PARMA, Ohio — Some Northeast Ohio families report they've been left with nothing but a waiting game after paying hundreds of dollars to a Parma driving school.
Several families have filed complainants against Precision Driving Academy on Broadview Road to the Better Business Bureau and the Ohio Attorney General.
Nancy and Gilberto Torres told News 5 they paid the driving school more than $600 back in April and May 2019, but are still waiting for their son's driving certificate several months later.
The Torres family and several other families reported they made repeated attempts to reach the school, but later found the Parma classroom shutdown without notice.
“To pay and not be able to get his certificate, so he can get his license, is very frustrating,” Torres said.
“He has a car waiting in the driveway and he can’t drive it, because he can’t drive by himself.”
"He has to have a parent in the car with him or a licensed driver and it’s just so difficult.”
“Now we have no certificate, no information on the driving school, they just closed up and left.”
It was the same situation for David Loebick of Strongsville, who paid hundreds to the driving school to get his teen daughter on the road, but has been left with no certificate and no answers.
“This has been going on since September and it is now almost February, and not one class, they haven’t called me back, they haven’t done anything, they haven’t tried to schedule,” Loebick said.
“I’m not so much worried about the money at this point, I’m more worried about the documentation that they’re holding hostage."
"My daughter can not apply for another school until she gets certain documentation that they have.”
News 5 made multiple phone calls and sent emails to the owner of Precision Driving Academy, and the company quickly responded.
Company leadership apologized for all of the delays, and said it would be contacting all families in the coming days.
The company said it's in the process of merging with a larger driving school and has plans to fulfill all outstanding accounts in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Gilberto Torres believes he and his son have been waiting long enough, and wonders why the company never called or left any information on its website.
“It only takes a minute to give us a call and notify us, hey this is what’s going on to get your certificate, this is what you need to do,” Torres said.
“It’s just a waiting game, to see if anybody is going to return any calls, or let us know, hey what can we do to get the certificate.”
