What am I missing about Swift?

I've been looking at driving schools, and so far I'm keeping to the ones listed on the PTDI website. Swift is listed there, so I assume their school is halfway decent, even though I've heard some negative things about the company. To be fair, the majority of the most negative things I've heard about them seem to be from posts from 4 or 5 years ago. I've read some positive comments about them recently, and have heard they've been trying to clean up the company. True or not I don't know.

Anyway, I'm going to pay for school out-of-pocket. The PTDI certified private schools I've checked out so far seem to be excellent, but they are kind of pricey (one is like $8,000, and I imagine others are similar). If Swift is on par with these companies as far as training goes, it seems to make sense to try to get in with them. They pay for the training if you sign a contract and stay with them for a specified amount of time, and I believe the cost of their training is closer to $4,000 (correct me if I'm wrong).

So the question is, If I'm willing to pay anway for school then what are the drawbacks of going this kind of route besides being locked into a contract? It seems the worst that can happen is you don't like the company, you leave before the contract ends, and have to pay them back. You still get training through a PTDI certified course, and pay a lot less than at a more expensive school. Or is there some way the carrier will try to find to ##### you over for breaking the contract?

 

The contract part I understand. What I'm wondering is what other negatives or ramifications come with breaking a contract besides having to pay them back for training? I'm willing to pay for school, whether it's through a private school or CC. If the company is willing to provide training, is PTDI certified, and is a lot less expensive than a private school (even free if you complete the contract), then it seems to make sense to try to go that route. If I break the contract then I just end up paying the money that I would've spent in the first place for a private school, and for much less. If I don't break the contract then that's $8,000 or so in my pocket. However, I'm sure they won't be happy with a broken contract. Would they try something for instance that would hurt a DAC report to gain some type of vengeance, or some other stunt? All that said, I wouldn't want to break a contract -- if a company is fair with me then I'll be loyal in turn. I'm just trying to think of ALL the things that could happen in case things didn't work out, and I knew it was time to leave before a contract ran out.

 

I'm far from rich, but I do have a little saved up and could pay for school out-of-pocket and have enough left over to live on for about 6 months. I went to the Swift website and read their basic driver qualifications, and from what I saw I seem to pass everything. The only negative on my driving record over the past 10 years was a warning that I didn't have to pay for about a year ago (I was at a light, and the guy in the left turn lane next to me got the green, and I just had a brain fart and went straight even though my light was red -- a stupid thing really). I've lived in Mexico for the most part of the last 4 years on savings and teaching English on my own, so I'm not sure if that's a huge negative on employment history. Before that I was either working or in school. Based on the driver qualifications and my history, I see no reason why I don't have a shot Swift. Of course it's not my opinion that counts.

 

P.S. home location is not an issue with me. I'm willing to relocate anywhere in the country.