Complaint Review: CR England - Salt Lake City Utah

       Originally, I got my CDL in 2003 from another school, so I have something to compare CR England to. In 2009, I received a letter in the mail from the WA Dept of Licensing telling me that my CDL license was being suspended because the licensing office where I got my license in 2003 got caught selling licenses illegally. Even though I got my license legitimately, it was suspended and I was forced to retest. I put it off for 2 years and then showed up at CR England in the last two weeks of September 2011.

       When I first got to the school, I thought it was a great school, because they offered CDL schooling at such a low price and you get a license in 2 weeks, instead of the usual 3-4 weeks at other schools. But, here's the bad part. Each class is between 50 and 100 people or more(compared to the class of 10 people at my other school). The class in the week before me had near 150 people. They didn't have enough staff to handle that amount of people, so my class finished testing before half of that other class did. You would think they would go for quality education, but I'm here to prove that CR England is not a legitimate school. They just want your money. They charge you $50 upfront for some administrative fee and then you have to pay $95 for the CDL testing fee.

Once they have your money, you suddenly become unimportant to them and could be kicked out at any time without mercy. During the first week, half of my class disappeared, but not til after they had paid the $50 fee the first day. Most of my class was complaining that they still had no idea how to back up properly, because they only got a couple chances during the day they were instructed on a particular skill because of all the waiting they did for other students to practice their backing. Most students in my class learned more by getting in a truck on their own at night than during the day, because they had more chances to get into a truck and back up. Half of the trucks out there were being used by the students in the prior week's class.

       Since I had gone through schooling before, I passed my CDL permit tests with scores above 90% and passed all my coursework with high scores as well. I was one of the few who picked up the backing and driving portions of training right away. I spent a lot of time helping others perfect their backing, because the instructors there mostly hang out and talk, and they rarely watch you while you're practicing your backing skills. When it was time to test, I noticed the instructors(who are supposed to be state qualified to administer that test for your license) turning around away from the trucks backing up and laughing about whatever they were talking about.

Most students who went to certain instructors passed no matter what. But, students who were tested by a particular instructor mostly failed because that instructor graded differently than what we were told in class. That was another problem. We would be told one thing in class and then scolded or marked off by our backing and driving instructors for not doing things the way they wanted us to do it. A couple of the instructors were telling people they were planning on quitting shortly after that. It seemed like no one who worked there was happy working there. The only people who are happy working there are the OTR trainers, because they get paid for the miles students drive with them and you get chump change. So, while they're making 100k or more because of all the miles they're accumulating by training students, you make very little for that first month out on the road.

       But, I really wouldn't know about what happens on the road with CR England, because they kicked me out right before my driving test. Here's what happened...........

       DAY OF DRIVER'S TEST(SEPT 30, 2011), IN THE THEATER AT 6AM TO TALK ABOUT TEST
Lead Instructor: .....So, is there anyone here who's planning on going back home after testing today?

Me: (raised my hand)

Lead Instructor: Ok, I need to speak with you after I get done talking up here. 

Me: Ok.

Lead Instructor finishes and walks to back of theater. I get out of my seat and walk to the back to talk with him. We both walk outside.

Lead Instructor: So, how come you're not going to be sticking around with us?

Me: Well, I used to have a CDL license 2 years ago but I got a letter in the mail saying that my license was being suspended because the office where I got my license got caught selling licenses illegally. So, I was planning on getting my license back and then going back to Seattle to drive local again.  

Lead Instructor: Well, we're gonna send you home then.

Me: (shocked, while he turns away and starts talking to someone else in the hall)

Lead Instructor: ....So, we're gonna get you a bus ticket and send you home. 

Me: What's going on? Why are you sending me home?

Lead Instructor: Well, since you're not going to work for us, then we're going to send you home. 

Me: What? I've never once heard anyone say in class, in paperwork, or on your website that I had to work for you to get a license.

Lead Instructor: Well, we're not here to sell you a license.

Me: I'm not buying a license. I went through the classes and tested just like everyone else.  

Lead Instructor: Yeah, well, we're not here to get you a license. We're here for you to work for us. 

Me: You can't do this. I've paid for school and I haven't done anything wrong. 

Lead Instructor: Well, that's just the way it is. We'll cancel your tuition and loan and get you on a bus home. 

Me: (still stunned but thinking)

At that point I walked back into the theater, yelled for everyone's attention and then loudly told all the students in there what just happened to me. At that point, one of the instructors pulled the door closed and Ross, the lead instructor, comes walking up with security. Security didn't do anything but escort me to my room to get packed. I refused the bus ticket. I did stop by the recruiters office, but they acted like that was just normal to kick someone out without first warning them that they expected students to be obligated to the company after training. Once outside, security came outside with Ross and kicked me off the CR England property.

They told me to go wait across the street, which isn't paved and is basically the shoulder of the other side of the road. I stuck around in Salt Lake City for 4 more days. The second day in the house I was staying in, another guy from CR England showed up saying he just got kicked out from the school too. This guy showed up to CR England, having packed up and moved out back home, thinking he was going to be making money as a truck driver. Instead, he was kicked out and trying to figure out what his next move would be. CR England doesn't care how they inconvenience you. They don't even have the decency to warn you about possible issues before you get there. They just use you and then spit you out.

Look at the three women on this website who attested to being raped and having CR England try to cover it up instead of helping them out. CR England should be shut down. I'm going to look into a class action lawsuit, cuz this kind of stuff is not much different than having a con artist show up at your home. They need to be shut down. If you can't resist going to that school or you are in that school, I advise you to do your one month training til you have your hard copy license in hand and then leave the company and find another company to work for. Don't even give CR England the benefit of having you work there. Anyone who works there knowing what I've spoken about is only supporting them to continue in their criminal behavior.