Ripped of by Hi Desert Truck driving school!

[calval]

My husband went to Hi Desert Truck Driving in Lancaster, Ca and I believe he has been ripped off! When he started in Sept he was told they had 5 instructors. But while he was attending most of them quit and then they only had 2 left most of the time he was attending there. My husband passed the written permit test two days after he started the class because he had been studying online before he started the school. He passed the pre-trip & Air Break tests but failed the Alley docking 3 times! Then he had to pay the school $600.00 more to practice for a few hours at the school, ONE time out on the road for about 1 hour and to use the truck to take the test ONE more time and he didn't pass the alley docking once again! So we have paid them $2400.00 and have gotten NOTHING for it!
Then I find out that my husband was only taken out on the road 4 times in the 3 months he was going to the school and each time was only for a couple of hours.
Could someone here tell me if this is all common practice at other schools? For the money we paid I don't feel he got enough instruction and right instruction or he would have passed!

[Bigmon]

Sounds like you got ripped. I went to a school in Fontana and they had unlimited retesting for free. Alley dock seems to be the most common thing people fail on. At least is was at the DMV I was at.

[calval]

What school did you go to? By unlimited testing do you mean they would take you to the DMV unlimited times?

[Bigmon]

I went to Advance School of Driving in Fontana. 1-800-635-0147. Unlimited times to DMV. Most people that fail the first time pass the second time. It cost them money so the try to get it right.

They aren't the best for teaching you everything about trucking. Their main thing is pass the test and let your company train you afterwards. BTW..they are on a lot of company approved schools list too.

The list for employment placement is BS. Just a bunch of names for trucking companies.

[calval]

Did they help you get a job? How much was the training?

[Bigmon]

I got my own job. The just gave me a list of trucking companies which was worthless because most wanted experienced drivers.

My training was $1395.

[calval]

Was it hard to get a job right out of school?

[Bigmon]

I created my own job. It was hard because I didn't want to be a slave with the mega carriers or drive a cement truck.

CA stinks because the insurance is so high. If you don't mind teaming there are Fed Ex Owner Operators that will hire a rookie. The school has a lot of them.

[calval]

Thanks for the info! My husband went to check it out and he starts at Advanced next week. Hopefully all the money we are spending will be worth it.
We will be reporting Hi Desert Truck Driving to the BBB and taking them to court! They really screwed us!!!! And I think they are doing things illegally...they offered to get my husband his license through the mail for ANOTHER $3400.00!

[Bigmon]

Which schedule did he get? I had weekends. I agree about filing a claim against the other school. Hopefully, you'll get some money back.

[calval]

I thought you already finished there and got your cdl? He is going days.

[Bigmon]

I got my CDL. When I was in school I went on the weekends.

[calval]

So do you drive for a company or do you have your own truck?

[Bigmon]

I'm getting my own truck. I fill in for a friend when he needs it. I have a business outside of trucking. Getting my own truck would be an add on.

[calval]

You don't work for Advanced..do you?

[Bigmon]

No. I went to school there. That's my only connection to them.

[calval]

My husband started Advanced Tues and so far he is happy with the training. Since he has aready passed the pre-trip and airbrakes tests I think he takes the rest of the Dmv testing one day next week.
We have found out that Hi Desert Trucking School in Lancaster does not have a license with the city of Lancaster so one more mark against them!

[Bigmon]

I was wondering how he was doing. Glad he likes it.

[Celtic Warrior]

I am due to graduate from Arkansas State University Truck Driving School tomorrow. I can highly recommend this school - Total cost for all expenses here $1845. You will get at least 10 hours real "Road" time and al least 40 hours range time over 3 weeks and with 20 trucks and 20-25 students per class you can expect to have a truck to yourself for practice.
If I were to fail the test tomorrow I can re-test next week (5 day wait) and will have full use of a truck during the 5 day wait for no extra cost.
If you are considering getting a CDL then do not hesitate to consider this school.

[lurchgs]

Originally Posted by calval

My husband started Advanced Tues and so far he is happy with the training. Since he has aready passed the pre-trip and airbrakes tests I think he takes the rest of the Dmv testing one day next week.
We have found out that Hi Desert Trucking School in Lancaster does not have a license with the city of Lancaster so one more mark against them!

That sounds.. bad, to me. The issues with docking *could* be made to sound like the fault of your husband. Lack of license.. makes me worry. Do you know if there is a city business tax? If so, alerting the city to this company might be worthwhile. Heck, are they licensed to operate in the *state*?

And, by all means, alert the Better Business Bureau. Sure, they are not an enforcement agency, but sometimes they can have an effect on the business (sometimes, ha! they do!).

If somebody is willing to drop multiple dollars on something, research is essential. Using the internet is great, but one should never overlook the BBB - a lot of people out there don't have access to the internet, but virtually everybody has a phone and can call the BBB.