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Registry Office Rip Off + Dishonesty

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  • Nov 23rd, 2010 10:50 pm
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Apr 12, 2010
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Registry Office Rip Off + Dishonesty

I went to this Registry office to book a driving test (road test) class 5 basic for my wife. A friend of mine recommended a person named Simon for the test and advised me to stay away from another guy named David. Ok, I went in and talked to this young lady and she showed me Simon's schedule and I booked for Tuesday 1:00pm. She also told me Simon is a nice guy blah blah.

I took my wife to the test and waited for our turn. After waiting for some time a guy came in and started to ask us few questions, and told us that his name was David and he was going to take her for the driving test. I told him that we booked with Simon and he said he had no idea. And if we wish not to go with him we WILL lose our money that we deposited for the test.

I talked to the to the manger and they didn't accept the responsibility at all. I told her the name of the lady who booked us for the test but she didn't bother checking with her. I think there is something wrong going on there.

My wife had David=Axx Hole in mind, she got very scared right at spot, plus David guy got little upset as we didn't want him.... and eventually she failed her test.

I think regardless of the results of the test, it's very dishonest practice. I want to talk to somebody to get this figured out, why did this thing happened. I'm so pissed. :facepalm:

Does somebody know if there is anybody that can actually look into the matter?
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Jan 30, 2007
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Stampeders wrote: I went to this Registry office to book a driving test (road test) class 5 basic for my wife. A friend of mine recommended a person named Simon for the test and advised me to stay away from another guy named David. Ok, I went in and talked to this young lady and she showed me Simon's schedule and I booked for Tuesday 1:00pm. She also told me Simon is a nice guy blah blah....

...My wife had David=Axx Hole in mind, she got very scared right at spot, plus David guy got little upset as we didn't want him.... and eventually she failed her test.

Does somebody know if there is anybody that can actually look into the matter?
I think your friend thought this Simon fella was easy, whereas David actually did his job properly.

Unless you can prove your wife was failed unfairly, you don't have any grounds to complain.

Good luck for your wife's next test. Help her pass by preparing her properly, and no matter what instructor she has, she will pass.
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Oct 14, 2003
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She should still be able to drive even if she is nervous. I personally don't think you should be able to book specific driving instructors for testing or else you run into situations such as this. Just because she showed you this Simon guys schedule doesn't mean he will be the tester. Maybe he had something come up that he had to switch with this other guy. There really isn't any dishonesty here at all. Your wife just needs to learn how to drive better.
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Aug 22, 2006
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This kinda reminds me of my test a few years ago. I went early with my dad since we didn't want to be late for the appointment and saw a few tests done before us. There were 2 testers (don't remember the name of either) and it seems like 1 was passing everyone (a skinny tester) and a fat tester who was failing everyone. When my time was up, i saw the skinny tester come in before the fat one so i thought it was my luck then he called someone before me, which pretty much guarantee who i was getting. To my surprise, the fat tester was very easy (although i told my dad i was going to fail for sure before going) but i ended up passing with ease (he didn't even ask me to reverse park at the end) and was joking the entire test.

Basically you can't judge the tester by how they look or the result of others. If you did the prepared properly, it really doesn't matter who you get. Also i thought booking the test was just a time and not a tester... they always use the person who's free to speed up the process since each test takes a hour. I doubt you can do anything about it unless you can prove he was not doing his job properly. My guess is your wife got mentally scared and might have done some mistakes she wouldn't otherwise have... regardless she made the mistakes (unless proven otherwise) and deserves to fail the test. I recommend going to another location when she takes the test again because if she ends up getting David again, she'll just end up failing. Next time just ask which location seems good or best road condition location/days instead of tester.
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Nov 21, 2004
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Notwithstanding the issue in which tester you got...

If you're wife can't keep it together to drive safely because she had a surprise, then driving in Calgary is not for her. What is she going to do when she gets cut off 100 times/day?
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May 12, 2004
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No offence, but if your wife is a nervous nelly that literally can't drive with a certain tester maybe driving is not for her?

A driver's licence is a privilege not a right in this country...not the other way around.
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Sep 12, 2007
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Greely
+1 to the above comments. Nothing dishonest here and certainly no rip-off.

Also, I'm shocked that you can pick your instructor for a test.
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Apr 21, 2003
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Yeah hate to say it, but regardless of what instructor you have in the car with you, you should be able to pass your test.
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saint2e wrote: Yeah hate to say it, but regardless of what instructor you have in the car with you, you should be able to pass your test.
I think the OP's problem is that he booked a specific individual and they substituted that individual and gave him no choice of refund.

It's like booking any other service (massage, haircut, etc...), putting down a non-refundable deposit and not getting the person you want or being able to reschedule (without paying a fee). I have no doubt that it's a frustrating situation, and I think that's what the OP is upset about.
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TrevorK wrote: I think the OP's problem is that he booked a specific individual and they substituted that individual and gave him no choice of refund.

It's like booking any other service (massage, haircut, etc...), putting down a non-refundable deposit and not getting the person you want or being able to reschedule (without paying a fee). I have no doubt that it's a frustrating situation, and I think that's what the OP is upset about.

Understood, but is it common practice to hand pick your tester in AB? It should be completely random.

You can't really equate this to a massage or a haircut, this is a provincially regulated exam (albeit a paid service).
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Feb 5, 2009
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TrevorK wrote: I think the OP's problem is that he booked a specific individual and they substituted that individual and gave him no choice of refund.

I think there was probably a misunderstanding. OP was shown Simon's schedule so he could book for a day that he'd be working, but I don't think that was a guarantee that Simon would be the tester. Unless AB is different, but I'd be surprised since word would get around, and easy guys like Simon would be booked years in advance!
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TrevorK wrote: I think the OP's problem is that he booked a specific individual and they substituted that individual and gave him no choice of refund.

It's like booking any other service (massage, haircut, etc...), putting down a non-refundable deposit and not getting the person you want or being able to reschedule (without paying a fee). I have no doubt that it's a frustrating situation, and I think that's what the OP is upset about.
Yeah, this thread got sidetracked real fast.
GSRee wrote: I think there was probably a misunderstanding. OP was shown Simon's schedule so he could book for a day that he'd be working, but I don't think that was a guarantee that Simon would be the tester. Unless AB is different, but I'd be surprised since word would get around, and easy guys like Simon would be booked years in advance!
Exactly, even from OP's wording, it sounds like that you don't get to book a specific examiner, they looked at the examiner's schedule and booked a time-slot where that examiner is supposed to be working, but that in itself does not guarantee that you will get the examiner you want. Unless I'm wrong, and the rules stipulate that you are actually booking a specific examiner instead of just a general time-slot, I'm not sure since in Ontario it's all random. It could be that OP also just misunderstood and thought they were booking a specific examiner when it was just a general time-slot booking.
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GSRee wrote: I think there was probably a misunderstanding. OP was shown Simon's schedule so he could book for a day that he'd be working, but I don't think that was a guarantee that Simon would be the tester. Unless AB is different, but I'd be surprised since word would get around, and easy guys like Simon would be booked years in advance!

I only booked one driving test over a decade ago, and it was part of my drivers training. So I have no idea if you get to pick an instructor in AB.

My point was the same as yours I believe - the OP was under the impression he could select his instructor and booked accordingly. He may have been right or wrong, but I think his complaint is mainly that he thought he scheduled PersonA and got PersonB instead, and was unable to get a refund as he felt he was not getting what he paid for (Person A).
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Oct 22, 2009
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I agree with the principle that if you book a specific person, you should get that said person...but that’s about it. Tests such as these should not be “book the easy guy”, but that really isn’t the point since you were told a specific instructor was available. I’d call the registry and inquire about policy for clarification. In the end though, it shouldn’t matter who the instructor is if you’re confident on your driving ability.

Personally, I believe we should all have to take the test every 5 years when your license is up for renewal (yes, including me) thus weeding out the 1000’s of people that shouldn’t be on the road ( half my extended family, lol) - This latest winter blast is even more proof of this.
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I suppose in that case, you could have your wife go 'wait' in the restroom, and when David asks for your test, you could say "She'd indisposed... please take the next person who is waiting..." and then when Simon comes for the next person, you can say "My wife is next... I will ask her to hurry out from the restroom, she's not feeling well." then bob is your mother's brother.

but like in other things, like live performance, open heart surgery, driving is one of those things where if you start making mistakes due to nervousness, well, that doesn't bode well.
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If your wife can't drive properly with a different assessor, then you should be glad that she failed. Isn't it better that she fail, then get her license and get in an accident because she isn't ready to drive on her own? Choosing your own assessor is just ridiculous. You should just get the first available one.
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I totally agree with the posts who are suggesting that there should be random testers...but that's not the case in AB - people ask for the tester and they get whoever they want. This does cause problems too, as certain driving schools are hooked with certain drivers and that's how they run their business [especially the driving schools who just want money without putting a real effort in teaching - usually run by Sikhs - I can name some, eg Alberta driving school, Above all safety school etc.] they want you to pay $500 for training (which is useless) and want you to take brush-up class of two hours, where they WILL take you to the exact same route where the tester would take you 100% guaranteed.

We had never met Simon before, a friend recommended that he is a good guy ...that's all. I asked the cashier when I was booking and she said she can certainly book Simon for that test.

I thought paying $700 for driving training is too much and I taught her how to drive, so I was sure that she was gonna pass...but heavy snow on that day [first snow of the season] didn't help and change in driving instructor was some that wasn't a confidence booster...just an unlucky day...lol..

She is off for the Winter...I will resume her training in Spring.
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I can't believe you can actually ask for specific testers in Alberta. That's insane for a driving test (or any other test for that matter); the potential to abuse the system is so great it must happen often.

I'm sure arguing with the guy and explaining that he wasn't the examiner you wanted didn't help her cause; it might have even looked like she was trying to game the system somehow.
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Sep 22, 2007
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Stampeders wrote: I totally agree with the posts who are suggesting that there should be random testers...but that's not the case in AB - people ask for the tester and they get whoever they want. This does cause problems too, as certain driving schools are hooked with certain drivers and that's how they run their business [especially the driving schools who just want money without putting a real effort in teaching - usually run by Sikhs - I can name some, eg Alberta driving school, Above all safety school etc.] they want you to pay $500 for training (which is useless) and want you to take brush-up class of two hours, where they WILL take you to the exact same route where the tester would take you 100% guaranteed.

We had never met Simon before, a friend recommended that he is a good guy ...that's all. I asked the cashier when I was booking and she said she can certainly book Simon for that test.

I thought paying $700 for driving training is too much and I taught her how to drive, so I was sure that she was gonna pass...but heavy snow on that day [first snow of the season] didn't help and change in driving instructor was some that wasn't a confidence booster...just an unlucky day...lol..

She is off for the Winter...I will resume her training in Spring.

Why would having a different tester be a confidence buster? You said you didn't know him so it's not as if she was comfortable with him. If she needs her confidence boosted by having one particular person in the car with her, I'll have to agree with everyone else; she's not ready for the road.
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Apr 23, 2009
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Stampeders wrote: I totally agree with the posts who are suggesting that there should be random testers...but that's not the case in AB - people ask for the tester and they get whoever they want. This does cause problems too, as certain driving schools are hooked with certain drivers and that's how they run their business [especially the driving schools who just want money without putting a real effort in teaching - usually run by Sikhs - I can name some, eg Alberta driving school, Above all safety school etc.] they want you to pay $500 for training (which is useless) and want you to take brush-up class of two hours, where they WILL take you to the exact same route where the tester would take you 100% guaranteed.

We had never met Simon before, a friend recommended that he is a good guy ...that's all. I asked the cashier when I was booking and she said she can certainly book Simon for that test.

I thought paying $700 for driving training is too much and I taught her how to drive, so I was sure that she was gonna pass...but heavy snow on that day [first snow of the season] didn't help and change in driving instructor was some that wasn't a confidence booster...just an unlucky day...lol..

She is off for the Winter...I will resume her training in Spring.

You probably shouldn't have sent her to driving school, waste of money unless your a teenager IMO. The main reason people go is because you get a lower insurance rate as a young driver. Regardless, testers shouldn't be booked per person. Drivers book their time slots, and whichever tester is available next, is the next one to go out. Sometimes you'll get a road test that will last 5 minutes, sometimes it will last 30 minutes or more, which is why testers aren't booked. Whoever's available next is the next one to go.

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