Complaint Review: CR England

My experience was echoed by most in attendance.  The recruiter promised company paid training in exchange for agreeing to six months of paid employment with the company.

Transport to the school is typically a multiple day bus ride often lengthened by indirect routing.  Upon arrival they regularly have no facilities ready for new students and a lengthy several hour wait begins to find boarding and then wait up to several hours again for a shuttle to low quality motel housing.

Mornings begin early and students are expected to fight for seats in regularly delayed or even canceled shuttles to return to the school, typically carrying all their baggage (recommended is two weeks clothing, towels, sleeping bag, pillow, all hygiene gear, notebooks and school materials) as arrangements are done day to day forcing students to vacate and reacquire shared rooms each day.  Classes run anywhere from nine hours to fourteen hours a day leaving little time to rest once time is spent in lines for sleeping arrangements (often one to two hours or more) and drastically overbooked shuttles to those poor rooms (more than once the wait, or more accurately the struggle for one of eight seats with over fifty students waiting for slightly less than hourly shuttles, exceeded three hours and at least once reached five hours parked on the front lawn).

No meals or provisions beyond boarding are provided.  There are separate buses periodically running to Walmart ending at six in the evening which few students can make on any regular basis, especially early on while struggling to find time to rest between classes and waiting lines.  Opportunistically, the company placed an overpriced convenience store and a pricey a la cart restaurant on premises to further profit from essentially stranded students.

Several days into the wearing and disorienting schedule CR England presents pages upon pages of often duplicate and confusing paperwork without providing any time to read while directing students only to signature and date lines.  One part of this process includes loan documents from what is presented as an "independent" lender to charge students a high interest loan and provide direct payment to CR England in the amount of nearly $3,000.00 at 18% interest (jumping immediately to 22% interest in the event of any late payment).  The loan documents are directly arranged between the student and this shady creditor and demand weekly payments beginning within three weeks (remember the previously promised agreement was to work for CR England for six months in exchange for no obligation to ever pay for training).  They specifically deny any addendum yet are presented with an addendum that then states CR England will pay the loan (I am still unclear about the interest or payments) AFTER six months of satisfactory employment.

For my experience, these documents were then presented with a short movie by the creditor which specifies that upon signing you promise to pay, are very very liable for basically everything and that you and no one else regardless of whatever promises made previous or after are forever and undeniably in big fat debt to them for the $3,000.00 plus whatever crazy interest they can squeeze out.  The two young ladies then flipped on the lights and one proceeded to say, "Before you all freak out; ignore that whole thing.  That is not what will happen.  We just have to play that, but we will tell you what is really going to happen and it will be fine."

I politely explained that I had some very real issues with the presentation and loan documents.  The nice young lady reiterated what sounded very much like a memorized form response to listen to what she was saying her rather than what the documents said.  When that failed they attempted to call the loan company and were unable to reach anyone in a timely manner so they told me just to hold onto them, read them again until I was more comfortable and then bring them back up or they would get back with me.

I then completed my final week of school and was excited to be taking my final driving test the following morning.  It was very frustrating being trapped without transportation or anything nearby not company owned, but I seemed to have dodged a bullet with them not bring up shady loan documents again and I was on track to move into my six months work time.  It had been expensive buying most overpriced supplies from the company, frustrating hauling multiple bags of luggage every morning and evening and exhausting waiting for every step involved in housing as well as dealing with very few working elements even within the building (like 2 of 6 of the only available microwaves for hundreds of students ever working, a single apartment sized refrigerator as the only and very insecure means to store any cold items among others), but finally it was near complete and just recently I had finally scored a room at the facility so I could stop waiting on shuttles.

That night, at the end of a successfully completed dry run for tomorrows test and waiting for a seat in another class, the two ladies returned.  They called names of anyone with "incomplete" paperwork.  The handed out any "missing" forms with instructions to sign and date each empty line and return them as we all stood in a hallway.  Seeing the same exact loan documents I politely explained the same issues as before and was quickly ushered to a more private room.  Once there they explained with the same lines in a more frustrated tone that I must listen to what they tell me and not what the papers read.  When that failed I was told I could not complete the class and would be removed from school if I did not sign them now.  When still I did not flinch and sign, they explained in irritation that they would have me speak to the lender and that would resolve my difficulty.  A few moments later I was being told nearly identical lines about from whom and when I ought listen from a less familiar lady on a phone instead of present.  After that too failed, I was quite sternly warned how I would be removed from school and not provided a way home again should I fail to sign.

This went on for some time actually, my response unchanging and their programming repeating itself, until eventually the now obvious pariah I had become was offered what must have been an unworthy meeting with their leader.  I was ushered again, this time quickly down a hall and away from any classmate I might infect and into the call center area where I had to empty all my pockets for the guard and walk through a metal detector before one of the ladies busily and dis-concertedly ushered me to a place to stand in essentially a penalty box blocked on two sides by cubicle walls, a third by a counter atop a shorter cubicle box and the only opening a way down a long cubicle walled hall from which I entered.  Leaving me, she rushed off to speak to her manager.

Returning many minutes later she again explained that I would be provided no means of getting home and again presented the loan documents and pen as if it was therefore settled.

I then did something that must have been horrible, I politely said I felt rather abused and that this seemed to me like a rather cruel bait and switch.  She promptly picked up a phone and called security.  I heard her asking for my escort to come over and help me out, yet I did venture a question about taking the shuttle to the hotel or airport.  Exasperated with me, she explained I was free to call for a shuttle outside.

The security guard, a rather gentle giant I knew from once storing a bag and long waits for a room in lines beside his post, walked me up to my eight man room for my things.  He was kind and sympathized, even as much as to say, "I have no idea how they get away with what they do here".

It took a few minutes to pack up and seeing I was no threat he took another call and left me to escort myself out.  On leaving he even offered to let me use his computer (students were not even allowed to use the wi-fi normally) to schedule a flight, though his being available for any amount of time was unlikely (seems people treated as CR England likes to treat them tend to get agitated and security stays busy).  I thanked him for the gesture anyway and left to literally sit on the front curb and figure out a way home.  I was fortunate to have a charged phone and a sister willing to take the time to search me a flight and later to drive the three hours to the airport to get me on the other end.  It was expensive to get a taxi and flight home and expensive for the weeks there in general, but I am glad to be free of CR England.

I am filing a small claims suit this coming week on my own.  I have never sued anyone before, but extraordinary abuses and monetary losses for this twisted experience have driven me to take extraordinary action.  I hope a court agrees with me and allows me to recoup at least in part, though I suspect CR England might bounce the check if they ever sent it :-).  I am also sending letters to my congressmen, representative, BBB, and DOT (not sure the DOT has any interest or control in this end, but no reason not to include them).  Here is hoping they pay me back for my journey and change their ways.  Prayers always appreciated.

Thanks and I hope this saves someone the experience.