AA and BSM ordered to refund learner drivers for hidden fees

The owner of the AA and BSM driving schools must pay refunds to more than 80,000 learners after failing to disclose the total price for lessons upfront during booking online, following an investigation by the competition watchdog. Affected customers will get a share of £760,000, making the average payout around £9, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. Automobile Association Developments has also been fined £4.2m for breaking consumer law by using a practice known as "drip pricing". A spokesperson for AA and BSM driving schools said it was "disappointed with the outcome of the investigation" but "cooperated fully" throughout. They said: "Although the £3 booking fee was made clear to customers prior to their purchase, we acknowledge it should have also been displayed at the start of the online booking journey. "Having listened to the regulator, we made immediate changes to our website to make the £3 booking fee more prominent. We are now refunding all relevant customers." The CMA's investigation found that people booking lessons online between April and December last year were initially shown prices that did not include a mandatory booking fee. It was only shown to new c