the examination is declared unfit by the examiner and no suitable replacement vehicle is available; HVO Drive will ensure that, at the student’s request, a new examination date will be made available. This will entail no additional costs for the student.
3. In the instances under b and c of paragraph 2 above HVO Drive furthermore guarantees to provide the student, if he/she wishes to apply for a replacement examination, with three driving lessons, free of charge. This does not apply to a new application for an interim test or other type of interim subtest.

Article 6 – Termination of the teaching agreement

1. If the teaching agreement has not been entered into for a fixed number of lessons or has not been entered into for a fixed term, the teaching agreement can be terminated by both the student and HVO Drive taking into account a notice period of one month and with effect from the first day of a calendar month. The student is not obliged to take lessons with HVO Drive during this month provided the provisions of Article 2 paragraph 2 apply.
2. If the teaching agreement is entered into for a fixed number of lessons or for a fixed period the student is only allowed to terminate the agreement on the grounds of compelling reasons of such a pressing nature that he/she cannot be reasonable expected to continue the agreement, under the obligation to pay the amount for the lessons already taken plus one lesson, as well as administration costs and reimbursement of the examination fees paid by HVO Drive. If the amount was paid in advance, HVO Drive will refund the amount due after deduction of the examination fees paid by HVO drive and an amount in proportion to the lessons already taken plus a fee equal to the price of one lesson, as well as administration costs.
3. HVO Drive is only able to terminate the teaching agreement entered into for a fixed number of lessons or for a fixed period on the grounds of compelling reasons of such a pressing nature that HVO Drive cannot reasonably be expected to continue the agreement, under repayment to the student of the (lesson) fees on which HVO Drive has not yet delivered.

Article 7 – Indemnity

1. HVO Drive indemnifies the student against claims by third parties resulting from collisions, crashes and run-ins during the lessons as well as during the practical exam, with the exception of incidents that are the result of deliberate action and/or gross negligence on the part of the student, as well as in the case of the student’s use of alcohol, drugs or medicines that affect one’s driving ability.
2. If the student, notwithstanding that said in his/her statement regarding his/her right to drive a motor vehicle not having been denied by court order and his/her driving licence not having been revoked, does take up driving lessons and submits an incorrect statement, the student fully indemnifies HVO Drive and will reimburse any related imposed fines, as well as assume all other financial consequences in full.