Called the company to set up driver's training for my wife. Eplained that we had a short timeline and needed to do it as fast as possible and asked if they would be able to comply. They stated they could and QUICKLY asked for my credit card number. All buisness with this company was done over the phone.
I had to ask them to explain the charges to me and all details before they ran my card. They explained that their normal rate was $50 an hour and that thier 3 session class (6 hours) was $250. I had the charge $250 to my card and they set up my first appointment for the following day.
Santa Fe Driving School called back 10 mins later cancelling the previous appointment but told us that they could take her that day if she was ready in the next 30 mins. We stated we could, and gave them directions to the house.
When the instructor showed up, he was very unprofessional looking, wearing a white, short sleeve polo style shirt that was stained. He started making small talk about how they searched his vehicle at the gate (I live on a military base). He started saying he didn't look like a 'raghead' in front of my 3 year old son. I ended the conversation as quickly as possible and my wife left with him for her instruction.
When the instruction ended, he drove my wife home, not signaling, and turning into the wrong lanes; things a driving instructor should know better than to do. He told my wife to call and schedulle the next appointment.
I called to schedulle the next appointment, of which, they couldn't find a place for me. They told me they would call me back in 5 mins. I received no calls until the next day. They said they could schedulle her for an 8am appointment, and I explained that I wouldn't be able to cause there would be no one to watch our son. I was able to take some time off of work and called back and schedulled the appointment but had to cancel again because I was called into work. The driving school said they would call us for another appointment but never did.
2 weeks later, my wife took her drive test and passed. I no longer needed the services of Santa Fe Driving School, so I called back on March 12th to get a partial refund. (1 class = 2 hours, 2 hours = $100) I asked for a refund of $150 dollars, but was told by the receptionist that they didn't give refunds. I told them I wanted to speak to a manager and the receptionist told me that there wasn't one there and they would have to call me back.
I called them the next day when I received no callback. The manager was rude to me telling me that I couldn't get a refund. They also called my wife and told her that she should, "just come and finish the class."
On March 16th, I told them that I was going to contact the Better Buisness Bureau. They promised to call me back that day. Still no callback.
On March 19th, I called the company and they agreed to give me a partial refund of $90 dollars, stating that Instruction time cost $110 for 2 hours and that a $50 administrative charge would be applied. I explained that that is not what was explained to me when I joined their school. The manager told me that what I asked for was something different. I told her to refund my $90 dollars and that I won't be using her services again, in which she replied, "FINE!" and hung up on me.
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