BROOMFIELD, Colo. — A Denver mom reached out to Denver7 Investigates after she employed a driving college for her daughter however stated she didn’t get what she paid for.
The homeowners describe TopCops Driving Faculty as a “premier driving college.” The corporate has an A+ score by the BBB.
“On the high of the web site, it says, ‘TopCops. Study to drive from a cop.’ Proper? And so we consider that they are telling the reality,” Jessica Peck stated.
When Peck signed her daughter up for a lesson in early December, the web site stated, “Each classroom and driving teacher at TopCops Driving Faculty is a police officer.”
“Instantly after the lesson, the teacher or the officer — I then believed she to be — ran as much as the automotive and stated, ‘It went nice. Your daughter went right into a ditch, nevertheless it was effective.’ And I assumed she was kidding,” Peck stated.
Throughout the driving lesson, an emergency car approached with lights and sirens on. Peck stated the teacher advised her daughter to maneuver to the precise, they usually ended up caught in a muddy ditch on the aspect of the freeway. Good Samaritans pushed the car again onto the highway.
Peck stated the incident raised alarm bells and he or she wished to know if the teacher was actually a police officer. She stated at first, the driving college advised her the teacher is a police officer however her profile wasn’t featured on their web site due to privateness.
Peck continued to probe for solutions in an e-mail change with the corporate.
“We went forwards and backwards three or 4 instances, and I saved asking, ‘Is she a police officer?’ I used to be advised that this individual was a police officer. And it wasn’t till, lastly, they’d run out of excuses that they admitted that this individual was not a police officer,” Peck stated.
Peck advised Denver7 Investigates she additionally seen modifications to the TopCops web site since she initially employed them. Utilizing an web archive, Denver7 Investigates confirmed the part titled “Officers” was modified to “Workers.”
Modifications have been additionally made to the effective print. The webpage that stated “Study to Drive from Police Officers” now says “Study to Drive From Off-Responsibility or Retired Police Officers, First Responders, or Police-Skilled Licensed Drive Instructors”
The proprietor of TopCops, Thornton Police Officer Matt Cabot, didn’t wish to converse on digicam. In a cellphone dialog, he did admit to creating modifications to the web site after Peck began asking questions as a result of the web site “fell quick” and “somebody may get the improper impression.”
Cabot stated after the pandemic, they needed to rent some instructors who weren’t cops. He stated they’re skilled above and past state necessities. Beneath Colorado regulation, driving instructors have to be no less than 21 years previous and have a clear driving report.
“I believe crucial factor is that folks on the market know what they’re coping with right here,” Peck stated.
TopCops didn’t provide Peck a refund however Cabot stated he would give her daughter a private driving lesson.
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