I did an intensive course, limited time, lot to cover, it was hard, Lindy was very tough and firm, she pushes you to go above and beyond your driving skills, you get to test standard and she pushes yo... See more
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Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
Had a call semi out the blue from this company after googling intensive tests. Received a call from YAD who was very informative, he took time to explain why he was calling that it wasn't to push m... See more
Company replied
Muhammad was excellent throughout the process. Very professional, always on time and clearly has a lot of experience. I felt reassured under his guidance and I was able to pass first time. He was very... See more
Company replied
I've just spoken to a lovely and helpful lady called Rachel I am happy with the outcome she helped put my mind at immediate ease with some very important questions that I had before sitting my practi... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
We are amongst one of the largest established providers of intensive driving courses in the UK, We have a hardworking and dedicated team, who arrange the administration while the instructor and yourself have the time to prepare properly for your driving test. You can book anything from 5 - 45 hours with us and include tests if required + other optional training services such as theory training and pass plus scheme.
Our Aim
Written by the company
- We are committed to delivering fast-track Intensive Driving Courses for all learner driver experience / abilty. Offering courses in England, Scotland & Wales with home pick up.
Contact info
Cheadle Place, Stockport Road, Cheadle Point, Cheadle, SK8 2JX , Manchester, United Kingdom
- 0161 204 3790
- office@nationalintensive.com
- www.nationalintensive.com
20% OFF ANY DRIVING COURSE DEPOSIT
4.3
Excellent
8K reviews
Asks customers to review
This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative
Replied to 100% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 24 hours
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Reply from National Intensive
Thank you, Leon, for your wonderful 5-star review! We're delighted to hear that Rachel made such a positive impression. We'll be sure to pass on your kind words to her. We really appreciate your feedback and thank you for choosing National Intensive. We wish you all the best!
Regards
NI Team
I did an intensive course
I did an intensive course, limited time, lot to cover, it was hard, Lindy was very tough and firm, she pushes you to go above and beyond your driving skills, you get to test standard and she pushes you for better so when it comes to your test youre beyond that standard it is basically a pass guarantee. It is a bit of tough love that is very effective when you listen and take it on as she knows her stuff. She is also a great laugh so it isnt awkward.
7 July 2026
Reply from National Intensive
Hello
Many thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated. I am glad to hear you are happy and that your instructor went above and beyond to ensure you reached test standard.
Regards,
National Intensive.
⭐☆☆☆☆
⭐☆☆☆☆
Unfortunately, my experience with National Intensive was extremely disappointing.
I booked a 25-hour intensive driving course after explaining before booking that I needed my driving licence urgently for a job opportunity. I also requested a local instructor who could provide intensive lessons.
The first instructor allocated to me did not work out, and I was then allocated a second instructor based some distance away. Throughout the course I experienced repeated changes to lesson times, late arrivals, cancelled lessons and poor communication. The course was never delivered in the intensive manner that had been promised.
Despite paying £735.29 to National Intensive and a further £775 directly to the instructor, I only received around three hours of tuition before the arrangement completely broke down. The instructor refunded the majority of my lesson fees, but National Intensive refused to refund their administration fee despite my complaint.
I followed their complaints process, provided evidence and attempted to resolve matters professionally, but their final response was that they had simply allocated an instructor and therefore considered their obligations fulfilled.
I have since found a new local instructor and, within just two lessons, the difference has been remarkable. The lessons are punctual, well structured, professionally delivered and tracked through an app, which has highlighted just how poor my previous experience was.
Based on my personal experience, I cannot recommend National Intensive. If you're considering an intensive course, I would strongly recommend researching local independent instructors instead, as they may provide a more reliable and consistent service.
25 May 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
This matter has already been discussed extensively over the past few weeks, and our position has been clearly explained.
We would like to clarify that the pupil cancelled a number of scheduled lessons during the course. While some lessons did take place, the ADI remained mindful of the upcoming test date and the pupil’s request for intensive tuition. Given that the test date was still some time away, the instructor advised that it would be more beneficial to continue building the required skills and experience rather than rushing the pupil into a test before they were fully prepared.
The pupil was also invited to use the test alert system to monitor for any earlier test availability, and this remained an option should suitable cancellations become available.
As a booking agent, our role was to allocate a suitable instructor and facilitate the course. We did this, and an instructor was provided. The instructor acted professionally and in the best interests of the pupil by ensuring that tuition was focused on achieving the required standard safely rather than simply proceeding with a test that they did not believe the pupil was ready for.
We acknowledge that the pupil’s experience did not meet their expectations; however, the suggestion that no service was provided is not accurate. Lessons were arranged, an instructor was allocated, and support was provided throughout the process.
Our previous response remains unchanged, and we consider this matter concluded.
Regards
NI Team
Very helpful and in detail about the…
Very helpful and in detail about the questions I asked , seems kind and caring to give you the best experience for a driving course
8 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Annie,
Thank you so much for your great feedback. Please can you tell us the name of the agent you spoken to, so we can pass the feedback on to them?
Regards,
National intensive
Katie was very helpful answering all my…
Katie was very helpful answering all my questions I had to find the right course for me
8 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Ellie,
Thank you so much for your feedback. We will pass this onto Katie for you.
Regards,
National intensive
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Brendan,
Thank you so much for your feedback.
Regards,
National intensive
Support are extremely rude and take…
Support are extremely rude and take days to even begin offering help. The payment system does not function like any other system I have ever used before, and if you cancel, or in my case get paused, then you are charged more when you restart!
In response to your reply, that is not what happened. The payment plan in August (which came as an email in September, days late) was fixed, then the month after was silently cancelled, with no warning or information of it doing so. I have corrected your slightly slow support team numerous times on this, and it seems they still cannot wrap their head around how months of the year work. You touched on that they were respectful, they were not. About 4-5 times throughout they're emails were written implying that being charged more was a stupid question, and that I'd missed something obvious, like your response has also just implied. Despite being the third person now, in a row, to not understand that the September email was not regarding the September payment.
I guess it's safe to assume that these are going to the exact same team based off your last response, I recommend investing in customer service courses.
8 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
EDIT
This will be our final response regarding this matter.
You have posted your review, and we have provided our response. We will not continue to engage in back-and-forth discussions on this platform, as it is not an appropriate forum for resolving complaints. You are already in direct contact with our office, and any further communication should take place through that channel.
Once again, we reiterate that, following a full review of the matter, we are satisfied that there was no wrongdoing on the part of our agents.
As this matter is now being dealt with directly by our office, we consider our response on this platform to be complete
Thank you for your feedback. We are disappointed to read this review, as we do not believe it reflects what occurred.
Your payment plan was automatically cancelled because a scheduled payment was not successfully made. At the time, we contacted you to explain the situation and advised that the payment plan could be reset, but we did not receive a response. This matter was not raised again until many months later.
Regarding pricing, the advice you were given was simply to make you aware that, as a significant amount of time had passed since your original booking, instructor rates may have increased. However, after reviewing your booking, we honoured your original course price, and you were made fully aware that no additional charge would be applied.
We have also reviewed all correspondence with our support team, including your telephone contacts. Management found that our agents remained professional throughout and that the information provided was accurate and consistent with your booking history.
We appreciate that the situation has been frustrating, but we have spent considerable time working with you to find a resolution and to help you continue with your course. We remain committed to assisting you and wish you every success with your driving journey.
Regards
NI Team
Some to had really hopefully and…
Some to had really hopefully and friendly thank you
7 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Nicole,
We really appreciate your feedback. We will pass this on to the team for you.
Kind regards,
National Intensive.
My overall experience with national…
My overall experience with national intensive has been a positive one even if problems occur it has been quickly corresponded and fixed at my earliest convenience whether it’s at the test centre or in the car the national intensive I have to thank Emma for being kind, helpful and understanding towards my scheduling and making my driving experience more enjoyable!!!
7 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Thank you so much for updating your 5-star review, Todd!
We're delighted to hear that your overall experience with National Intensive has been a positive one. While we always aim for everything to run smoothly, it's great to know that any issues you encountered were resolved quickly and with minimal disruption.
We'll be sure to pass your kind words on to Emma. She'll be thrilled to hear that her kindness, understanding, and support made such a positive difference to your driving experience and scheduling.
Thank you for choosing National Intensive. We wish you all the very best with your driving, and congratulations again on your progress!
Regards
NI Team
Charlene was a great help to me passing…
Charlene was a great help to me passing my test getting me back to basics and learning to drive safely.
6 July 2026
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Cal,
Thank you so much for your feedback.
Congratulations on passing your test!
Regards,
National intensive
Spoke to yad about intensive course…
Spoke to yad about intensive course very reassuring patient and clear advice :)
6 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Craig,
Thank you so much for your feedback. We will pass this onto Yad for you.
Regards,
National intensive
Yad guided very nicely about the…
Yad guided very nicely about the courses and offers.
Definitely looking forward to join the course for my daughter.
6 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Pallabi,
Thank you so much for your feedback. We will pass this onto Yad for you.
Regards,
National intensive
Easy to contact and helpful
Rachel who answered the phone for me today was extremely helpful and sorted out what I needed very quickly.
6 July 2026
Reply from National Intensive
Thank you so much for your 5-star review, M Moran!
We're delighted to hear that Rachel was able to help you quickly and efficiently. Providing friendly, responsive service is something we really value, and it's great to know she made such a positive impression.
We appreciate your feedback and wish you all the best with your driving journey!
Regards
NI Team
Very helpful
Very helpful. Listened to my concerns. Explained clearly. Yad call handler very professional
3 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Thank you for your feedback. We’re really glad to hear Yad listened to your concerns and explained everything clearly. He’ll be delighted to know his professionalism made a difference.
Regards,
National Intensive
Reply from National Intensive
Thank you for your review, Maddox!
Regards,
National Intensive
Never felt so nervous
Never felt so nervous, but Seb put me straight at ease. Couldn't recommend him anymore. Passed my test first time. 10/10
2 July 2026
Reply from National Intensive
Hi there,
We really appreciate your feedback; please don't hesitate to reach out should you have any queries or concerns.
Kind regards,
National Intensive.
Way too overpriced in terms of what you get.
Way too overpriced in terms of what you get, paid for a rushed test however found an even faster 1 after looking for a minute, bought 20hrs worth of driving tests however passed with only 3minors after 10hrs. Instructor was decent enough until you made a mistake then would start shoutig.
2 July 2026
Reply from National Intensive
Thank you for taking the time to leave your review.
We're sorry to hear you feel our service was overpriced. Our course prices are clearly displayed before booking, allowing customers to make an informed decision about the option that best suits them.
Congratulations on passing your driving test with only three minors. That's a great result and suggests the tuition you received prepared you well for your test.
We're also pleased you were able to find an earlier driving test yourself. However, if a customer changes their test appointment independently, it can prevent us from continuing to search for or manage earlier appointments. In addition, due to recent changes made by the DVSA, we are no longer able to manually make changes to customers' driving tests on their behalf, which is unfortunately outside of our control.
We're sorry to hear your instructor's teaching style didn't always meet your expectations. We appreciate your feedback and will take your comments on board as we continually work to improve our service.
Regards
NI Team
Fantastic booking process and training
2 July 2026
Reply from National Intensive
Hello Madison
Thank you for taking the time to post your feedback for ourselves and your Instructor Sajjad. We appreciate it. Congratulations and Happy Driving! 🚗🚗
Regards
NI Team
They won’t give me my money back and I have had 2 hours in 18 months!!
I very rarely leave reviews like this but I would be negligent to not warn other people.
They may reply with whatever they like, but what I have stated below is factual:
I booked an intensive driving course with National Intensive in January 2024, paying a deposit of over £500 directly to them, with the remaining course fee (over £700) paid separately to the self-employed instructor they allocated, as is their business model.
As a busy single mum, I didn't read through their full terms and conditions in detail before booking - I understand that is on me. I simply trusted that I'd be allocated a driving instructor who would actually get in touch and make appointments with me, in the way any reasonable person booking a course like this would expect.
Since December 2024, the only thing I have received is a single two-hour assessment - not even a proper lesson. Nearly two years on from booking, that is a genuinely disgraceful level of service for a course sold as "intensive."
What really shocked me is that when I managed to get through to their head office in Manchester by phone (which is difficult in itself, as they rarely answer), the person I spoke with acknowledged, more than once, that the way I had been treated by the instructor was completely inappropriate. Yet when it comes to actually refunding me, which would be the ethical thing to do given they agree something went wrong, they refuse and simply refer me back to the small print in their terms and conditions. It's left me wondering whether the real issue is that they simply aren't able to afford to refund customers, though I can't say that for certain - I can only go on what I've experienced.
When I raised this and asked for a refund, National Intensive's written position has consistently been to point to their terms and conditions on non-refundable deposits, rather than address the fact that almost nothing has actually been delivered. They maintain they are "just a 3rd party booking agent" and not responsible for the instructor's side of the payment, despite having taken over £500 from me directly and being the ones who arranged the instructor in the first place.
To make things worse, the instructor I was allocated is now liquidating her company, and I've been told I'll need to wait 28 days to find out if I'll get any of the £700+ I paid her back - with no guarantee that I will.
I am now taking this to the small claims court. It's just over £500, but at this point it's a matter of principle - it will be two years this year since I paid for a service that was never properly delivered. Unlike driving schools that employ their instructors directly and take responsibility for the whole service, National Intensive's model leaves customers with nowhere to turn when things go wrong, while they keep their fee regardless. I do not recommend this company and would urge anyone considering booking with them to stay clear.
2 July 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from National Intensive
Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. Unfortunately, we're unable to identify your booking from a first name alone. If you'd like us to investigate your specific case, please contact our Customer Support team with your full name and booking reference.
In response to the points you've raised, we would like to clarify a few things.
Firstly, as you have acknowledged in your review, it is the customer's responsibility to read and accept our Terms & Conditions before making a booking. These are presented during the booking process and must be agreed to before payment can be made. While we appreciate you chose not to read them in full, the terms you accepted form the basis of the agreement between us.
Our pricing is also fully transparent. At the point of booking, it is clearly explained that the deposit paid to National Intensive covers our booking and administration services, while the remaining balance for driving lessons is paid directly to your allocated self-employed ADI. You chose the deposit payment option rather than paying in full, meaning the lessons element was always payable directly to the instructor.
We also dispute the suggestion that we are difficult to contact. We have a dedicated Customer Support team available by telephone throughout the week, and while there may occasionally be a queue during particularly busy periods, we answer calls every day and are always happy to assist.
Where issues arise between a customer and an instructor, we do everything we reasonably can to liaise with both parties and work towards a resolution. However, as the instructor is self-employed, there are processes that must be followed, and a disagreement or difference of opinion does not automatically entitle a customer to a refund of our booking and administration fee.
We're sorry that your experience has not met your expectations and remain happy to review your case if you contact us with your full booking details.
regards
NI Team
It was good as it asigned an instructor…
It was good as it asigned an instructor and booked the test straight away the bad points as my test date didn't get any closer from the original date there is no contact number or details ended up having to have the date pushed back as I already had a hoilday booked for that date but they did manage to bring it forward from there
2 July 2026
Reply from National Intensive
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're pleased to hear that your instructor was assigned and your driving test was booked promptly.
We're sorry to hear about your disappointment regarding your test date. Unfortunately, we can't identify your booking from a first name alone, so we're unable to look into your specific case. In general, while we always monitor for earlier driving test appointments where this service has been selected, earlier dates are never guaranteed. Availability depends entirely on your test centre and local area, and sometimes no suitable earlier appointments become available.
We're also sorry you felt there was no way to contact us. We have a dedicated Customer Support team available throughout the week, and our contact number, email address, and contact form are all available on our website. We're always happy to help with any questions or changes to your booking.
If the first test clashed with your holiday, that's unfortunate. We're glad we were able to move your test to a more suitable date after your holiday. We therefore view this as a successful booking. and we wish you all the best with your driving test.
regards
NI Team
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