Craig Baker Driver Training (Nationwide HGV & PCV Training) Recensioni 183

Just wanted to give a big shoutout to Richard who has helped me pass my class 2 today. Over the past couple days he’s helped me develop my driving from a car standard to a class 2. He was a great laugh aswell which helped keep things positive, aswell as being honest to ensure minor details were polished up before test. This helped me get a clean sweep on test! Cheers Richard, will highly recommend to others!

Unprofessional. Avoid. Use proper training provider. You have been warned.

Had a fantastic time learning how to drive a HGV C1 at Craig Baker. Staff very accommodating and friendly, enjoyed the whole experience.

It all started well I got my certificate for my reversing manoeuvre and did my driving through the week with little to no input I might add because and I quote " you know what you're doing there isn't much to say "
And then from there it went downhill very quickly and I know the company will respond to this saying it's my fault because that is what they have done to every other bad review I've seen of them, because obviously when they are taking people's money and alot of it, it can't possibly be their fault.
But I digress, the day of my test comes around and they send me to the test centre with a defective lorry and almost every warning light possible on the dash board because they clearly look after their vehicles with such attention and care.
So I lost 5 hours of my day and 90 percent of the training was a waste of time, so they rebooked it for me as they should do and I was told I had to wait a month to get tested at sheffield test centre as they had sent me to a centre near keighley previously an area that I might add I have never been too and had before I did my test 3 consecutive fails because that area is quite difficult apparently.
So really not giving people the best chance to pass just trying to get as many people in as possible and not caring about the quality of service and I was told as much by the instructors that they don't care and I am not the only person this has happened to recently.
But any way it didn't end there I waited a month for my test was told it was a 12 midday start time and then on the morning of for whatever reason they bumped it by half an hour to 12:30 so I go in and the instructor tells me I'm running late which leads me to just been confused and then he tells me I am not at sheffield I am near keighley at that test centre again at 14:37 which even without traffic or any delays takes 2 and a quarter hours minimum which was also told to them by the instructor because they don't want to pay the ulez fine going through Bradford which would take a hour and a half but as the instructor told me they don't let them do that, which then led to a heated conversation on the phone which admittedly i lost my cool due to how they were treating me,which led to the director instead of helping me rectify the problem just told me via one of his employees because for whatever reason he wouldn't speak to me directly, that I was never to call back and they wouldn't speak to me anymore regardless of the fact I'd paid over 1700 pounds up front before the course started and was no mention of a refund or retest or anything.
So in short i would never recommend these as a company to anyone the instructors are great but the people running it and planning it are completely unprofessional and just don't want to give you a good service like you are paying for and their lorries are in shocking condition and not looked after, and I will be taking them to court over this whole ordeal that could of been rectified in less than 5 minutes

Absolutely shocking company. My husband’s Class 1 test was a complete disaster from start to finish. First, they sent him out in a defective lorry, then told him he’d have to wait a month for another test in Sheffield. He took time off work and lost money, only to find out the test wasn’t even in Sheffield — and he was given no realistic time to get to the correct centre, so the test was completely missed.

When we phoned to question this shambles, they flat out refused to offer any refund and told my husband not to contact them again. Utterly unprofessional, rude, and dismissive. They take your money, mess you around, and then wash their hands of you. Avoid this company at all costs.

Edit to add from CB response.
Yes my partner "wasted time" checking where the test was as it was meant to be in Sheffield, instead he was sent to Steeton, which was in fact over 2hrs 30mins to get there at the time he was travelling. The instructor actually told my partner to contact the main hub as there was no way they were going to get to the test centre in time! The instructor then told my husband his time had been pushed back from 12:00 to 12:30, if the original time had been stuck to he'd have made the test but for some reason it was changed and we were given no explanation as to why.

I did my HGV Class 2 with Craig Baker and they are a well organised company offering courses for all vehicles from cars to HGV Class 1. My instructors were very knowledgeable and helpful in particular Petro and Chris. I didn’t pass first time but my instructors provided me with the support and encouragement to push on until I did.
Remember, the company provides you with the equipment and instructors but only you yourself can transfer the training provided into passing your test.
Can’t wait to do my HGV Class 1 with them!

I would recommend the team at Craig Baker to anyone wanting to get their HGV qualifications. I’d like to give a huge thanks to Richard at Coventry depot for getting me through my car to C+E course. He showed great patience and professionalism throughout the course and gave me the confidence to pass. I’d also like to thank Marcus and Julie for their guidance on the theory and CPC modules of the test.

Perfect instructors loads of help and confidence highly recommend

I did a 5 day course at Standish, Monday to Friday with test on Friday. 4 hrs.' every day, 8hrs Thursday. Very nervous at first, then met the instructors who were great, very confident, calm, easy to get along with whilst still being professional. Between them there is a fountain of knowledge about the industry not just the training. I was unlucky on my first attempt with 1 major for speeding and no Minors. As I had used a broker to arrange this it was expensive to go for a retest. I contacted Craig baker training direct and booked another test. They were great getting it sorted straight away at a very reasonable price. Went back on a Monday morning with Chris and passed with 1 minor.
This is all because of the instructors I had, Chris, Neil and Pedro. I can not thank guys you enough. I can highly recommend this company to anyone interested in a HGV Career. If they can not get you through Change your career path.

The guys at Junction 31, Sheffield were fantastic. I was a bit low on confidence starting the course but Shaun, Andy and the rest of the team were great. Really knowledgeable, helpful and I soon relaxed and was able to pass the Class 2 in 4 days having never done anything similar before. Highly recommended. Thanks!

My aim was to complete my C1-7.5 tonne license category swiftly however many local companies had a backlog and was looking at several weeks down the line. I spoke to the Craig baker team and talked through all options. Inside of two weeks i travelled up from Coventry to their wigan/standish depot. I went for the two day course. On day 1 my instructor was John, he taught me alot in a short space of time, i absorbed the information given and knew where i could improve, i did the 3a reverse test section later that day with Julie, a lovely lady which explained exactly what was required and put me at ease. On day 2 my instructor was Chris who furthered my training and gave hints and tips as to tidy my skills for the section 3b practical test later that day. I passed my C1 driving test first time with a 2 day course with tuition from the Craig baker team. Knowledgeable and great people. They even recommend local hotels and places near by to get dinner. Genuinely 5 star!

Thankyou again to John, Julie, Chris and Kev my test examinor.

Cheers guys and girls. From james

Richard is a fantastic instructor, I felt at ease from day one and he always let me know where and how I could improve on any areas I was struggling on. I can’t rate Richard and Marcus highly enough, very professional but easy to get on with. Thanks for getting me through the training and a test pass 👍🏻

Just completed my C1 with Pedro, I was soo nervous and he was absolutely brilliant he made me feel at ease. I would 100% recommend this company. The staff I dealt with were super helpful & friendly. Thank you

I just wanted to send a big thank you to Marcus for being such an outstanding instructor during my Category C+E training with Craig Baker. Your professionalism and incredible patience made the whole learning process so much smoother. I especially appreciated how clearly you explained everything and the genuine help you provided, which was absolutely key to me passing my driving test.
Thanks for everything!
Kasjan

Great instruction.
I was under Marcus' guidance and I felt very relaxed and trusted.
I passed my class 1 thank you

Very helpful makes things easy when learning very helpful instructors, makes the process of learning extremely easy and calming

It’s been a bad experience training through Craig Baker. Having paid £1297 for 12hrs training, and a further £224 for 3 nights hotel stay shows 13hrs on there Total Drive training app.
Training was over 3days from the 8th-10th July the Practical test CatD module 3b on bus/ coaches on the 10th July.
My instructor was unsure whether I can drive a coach through a bus lane so told me not to drive through Bus Lanes. A coach is classed as a Bus so you can and should drive through a bus lane. On my test day I was presented with a bus lane and drove through it.
On motorways told to limit speed to 50mph, however the speed limit is 60mph on motorways.
There is an app Total Drive which the company use which to date has nothing filled in. The app goes through basic skills just to mention one part like cockpit drill & safety checks, move off safely, stop safely, MSPSL routine. None of these items were addressed by my instructor which shows that he was not aware of them.
The instructor mentioned nothing like tail swing, vehicle overhangs. I cannot understand why a company other than just to make money would give you an instructor that has no knowledge of basic vehicle principles. Further this particular instructor had only been training for 2 weeks clearly no experience of training anyone.
The vehicle in which I was trained was a coach and had n/s damage after another student had gone into railings. I mean if you do wish to proceed with this company it is at your peril because that vehicle is just two sheds joined together with wheels on. I cannot see how that would have passed the mot? Also the reversing alarm not working.

I’ve got 19hrs training with national express so the 12hrs would had been more than adequate with a descent instructor to polish off the knowledge I have already got.

Surprise surprise failed my test on the 10th July with 1 major, 3 minors. I honestly feel I got this far due to effort made by myself. No mention of show me tell me questions until test day. Everything blatantly rushed.

If you going to spend money on this company in a hope of progressing your career like I said before it’s at your peril. I’ve wasted £1297 on this company and to make things worse retest fees are £500. Which they will not obviously be getting. I’ve been as honest as I can and am not getting paid by anyone for writing this but as a bit of advice don’t rush yourselves to get PCV CatD training. Hope there was someone I could recommend.

Thanks for the reply. Let me just point out there’s inconsistency in your training. One instructor will tell you one thing (the wrong thing) and the other instructor the right thing. I’m glad you think that this is ok as the conversation with John on 18th July. I also asked John why I wasn’t take through any test routes to which he replied there’s 25 different test routes. It’s funny how your reverse alarm has started to work after you fixed it. As a company you really don’t care if anyone passes. If you did you would provide a descent instructor for the full length of training and not try to patch things up on test day. On test day the o/s brake light wouldn’t work so because the correct bulb wasn’t available it was bodged up with a single filament replacement. I was told not to use the headlights whilst driving as the brake lights would not work. Isn’t that a risk to safety in itself??
I really hope no one goes through this bad experience I have had. You have not accepted that anything has gone wrong but why should you. You’ve taken the money and run. Let me point out the failed test results was due to the previous past training I’ve had. You were paid for the 12 hrs to polish up on the skills that I’ve got. I’m sorry but you have failed. I don’t understand how you get the reviews you get. You must have a big family to put them in for you. PCV CatD avoid they will give you more of a headache than it’s worth and not even accept they do anything wrong.

I started my HGV driving journey with Petro, a massive thank you to you for being such a great instructor !! Also a big thanks to Neil Cross , Chris Barlow,Simon and Chris McHale for your time and training. You are all amazing 👏 from Miroslaw

Completed my training at the Sheffield branch, and my instructor Andy was spot on. Really helpful and patient while also getting the knowledge over quickly and in a way that was easy to understand. Helped me get passed in just a week. Highly recommend to anyone

Did my class 2 training in Sheffield all I can say is excellent from start to finish had all three instructors John Andy and Shaun each one having excellent knowledge to get me through my test first time would without doubt highly recommend to anyone looking at any hgv training massive thanks from me