C R England - Hope this helps you

This might be very lengthy depending on how wordy I get so I'll apologize in advance. I'm also going to apologize to every single member on this site for not listening in the very beginning. I should have. So here's our story to add to the very long list of others in various forums:

We're married and pregnant and desperate for a good job. We have no money. I encouraged my husband to apply to England. When the recruiter called we were thrilled. We could not believe our good luck. Within 2 weeks he had a bus ticket to Salt Lake City. Now, I'll preface this to say 1) he is a Veteran and 2) he had previous experience and let his CDL lapse. It was basically CRE's wet dream. They get money for every new student that commits to their school. With his previous experience, he was a shoe in for a job. Right? Oh so very wrong. I did some research on CRE. Everything I read was negative, but I figured a company that large was bond to have some negative comments. Listen to your gut on this one. I made a list of questions for the recruiter. He would not answer anything in email but would call back with all of the answers. I asked about the leasing program which is pretty forced. I asked about home time. I asked the usual wife questions. He told me everything I wanted to hear. I felt comfortable so I put him on the bus with my blessings for a two week training course.

Premier. Premier is the school that England uses for their training. They are supposedly not owned by England but heads up, the testers that admin the CDL skills test are England employees and not DOT. Just a warning. So he gets to school. They didn't have enough room for the new class so they put them up in a hotel for the first few days of classes. that was nice. they bussed them over to class each day. the hotel has a free breakfast which was also nice. saved money. they guys did eventually move into the dorms on campus. yes, there are 8 guys in a room. there are bunk beds. it's not fun but we knew that up front. What they don't mention is that this is basically a prison, complete with lights out at 11, hourly bed checks, and you must ask permission to pee after lights out. There are cameras everywhere and you are very closely monitored. Food on campus is really expensive. yes, there is a shuttle service but it runs pretty much the hours you are in class and cannot leave. they say come with about $200. I'd say closer to $500. you will pay for your permit. you will also pay for your testing. oh, and take slippers for the shower. Black mold.

The first week is pretty much what you would expect. Physical the first day. get your DOT card. take your skills test after quite a bit of prep. You do take a psych eval just to make sure you're prepared for the vigor of driving. they lose a few students between physical and evals. You also begin your financial paperwork to make sure you know that you are responsible for school if you fail. and there is a pretty heavy interest rate tacked on as well. they also ask you about leasing a truck. now, we were told that the lease program had been redone and it wasn't force any more. this is not correct but I don't have that in writing either, of course. you do get a lot of driving time while you are there. lots of time to prep for the CDL skills test. backing up, parallel (required in UT), driving in the city. good training. again, he already had this experience, but practice never hurts. he did great. the scores were really high. the pre-trip was a breeze. truly, we thought we had this complete. this is where it got sticky. first off, even though he had the form from the Army giving his status, they would not acknowledge it. They said he wasn't a Vet by their standards so rather than 6 months commitment, he had to be committed for a year to pay off school. They talked about leasing again, but honestly we just can't afford a lease. my husband started listening to the rumors around him from current drivers, instructors, and students. the same stuff we read on several forums. England has a 3 phase program for training. you will only make about 12/cpm during all phases of training. oh, and according to the instructors (England employees as well), you will not make it through training quickly. you will team with a training for over a year or more. Forget about home time. You don't get it. you'll start with two loads a week but after about 3 weeks you'll go to one. it's a scam. Run now. these were all said. we started listening. he only needed to get through the skills test. we can do this. not.

This will sound like a mad wife and I cannot make you listen, but please take this part into consideration. his class had 100 students on day one. 16 students actually graduated. 3 actually joined England. here's what happened in the second week... if you do not lease, don't count on passing. from the beginning this company lies. the recruiters are in this to make money. they'll lie and never put anything in writing. England will look for every reason to fail you or not hire you. Job references that were originally approved are questioned, skills get questioned, instructors and testers are supported by the company and if you make a complaint, you're out. reality really does set in that second week. so he got through all of this. even ignored that fact that they wouldn't acknowledge Vet status. he went started at the pre-trip testing. the tester would not come under the truck with him and stood on in the wind where other trucks were running. he missed anything my husband said about the inspection underneath the tractor and trailer. he failed. he was not allowed to take any other tests until he passed the pre-trip. remember, you are paying for this. his tester actually failed everyone in that lane on that day. they gave my husband a second chance. Monday morning he headed out to do the testing again. he failed again. this time they failed half the lane. he failed because his tester again would not go under the truck and also did not administer half the test. my husband waited 2 hours to register a complaint this time. he watched one student after another come in, complain, and get asked to leave the school. there were other students in his class that also had previous experience. they failed as well. they also refused to lease. it's a theme at the school. lease = pass. refuse, no point in even staying.

so he is back home now. no CDL. a huge tuition bill. he did get his physical card and the permit. I have no idea what we're going to do. we can't afford another driving school and getting the skills test on your own is difficult. we'll keep trying, but please take this posting to heart. it's not worth the loss of time and money. try to find a school that you can afford. there are tons of employers out there who take on new drivers. just get the CDL. it's hell not having one.

 

thanks so much. We're just outside of Nashville, TN. I don't know how to sticky yet, but I hope the post helps some

 

thank you so much. he's heading there tomorrow to see about taking their refresher course. that's all we can think of to do. you can't rent a tractor trailer for personal use through a company any more so he has no way to got to DOT to even take the skills test on his own. we don't know anyone with a tractor and trailer that's local.