If you are thinking about enrolling at Camino Real Career School, please stop, read this entire review, and protect your hard-earned money. This institution operates on predatory financial practices,... Read More
If you are thinking about enrolling at Camino Real Career School, please stop, read this entire review, and protect your hard-earned money. This institution operates on predatory financial practices, extreme instructional negligence, and a complete lack of regard for student success. Once they have your money, you are entirely on your own.
Here is the unfiltered reality of what happens at this school:
1. The Enrollment Trap & Shady Financial Double-Dipping
The financial operation here is deceptive. I was required to pay a $700.00 cash deposit out of pocket just to secure a seat in their commercial driving program. Shortly after, the State of California's WIOA workforce training program fully funded my tuition, cutting a direct state check to the school for $3,800.00 to cover my training in full.
Because the state training voucher made the school 100% whole for my tuition, keeping my personal cash deposit on top of full state compensation is an illegal double-recovery of funds and unjust enrichment. They are billing the government thousands of dollars while simultaneously pocketing personal student cash for the exact same seat.
2. Dangerous, Overcrowded Conditions & "Zero Limits" on Enrollment
The school has absolutely no limit on the number of students they accept, creating an overwhelming and completely chaotic learning environment. The classrooms and yard are constantly packed to capacity. Instead of getting quality, focused instruction from a trainer, you are thrown into a massive crowd where you have to fight just to get close to a vehicle. It is impossible to properly learn commercial driving maneuvers or pre-trip inspections when you are competing with dozens of other stressed students just to get a single minute of attention.
3. Broken-Down Equipment & Wasted Time
The equipment at this facility is a joke. The training trucks are in terrible condition and constantly breaking down right in the yard. You spend hours waiting around to practice, only to find out the truck is out of service again. To make matters worse, the administration repeatedly cancels scheduled driving tests at the last minute because their equipment isn't ready or because of total administrative disorganization. They completely waste your time, stall your progress, and stretch out a process that should only take a few weeks into an endless nightmare, forcing students like myself to withdraw out of pure frustration.
4. The Second You Drop, You Are Ghosted
The moment you realize the school is a mess and try to withdraw, the administration turns on you. They completely refuse to communicate, ignore phone calls, and dodge every single email trying to clear up a refund. I had to physically serve them with a formal Written Demand Statement via USPS Certified Mail, which was delivered directly into their office on June 1, 2026. True to form, the school administration completely ignored the legal deadline and refused to return my unearned deposit.
The Bottom Line:
Because the school refuses to do the right thing, I have been forced to escalate this to the highest state authorities. I currently have an active compliance case open with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE Case No. C26-0971), the investigation has been transferred to the Office of Student Assistance and Relief (OSAR), and I am moving forward with filing a case in Pomona Small Claims Court to have a judge force the owner to hand back my money.
The owners count on students feeling overwhelmed, giving up, and walking away so they can pocket your cash. Do not fall for their sales pitch. Go to a legitimate, professional trucking school that respects your time, maintains working trucks, and doesn't try to double-dip on government funding. Stay far away! Read Less