AA and BSM forced to refund 80,000 learners as CMA slams ‘drip pricing’ tactics with £4.2m fine
Wed, 29 Apr 2026
Over 80,000 learner drivers are to receive automatic refunds following a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation.
The CMA looked into eight businesses, including the AA Driving School and BSM Driving School – both of which are owned by the AA – and found that people booking driving lessons online between April and December 2025 were shown prices that missed a mandatory £3 booking fee.
Adding charges later in a payment process is known as drip pricing, which is against consumer law. This states that all unavoidable charges must be shown from the start, enabling people to make informed choices.
As the AA failed to do this on its AA Driving School and BSM websites, the CMA has flexed its new powers to get money back for consumers for the first time, ordering more than £760,000 be repaid.
What's more, the AA must pay a fine of £4.2 million – a figure reduced by 40% from an original £7 million as the firm agreed to settle with the CMA early.
Automatic average £9 refund
The AA Driving School or BSM Driving School will write to those affected and an automatic refund given to the card used for the booking. The average refund is around £9 and a cheque will be issued if an automatic refund isn't possible.
"If a fee is mandatory, the law is clear: it must be included in the price from the very start – not added at checkout – so consumers always know what they need to pay," says Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA.
"At a time when people are watching every pound, dripped fees can tip the balance. And when it comes to something as important – and costly – as learning to drive, people deserve clarity."
In 2023, 46% of online businesses were found to have used at least one dripped fee, so the tightening of consumer protection is welcome when every penny spent is being watched.
Not least because learning to drive is an ever-more expensive endeavour. The latest GOV.uk figures estimate that the cost of a one-hour driving lesson is £36-£40, up from £31-35 in 2023.
