Complaint Review: Swift Transportation

My only experience with Swift Transportation (so far) has already been quite a mess of a situation:

The classified ad I answered in the newspaper read:

DRIVER TRAINEES
Needed now at
Swift Transportation
Earn $700-900/week!
Local training!
Day & Evening Classes!
1-888-822-9377

So I dialed the number and was given another number to dial by the person that answered the telephone. I dialed the other number and was given an appointment to come in (55 miles from my home)to talk to someone about training me to become a truck driver. I went, filled out the application for Swift, was talked into signing up for the training course.

I was told that lodging would be provided. It wasn't. I felt that if I was staying in the area the school was in and they were providing lodging, I would only have to commute on the weekends. When I asked what hotel I would be staying in, I was transferred to the school director, who stated that it would be the Econo-Lodge in Fontana, but that they needed to have another female student going with Swift Transportation in order to provide the lodging. There wasn't one. I had to spend $80.00 per week on gasoline alone.

Maybe I should have walked out at that point. I didn't. There were other things that I felt were misrepresented also. Like howcome the ad in the classified section seemed to imply that I would be receiving paid training, but the school somehow is under the impression that I can afford to pay close to 5 grand for their course? I will not graduate until after my DMV road test, which I have not yet taken.

Anyway, I took the 4-week course (2 weeks in the classroom, 1 week of driving/shifting range and 1 week of backing). I wonder why we only learned 2 ways to dock the truck. Hmmm. Seems to me there are plenty of other scenarios to learn about backing to a dock than just alley dock and parallel parking the truck. I am not good at the 2 I just learned yet. It may be just that those are the only two items on the DMV test.

To date, I have not received a penny from Swift Transportation! I was wondering if anyone else is/has been in the same or a similar situation with Swift and what would/did you do about it?

T. T.
Fountain Valley, California
U.S.A.