need advice...

[Dash]

I "graduated" from driving school ...

the little instructor stated 399 for the whole course...

I paid him upfront, in cash, in advance at the beginning of the course..

finished all his in class and in car lessons with flying colors..

second last class he turns around and says..i need more "practice" on the road

which is very odd because I followed his in-car instructions to the letter, on the road..

i drove without incident and perfectly.

so he states, second last class that i need to give him ANOTHER 300 for 10 more in car lessons...

IF and OTHERWISE I wanted to get my certificate...

in the TERB world, this is called Bait and Switch.

When omeone advertises a fee upfront ...and then at the worst time - they pop up with surprise fees

we wouldn't like it if an sp did this...advertised a price on an ad and then upon showing up - she starts adding fees during the session...

so why is it okay for this guy to do it?

I tried consulting the government offices so after a few weeks nobody replied...so thats out the window...

so, guys...help me...what do i do about this guy?

I paid him 400 for nothing?

If he didn't pull this scam on me - i'd be able to go for my g2 in car driving test (three months earlier with driving school certificate...)

Do I call the cops?

P.S. He could be doing this scam to every client he has.

Yet, they're (government) letting him get away with it? There's no enforement or regulation to check on this guy?

 

[tboy]

Well Dash, before you go screaming "foul" I'd just like to point out a couple of things:
1) Most drivers think they're perfect, when in fact they're atrocious. I've been driving for 30 yrs and I even catch myself making mistakes (like forgetting to signal lane changes etc).
2) The instructor is a professional (we hope), so if he says you may need more lessons/road time, you might....
3) Take the written and road test. If you pass, then you've been trained and your money wasn't wasted. if you fail? The guy was right wasn't he?
4) Did this course include the written and road test?
5) Skipping over the G1 portion of the graduated licence is quite the leap. Maybe the instructor doesn't think you're proficient enough to take that leap?
6) Is this a popular legitimate company or some guy with a toyota and a sign that sticks to his roof?

If you REALLY want to see if it's a scam or not, contact another similar driving school and tell them your situation. Say to them: Could I book you for one lesson so that I can have your take on the situation? I remember when I was learning to drive, I could book as many or few lessons as I wanted.

As for extortion/fraud. Gimme a break....if Dash calls the cops, and they call the instructor all the instructor has to say is: Sorry, it is my opinion that he needs more training and since opinions are subjective, who are they to disagree? They're not 'trained/certified' driving instructors....

This is NO different than taking a creative writing course and the teacher giving you a C on your final essay. YOU may think it's an A+ but he doesn't.....

 

[Edifice]

I remember when I did my in car driving lessons years ago, I paid the private instructor cash upfront as he wouldn't accept Visa or debit transactions.

He preferred everything in cold hard cash....gee!, wonder why?

Wonder how much of the income he got from so many students did he actually report on his income tax?

Needless to say, he was one hell of a teacher and I past the test.

 

[tboy]

Obviously not so with your grade five english teacher!

LOL dude, you took the words right out of my mouth.....I was going to comment on the same thing but decided to let it pass....thanks for watchin' for the ones I miss!

 

[kooley]

tho words

"Silverman Helps"

 

[tboy]

tho words

"Silverman Helps"

Oh yeah, I can see THAT conversation too:

Hey Mr Silverman, I took this driving course, and I think I drive perfectly but the teacher says I need more lessons. He's trying to rip me off.....

WHen Mr Silverman calls up the instructor: Hey, you trying to rip off Mr Dash, he says he drives perfect.....

Instructor: Well he may feel that way but he doesn't blah blah blah and takes 15 minutes to paralell park, doesn't merge smoothly, doesn't go on green lights....

Mr Silverman calls Mr Dash back: Buddy? You suck behind the wheel.......

The ONLY way to proove if your instructor is wrong and you're right, is to be tested by an independant party..namely a recognized driving school.....

 

[plunker]

so, guys...help me...what do i do about this guy?

Drive his fucking car into a hydro pole. Then say, oops I guess you were right. You're not getting a certificate from this guy anyways no matter how much more you give him.

 

[Terminator2000]

Drive his fucking car into a hydro pole. Then say, oops I guess you were right. You're not getting a certificate from this guy anyways no matter how much more you give him.

Hmmm...I could buy ONE more in-car driving session...go, oh..I have to prove to you how well I can drive. Just one more chance, pleeeaaasse...? Then CRASH!!!...&%$#@!! ...oops...sorry about that...

But seriously...Icant believe how I got scammed and how there are about a dozen or more of these guys out there offering "driving classes" and then getting away with this shit. And there's nobody to stop them

 

[Mr. Piggy]

I am glad I'm not going for my licence the way it is now. I've had my licence since I was 16 and back then you got your 120 day learners permit and you could drive with that as long as a licenced driver was with you. Had a motorcycle licence before getting one for a car.
My mother wanted me to take driving lessons to be sure I was ready. Cost a whole $6 for an hour. Ya, I know I'm showing my age, and I only took 2 lessons. The instructor said I didn't need any so the second lesson was for the hour then we went to the MTO for my driving test. Passed with no problem.
Some of these driving instructors that are out there are fucking assholes. I've seen them with a student getting on the 401 and the stupid fuck has the student head right for the middle lane and stay there. I've been cut off with them doing this. No wonder ther are so many asshole drivers out there.

 

[tboy]

Hmmm...I could buy ONE more in-car driving session...go, oh..I have to prove to you how well I can drive. Just one more chance, pleeeaaasse...? Then CRASH!!!...&%$#@!! ...oops...sorry about that...

But seriously...Icant believe how I got scammed and how there are about a dozen or more of these guys out there offering "driving classes" and then getting away with this shit. And there's nobody to stop them

YOU got scammed? I thought this was about dash getting scammed...or are you saying you got scammed too?

For the record though driving schools are one area that the powers that be need to look at. There isn't much regulation in this industry and yeah, there's a lot of yahoos out there saying they are certified. For eg: who the hell would allow a japanese driver teach another japanese how to drive? lol

 

[Terminator2000]

YOU got scammed? I thought this was about dash getting scammed...or are you saying you got scammed too?

For the record though driving schools are one area that the powers that be need to look at. There isn't much regulation in this industry and yeah, there's a lot of yahoos out there saying they are certified. For eg: who the hell would allow a japanese driver teach another japanese how to drive? lol

I got scammed the same way. Fuck it.

 

[Dash]

So, hypothetically, the best move I should make is to schedule a driving test with another driving intstructor so he can assess my driving skills and having explained how this other instructor is trying to milk me for another 10 driving classes before giving me the certificate, the other driving instructor will write a note saying my driving skills are road satisfactory and then use that note as evidence that this other guy is scamming me?

Help me out guys.

A more effective strategy I've been working on is to approach the guy and confront him on the bait and switch ploy he used and see what he says and if he doesn't budge. Then say I'll go to th newspapers to expose his bad business.

P.S. The try to crash the driving instructor's car idea is out the window. Considering the driving instructor has a brake pedal on his side of the passenger seat...

Dash: Uh...let's use your family car, Mr. Driving Instructor.

Driving Instructor: Uh.....why?

Dash: It looks more expensive and like you're more fond of it. *innocent look*

Driving Instructor: Uh.....ok.....sure, why not?

 

[tboy]

Dash: the problem with going to the papers is you are opening up yourself to a slander lawsuit as you have NO proof he's scamming you.

I've said this before: it is his, as your instructor, opinion that you need more classes before graduating. Unless you proove him wrong, who are YOU to say he's wrong?

It may be a pain in the ass but having someone independent support you, or your instructor, is the only way to garner any proof.

 

[thompo69]

Couple of questions.

1) You say he indicated it would be "$399 for the whole course." That could mean a few different things. What defines the whole course? Is it x number of in-class hours and y number of in-car lessons (which is the usual way it's done), or is it everything up until you get your licence? It sounds to me like you paid for a certain number of lessons, and he thinks you need more. That's not a scam, that's honesty, and looking out for the rest of us on the road.

Lets remember that a monkey can pass the driving test, and many of these schools are looking to make safe drivers, not just licenced drivers.

Since this is an escort board, I'll use this analogy. You pay for a 30 minute session. After 30 minutes, you still haven't popped. Is the escort obligated to stay with you until you manage to finish at no extra charge, or should you be paying for an extra 30 minutes?

2) You say you have gone to the "government" and no one is listening to you. I won't get into it being because you just may not have a legitimate beef, but who have you gone to? The police are extremely unlikely to do anything as he did provide the service he agreed to, the question is to what extent it was provided. Except in the most extreme cases this will put it in the civil realm, not the criminal. BBB and Consumer and Corporate Affairs are good suggestions, but really, this is a complaint about allegedly deceptive marketing practices. For that, you should be contacting the Competition Bureau.

 

[Moraff]

P.S. The try to crash the driving instructor's car idea is out the window. Considering the driving instructor has a brake pedal on his side of the passenger seat...

While I'm certainly not condoning this course of action, you give up on this idea too easily. Consider the following.....

Drive along city street at 50 km/h. Swerve into parked car. Fuck-all his brake pedal's gonna do for him at that point.