My5Day - October 2024
*Please note that My5Day is a different company and has no association with 5Day, which is also a driving school.*
In our film, we investigated complaints about intensive driving course company My5Day. It was accused of taking customers’ money, yet failing to get them behind the wheel. It also appeared that the company was using photos in a ‘pass gallery’ that were from other driving schools. Customers were also left waiting for refunds.
We contacted My5day and it said it was very sorry to hear about these issues that Vicky and Joseph have experienced. It said it was a family run business which has been running since 2010 and that it takes these complaints very seriously.
It said that as a team it strives to provide its customers with the best experience possible but since the rise of Covid it has along with many others within this industry faced significant challenges within its sector and it must continue to strive towards helping its customers achieve their goals. It said it recognises that in part it has let people down and that this is unacceptable. It said it doesn’t wish to use the Covid pandemic as an excuse, but it must acknowledge the impact it is still having on it as an organisation.
It said it further recognises that there have been failings on its part and due to significant growth in the demand for its services there is a need to consistently update its systems and its workflows to insure better standards of customer services. Subsequently additional team training will be arranged along with a full review of its booking process as it is noted there are significant areas in which it can clearly improve.
It went onto say that it does not shy away from its responsibilities to its customers and are fully committed to improving their experience.
In the case of Joseph it said it was was unfortunately let down by a local instructor and it was unable to then arrange a suitable replacement within the timescale requested. Following this, Joseph’s Aunt logged a complaint with MY5Day which was replied to within 20 hours of its receipt. The email provided by Joseph’s auntwas not her email and presumed to be Josephs. The office team did not get a reply to its email response. Ideally this issue should have been picked up again at the time but due to the then limitations to our CRM this was not done. In this instance it said since Watchdog have brought this to the attention of my5day a full refund has been issued and it apologises for the human error in not arranging a subsequent follow up and for their experience.
In the case of Leon, it was noted that on this MY5day were unable to provide a driving instructor for the initially requested course date. My5day were working hard to secure an alternative Driving Instructor, but it was unable to do so which resulted in a short notice notification to reschedule.
It said a rebooking was arranged, and a Driving Instructor was confirmed to contact Leon to confirm the arrangements but then failed to do so. It said that understandably and regrettably, Leon was unhappy at being let down and a complaint was logged on our CRM on 26th August 2024 with the my5day reply on 27th. August 2024.
It said that the My5day team were still investigating this situation before Watchdog alerted us to their complaint. Immediately a full refund was issued to the customer, and my5day sincerely apologise to Leon for his experience.
It said that during My5day’s website development several photos were used by developers, but these were subsequently not replaced before going live due to an oversight. The images were never meant to represent a collection of pupils that had necessarily passed with my5day.
However, it said that since this has been highlighted to it by Watchdog, my5day have taken the steps to replace these photos with its own learner pass photos to avoid confusion or questions going forward. As my5day have many hundreds of pupils passing with it each year, it will be keeping this gallery up to date from now on to showcase its success stories from around the UK.
It said that Watchdog have highlighted that the promotional video could imply that a pupil may expect their driving test on the last day of their course. In regard to this it said it is worth noting that there are clear statements throughout the website and within my5day’s terms and conditions that are agreed to at the point of purchase by the customer clearly stating that a driving test will not necessarily be within the course week itself as there are several factors that might affect this outcome. To avoid the possibility of any misunderstanding this video has been edited accordingly.
As a business we can use the DVSA business booking system for my5day pupils which does allow us to check for regular driving test cancellations helping my5day to fast track its pupils in many cases. Due to the DSVA waiting lists for driving tests there is currently no faster or more reliable route to get a suitable driving test. It said that all driving schools are affected by the same issues in this regard.
Regarding the number of pupils who have passed with My5Day it said that this quote was in relation to the DVSA tests that were undertaken between April 2018 to March 2019 and was not a statement about my5day as a company nor did it mean to imply it was such. As this was part of an edited wider statement this could be open to misinterpretation and has subsequently been removed.
My5day recognise that since coming out of the Covid 19 pandemic there have been huge challenges for driving schools within this sector. It said it has not only had the challenges of a lack of Driving Test availability which has impacted its business model but also a huge increase in demand for its services which post covid were never foreseen. As a growing provider we are having to constantly improve in key areas and have made significant steps forward.
My5day went onto say it was appalled by the number of complaints that watchdog have received, and it is something that it will take ownership for and will address on an individual bases with those customers. My5day requested that any customer that has concerns relating to an ongoing complaint reaches out to it by using our specially setup email address watchdog@my5day.com
It said it will aim to reach out personally to these customers and resolve any outstanding issues amicably and as quickly as possible.
As a business it is still in challenging times which has impacted its cashflow position due to higher lesson rates, advertising and operational costs with a significant sum outstanding to it from its suppliers. Some of these and other factors has resulted in a delay in issuing refunds, but it is recognised that this is a short-term issue that it is actively working to resolve. My5day said it can assure our customers that anyone offered a refund will find their complaint resolved as quickly as possible considering the current operational environment.
It said it has now a CRM complaints process in place which is helping it to improve its communication to its customers following a complaint being submitted. Although it appreciates, it still has a lot of work to do here it is confident that the situation will continue to improve going forward.
It said it’s booking process is currently being reviewed as the main issue this has highlighted is last minute course date changes or cancellations. It said it understands fully how this can impact a customer. It flagged that all its course dates clearly state that a booking date is provisional and subject to change due to instructor availability issues. It went onto say that when a course comes in its team get straight onto allocating a course out to a Driving Instructor. Its said that the team work on this right up until the last minute which sometimes can fail to secure the right instructor which will result in a pupil being let down. Upon review it is recognised that communication could be far better and that last minute cancellations are terrible for its customers who in some instances have taken holiday to complete a course. It said that due to the intervention of Watchdog significant changes will be made to its communications and to its processes going forward with immediate effect to make sure that it significantly reduce the number of customers being let down at the last minute.
Over recent months it said it has upgraded its CRM system and that it is currently importing the legacy data which has impacted its ability to deal with customer complaints in the most efficient manner. Any refund that is due to a customer will be honoured and it said it is working its way through any complaints as quickly as it can and can only apologise for what is in some cases an unacceptable delay in issuing a refund.
It went onto say that all its offered products and terms and conditions are being reviewed and amended to better reflect its business objectives and to allow it to better manage its customer expectations.
It said that as a result of it experience with Watchdog, it has made several corrective actions including a recruiting more administrators and an instructor liaison officer. It said it has subsequently also recruited an additional 175 Driving Instructors to help clear its Covid 19 backlog and to help better meet its customers’ expectations. It said that it is worth noting that not all complaints logged through Watchdog would be necessarily due a refund as there may be other issues or solutions to any problems that have arisen. It is also likely that a significant number of the complaints Watchdog received will have already been resolved or pending a resolution action.
It said it would like to again sincerely apologise to any of its customers who have felt let down and its finds it personally distressing.
It went onto say it would also like to thank the many hundreds of loyal customers that it serves each year helping them towards gaining their driving independence.
Finally it said it remains committed to continuous improvement and appreciate the opportunity to address these issues as it helps it to better serve its customers in the future.
For any historic complaints please contact My5day at Watchdog@my5day.com and it will prioritise these complaints.
