Several Nova Scotia families say they’re owed money after a driving instruction school abruptly shut down. The provincial government says the school provided it with notice they were ceasing operations and as a result the department cancelled the driving school’s license. Maritimers say the issues they experienced happened before the school closed. A Facebook group called People Affected by Marshall Law Driving Academy has almost 200 members. A few of them say the purpose of the page is to make sure their experiences don’t happen to others. The Better Business Bureau of Atlantic Canada says Marshall’s Law Driving Academy is ‘NOT BBB Accredited’ and has listed them with a “D-” rating. Julia Lewis, the president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Atlantic Canada, says the team has issued the rating based on the volume of complaints. Lewis explains the lowest rating a business can get with their team is an F. “Consumers were reporting failure to provide scheduled driving lessons for customer service, lack of refunds for unfulfilled services, as well as failure to provide completion certificates,” says Lewis. Since this business was not accredited with the BBB, Lewis says the owner is not required to comply with their complaint process. She adds that anytime a complaint exists, they reach out to the business owner. Christine Giles says she and her husband registered their son for a motorcycle and driving test with the business. She says they met him at the Fall Home Show in October where he had a booth and was offering combo classes. “Our son has been working diligently,” she told CTV News. “He’s 15. He does labour for seniors in the community. He has worked 36.5 hours to earn the money to pay half of his course, which was $1,100.” Giles alleges the owner of the company told them if they enrolled and sent an e-transfer, her son could do the two courses combined. She and her husband Curtis thought they were getting a deal and jumped on it. “We sent him an e-transfer to his business on Oct. 6 for $1,100. He has ghosted us and will not return our call and will not return our money,” she alleges. She says they reached out to the home show and there wasn’t anything they could do. The bank couldn’t help either. She filed a police report and also took to social media to share her story. Denise Sanford has her own experience with the same company. She registered her daughter for the Spartan course which is five hours of driving lessons as well as an online defensive driving course. “It was $475 and we did get the course, and we’ve got two hours and 15 minutes of driving out of the five hours,” says Sanford. Sanford says she paid up front on the first lesson but when asked for a receipt on several occasions, she didn’t get one. “So, the next lesson, he cancelled, then the next lesson after that, he cancelled. He finally did the second lesson. Then we tried to do another lesson, and it was cancellation after cancellation,” said Sanford. Michael LeBlanc, who is from Amherst, N.S., was looking for a drivers’ education course that was close to his family. He says they signed up for one with Marshalls Law Driving Academy Inc because it offered a course in Pugwash and there were few options in their area. “I had sent an e-transfer for $995 for the course. My daughter showed up with her that morning to find out it was canceled,” says LeBlanc. He says his daughter went back and forth on dates and times with the owner, and nothing seemed to work. He explained that the owner offered several suggestions but in the end his daughter requested a refund. “Finally, one day he said on Sept. 2 he would send the refund. Sept. 2 came and went and no refund. She kept saying, you know, where’s my refund? And he finally just ghosted her and wouldn’t answer anymore,” says LeBlanc. LeBlanc says they are now out the money as well as a course for their granddaughter and now must look elsewhere for a class. Government response The Nova Scotia government says in a statement to CTV News that the driving school provided it with notice that they were ceasing operations and as a result the department cancelled the driving school license. The government says that the Registry of Motor Vehicles licenses and oversees driving schools and instructors in the province. “The Registry is aware of concerns relating to this matter. As this involves specific individuals and regulatory matters, we would not comment publicly on the details of an individual file or investigation,” says Gary Andrea, communications, and media relations advisor for the N.S. Public Works Department. The province adds if anyone has concerns about a licensed driving school or instructor, they are encouraged to submit them to the registry. “Under the Traffic Safety Act, the government now has the ability to consider previous business conduct before approving an application for a new license,” says Andrea. Response from owner CTV News Atlantic reached out to the owner of Marshall Law Driving Academy Inc. on Thursday. CTV News shared a few complaints anonymously with the owner and asked for an interview to get his response. “Due to privacy concerns we don’t discuss specific clients. All clients that are currently enrolled in the program will be completed,” says the owner over text. When CTV News followed up on Thursday and Friday to gain clarity about what that would look like and requested an interview. There was no response. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
