Current Alerts For This Business
BBB has received a pattern of consumer complaints alleging the following: consumers allege that they are unable to reach customer service in a timely manner via chat, email or by phone. Many allege they are being locked out of the system by the biometrics security system. These same consumers can't reach anyone in customer service to rectify issues which have caused them to not finish the program within the designated time frame.
On February 21, 2023, BBB submitted a written request to the company encouraging them to address the pattern of complaints. The business responded with the following:
We take this feedback very seriously and you have our full cooperation to address and eliminate the patterns of complaints. In addition to various steps we have already taken to improve customer satisfaction, we are actively working to implement the following solutions to eliminate these patterns of complaint:
1. Improving customer instructions on how to use the biometric security systems, focusing on common problems and offering video-based tutorials. To start, we have enhanced our frequently asked questions (https://www.newyorksafetycouncil.com/defensive-driving-faqs/) and in-course documentation so that customers may self-service through online support.
2. Engineering a solution to automatically unlock a customer’s course after they fail the regulatory biometric security requirements. As their top priority, our technology team is developing a solution to automatically restart a customer’s course if they fail to secure successful biometric identity verification after the number of attempts established by the regulatory authority. This means customers will not be required to contact our customer care team if they are locked out of their course due to biometric security failure.
3. Finally, with respect to longer than expected response times, we are actively staffing up to reduce our hold times across phone, chat, and email in response to spikes in volume. We have hired six full-time customer care agents, with three having started employment in late February, and three more starting March 6.
We are committed to implement the steps above, many of which are being worked on by our technology team now, as well as any additional steps needed to eliminate these patterns of complaint so that we can improve customer satisfaction.
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Complaint Details
Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. See details.
Initial Complaint
06/05/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
On 6/4/24 I paid $28.95 for an online driver's license test for my son's learners permit. After I paid and he went to take the test it said test could not be taken right now because of changes in Florida's requirements. I should have been made aware of this before I paid.
Business response
06/07/2024
Hello
Thank you for contacting us! We are so sorry for this inconvenience. After reviewing your sons accounts. it appears that Milan took the permit exam previously on 2/15/2024 at 9:06 PM and passed with a 100%. This has already been reported to the *** with reporting number S06454933. I also see that he completed the required Traffic Law and ************************* (TLSAE) Course as well, back on 1/19/2024. This was also reported to the *** with reporting number ********. At this time, the customer does not have any additional requirements needed from us. I will go ahead and provide a refund for the exam purchased on 6/4/2024 at 4:28:17 PM, and should return back into your account within 3-5 business days.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our escalations team directly at **************************!
Thanks!
Initial Complaint
05/27/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
I bought a defensive driving courseon day 2 I was blocked from the class.when I called customer ********************** and emailed them I was told my course could not be unblocked and no refund would be issued..Business response
06/07/2024
Hello *************************,
We are so sorry to hear that you were frustrated with your course experience. We would like to thank you for your feedback as we are always looking to improve the experience for our users, and really appreciate your time. For the specific program you took, at the beginning of the course a set of "personal validation questions" are asked in order to create an answer key for the student. The student's responses are saved in a database, and the questions are later asked at random as the course progresses.
The intention of this practice is that the proper student participating in the course will know their own answers (as they created their own self-assessment answer key), and should be able to correctly validate. It is possible that if a student did not carefully read the initial questions or carefully select their answer, the original responses saved may not be in line with the student's actual self-assessment causing them to get future questions "wrong", though this depends on the student's engagement and it is not a bug with the course. It is true that students whom are unable to successfully validate after several attempts will be excluded from the course and need to re-register.
One of our objectives, as an approved course provider, is to remain compliant with State regulations for course providers. In part, one of the requirements is validating student participation, and upon failure, students must be excluded. After reviewing your account, I see that you were provided a courtesy promotional code to re-register for free. I see this course was completed on 5/27/2024.If you have any additional questions or complaints, please feel free to contact our escalations team at **************************!
Thanks!
Customer response
06/08/2024
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
*************************Initial Complaint
05/22/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Order Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I purchased the course around May 20 2024. I completed the Pre-licensing course got to the end where it says course completed and when I hit dashboard to view the home page it says error.We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. Our support teams are aware and working on speedy resolution. Please check back in 24 hours by logging back into your account. We apologize for any inconvenience.An error occurred during the completion request to generate the course certificate for OrderDetailId: ********** with message: Failed to report. If you do not see an additional message with a corrective action to complete, please contact technical support for further assistance.I contacted support, live agent, and haven't been able to get through. All I need is for the course to be electronically submitted to the *** so I can schedule my road test. Every time I go on *** website it says no online information found please enter pre-licensing course number. I have been on the page on many devices and all I see is the error page at processing failed. Please rectify immediately as I have purchased a Tesla and can't even send in my registration information since I need to do it with a license. ***** is giving me a deadline of 14 days to upload my interim license or they will cancel my order and I am unable to do that if my pre licensing course isn't submitted to *** in time for me to schedule my road test.Business response
06/02/2024
Hello Abedin ******,
We are so sorry for the difficulties you experienced after completing the course! After reviewing your course completion, it does appear that your course was finalized, and the reporting was successful. An email with the confirmation should have been sent when the processing went through. Please contact us if you have any additional questions or concerns!
Thanks!
Initial Complaint
05/20/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
5.20.24 Paid for Exam for *******'s permit for my daughter and she took the exam and stated that it passed and then did not get any info back or confirmation or anything. The dash board stated that the exam was still in progress and would not complete out. I reached out to chat customer **********************. Chatted with **** first who was a joke. He was so rude and just was not interested in doing anything. Then he stated that it was a fail and that would have to pay again to have exam taken again. I asked him why did it say that it was a pass. Only one question missed and now he is saying it was a fail. He stated just pay again.I ended that chat and tried to get another ****************** another joke. Stated Congrats passed go to ***. I told him that the Dash stated test still in progress then he was like ooooo well I guess she failed and would have to pay again to take the test again. A money grab scam tactic. He stated it was a glitch with the new *** process and when I ask why would I have to pay again if he keeps saying its a glitch with the system. He got short and stated you will just have to pay again. I can't believe this is the service that the *** depends on. On ******** page many bad reviews and complaints about the same thingBusiness response
06/02/2024
Good morning, *********************************!
I am so very sorry for the experience you received. We will start a full investigation and address this customer ********************** received. One of our biggest priorities is customer satisfaction, and I'm sincerely sorry we fell short of that during your time reaching out via chat.
I was able to review the permit exam account and I see that it was never completed and has not since expired. ***** has completed the drug and alcohol course with a 90%, which might be what you are seeing.
I would be happy to provide you a promotional code for ***** to retake the permit exam for free, if you would like. Please contact us directly at **************************, if you would like to proceed with this offer.
Thanks!
Initial Complaint
05/20/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Purchased a New York DMV Approved Defensive Driving Course. Timed out due to external circumstances on multiple occasions during these security prompts. About 4/5ths of the way through the course too. I am requesting for the course to be reopened as this entire operation seems like a way for people to make money through scamming others. It is ridiculous that we have to repay for the entire course and sit through the entire thing again. It was not emphasized that security attempts would max out at any point during the course, and leaves me with the impression that this is a predatory business scheme.Business response
06/02/2024
Hello ***********************,
I genuinely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and I'm here to provide any further assistance you may need!
For the specific program you took, at the beginning of the course a set of "personal validation questions" are asked in order to create an answer key for the student. Student's responses are saved in a database, and the questions are later asked at random as the course progresses.
The intention of this practice is that the proper student participating in the course will know their own answers (as they created their own self-assessment answer key) and should be able to correctly validate. It is possible that if a student did not carefully read the initial questions or carefully select their answer, the original responses saved may not be in line with the student's actual self-assessment causing them to get future questions "wrong", though this depends on the student's engagement, and it is not a bug with the course. It is true that students who are unable to successfully validate after several attempts will be excluded from the course and need to re-register.
One of our objectives, as an approved course provider, is to remain compliant with State regulations for course providers. In part, one of the requirements is validating student participation, and upon failure, students must be excluded. We are confident that the course is functioning properly. Due to the inconvenience this has caused, I have provided a one-time courtesy unlock due to a technical issue. Please log in and complete the course before 6/17/24, 4:17 PM EST.If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact us directly at **************************!
Thanks!
Initial Complaint
05/18/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I purchased the course and was on the very last 15 minutes after spending over 5 hours successfully completing all the modules. I have used and completed this course in the past, at least 2 times in the last six years. I answered one quiz question incorrectly and the course timed out. I was then alerted I HAD BEEN BLOCKED and would need to re-register and take the course over again!!!! The course specifically states that students are allowed 3 attempts for questions and I never even had a chance to make the other two attempts before being BLOCKED!!! I could not reach anyone for hours and when I did they said I had 3 incorrect answers and the state makes the laws and I will need to retake the course because I was blocked!!! THAT WAS 100% FALSE and they then admitted I could have been blocked for a technical issue but there was nothing they could do except allow me to start over for free!?!!! NO - NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!! I was only blocked because of their technology and SCAM that has BECOME MORE PREVALENT THAN EVER, AS THERE ARE MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS JUST LIKE MINE!!!!!! I SPENT MONEY AND ALMOST 6 HOURS OF MY TIME, WHICH IS MUCH MORE PRECIOUS THAN THE MONEY!!!!! THEY HAVE STOLEN BOTH FROM ME!!!!!!!I This is a SCANDAL AND THEY SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE ACCEPTED COURSES. I WOULD TELL EVERYONE TO ABSOLUTELY STEER CLEAR OF NEW YORK SAFETY COUNCIL AND ANY COURSE OR OFFERING BRANDED BY CERTUS AS THEY ARE THE **** RUNNING THE **** ON THIS!! WHAT A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN TRUST THE COMPANY THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING KEEP PEOPLE SAFE!!!!!! SHAMEFUL AND DISGUSTING!!!!Business response
06/02/2024
Hello *****************************,
I would like to express our sincere apologies for any confusion or inconvenience you may have encountered during this lockout process. It's important to note that while our course is designed to align with state standards, failing a module quiz three times unfortunately leads to disqualification from the course. The course is programmed to lock after 3 quiz attempts, and unfortunately once locked out and reset we cannot provide that progress back. At this time, I would be willing to provide you a full refund if you are unable or willing to retake the course for free.
It's important to reiterate that, as an approved course provider,our commitment is to adhere to State regulations for course providers. One of these regulatory requirements entails verifying student participation, and when students do not meet these criteria, we are obligated to exclude them from the course. This is a key component of our compliance with state standards and regulations.
Thanks!Initial Complaint
05/16/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Started class, restarted multiple times, kept locking me out and freezing on me. Due to these issues Im locked out, contacted them and they told me I have to repay to start class over because I didnt meet requirements, thats there fault due to the malfunction on there site. They refuse to unlock my account or to refund me.Business response
05/20/2024
Hello,
I'm sorry for all the inconvenience. I was unable to locate your account with the information provided. Please provide your Order ID that is on the emailed receipt. Once we have all the information, we will be able to assist you!
Kind Regards,
Dali
Escalation Team Specialist
www.certus.comInitial Complaint
05/15/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
On May 9th, 2024 I purchased a *** DMV approved defensive driving course from newyorksafetycouncil.com which seems to be a subsidiary of American Safety Council. I was then directed to a platform called Fusion where I created an account and a long series of security questions and a voice recognition biometric to prove I was the one taking the course from time to time. The course consists of 4 modules with a series of activities to read through or watch and a time requirement spent on each section. Normally right before starting or right after ending a module a security question would pop up to answer to move to the next section. While I was in the middle of the second section of module 4, there was approximately 5 minutes left on the timer, a security question popped up. This question was what was my highest level of completed education, which I set as undergrad at the start of the course and responded as such. Instead of the section continuing I was redirected back to the course dashboard. From the dashboard I clicked resume course which should deliver me back to the place I left off. Instead I was greeted with an error message saying my account had been locked because of too many incorrect answers and I would have to repurchase the course to continue. I reached out to the help chat and was met with nothing but roadblocks in receiving support. A lot of, sorry there is nothing we can do, that is our policy, etc. when I asked to speak to a manager or receive a contact number I was ignored until I mentioned I felt I was a victim of a scam. Then I was supplied a phone number that was not answered when called. I was refused a refund. I did nothing wrong and did not answer the security question wrong. It is unbelievable that the *** DMV would allow this vendor to be considered an approved partner after reading the numerous similar complaints on BBB. I am requesting a full refund and believe the *** DMV should remove this business from being recognized by them.Business response
05/26/2024
Hello ************;******,
I genuinely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and I'm here to provide any further assistance you may need!
For the specific program you took, at the beginning of the course a set of "personal validation questions" are asked in order to create an answer key for the student. The student's responses are saved in a database, and the questions are later asked at random as the course progresses.
The intention of this practice is that the proper student participating in the course will know their own answers (as they created their own self-assessment answer key) and should be able to correctly validate. It is possible that if a student did not carefully read the initial questions or carefully select their answer, the original responses saved may not be in line with the student's actual self-assessment causing them to get future questions "wrong", though this depends on the student's engagement, and it is not a bug with the course. It is true that students who are unable to successfully validate after several attempts will be excluded from the course and need to re-register.
One of our objectives, as an approved course provider, is to remain compliant with State regulations for course providers. In part, one of the requirements is validating student participation, and upon failure, students must be excluded. We are confident that the course is functioning properly.Since we have no way of reviewing the security questions that you missed. can go ahead and as a one-time courtesy, allow a unlock for this instance due to a " technical error". We typically cannot do this; however, I will make this one exception. You may continue your course at this time.
Thanks!
Customer response
05/27/2024
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
*********************Initial Complaint
05/05/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
I purchase the course and got about 3/4 of the way done, logged out for the night and in the morning, I continued to get this error. I finally logged back in on another browser to find my course was "blocked" and the only resolution is I pay for it again or start all over. This is deceptive, poor business and ridiculous. I just wanted to get it done so I agreed to restart. They told me I was all set then I am still getting the error.Their online chat is unhelpful and I am just sick of the run around. There are dozens of other company who offer this course and I want my money back. I've used this service every 3 years for years now but this is the last time I will ever use them. It is a joke. They keep blaming the "state" for their own technology failures yet my wife took hers on another service and had none of the issues I am having.Business response
05/06/2024
Hello ***********************,
I would like to express our sincere apologies for any confusion or inconvenience you may have encountered during this process. We are so sorry that your issue was not handled differently and should have been analyzed and reviewed more thoroughly. I will suggest a peer review with the agent's supervisor to try and exhaust all possible ways of resolutions before re-issuing the course. I have placed a full refund on your account as requested, so you should receive those funds back into your account within 3-5 business days.
Again, we are so very sorry about your experience. Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with!
Thanks!
Customer response
05/06/2024
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Your system needs to be improved upon but I will not be using your platform ever again. Please review the chat history of me trying to resolve the issue with multiple agents. It was ridiculous and I kept having to repeat myself over and over. Anyone reading--AVOID THIS COMPANY! You'll waste your time and money. At least I got my money back. Can't get the 4 hours I spent nearly finishing the course back.
***********************Initial Complaint
05/03/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
randomly ask me these questions. Sometimes 2/3 questions at a time plus the voice biometrics. Some of the questions required an answer to which none of the options were correct for my preferences, requiring me to choose another answer and hope I remember. I completed all parts of the course and was on the final test on 4/9/24. The screen timed out and asked me to answer security questions and the questions were ones I had to guess on because I did not remember what I put. Ofcorse I got it wrong twice on 2 different questions and it BLOCKED me from having access and told me I need to Re-register, pay again and RESTART the 5 1/2 hour course! I have ADHD and I tend to forget small details such as security questions especially if they are not answered truthfully because of limited options. I demanded my money back or for the course to be unlocked and they refused saying it was by *** standards. Thats not true as other sites authorized by the*** do not follow these terrible practices. It is expected that people will forget security questions which is why every other company has the option to verify an alternate way or reset the questions.Business response
05/05/2024
Hello ***************************,
We are so sorry to hear that you were frustrated with your course experience. We would like to thank you for your feedback as we are always looking to improve the experience for our users, and really appreciate your time. For the specific program you took, at the beginning of the course a set of "personal validation questions" are asked in order to create an answer key for the student. The student's responses are saved in a database, and the questions are later asked at random as the course progresses. The intention of this practice is that the proper student participating in the course will know their own answers (as they created their own self-assessment answer key) and should be able to correctly validate. It is possible that if a student did not carefully read the initial questions or carefully select their answer, the original responses saved may not be in line with the student's actual self-assessment causing them to get future questions "wrong", though this depends on the student's engagement, and it is not a bug with the course.
It is true that students who are unable to successfully validate after several attempts will be excluded from the course and need to re-register.
One of our objectives, as an approved course provider, is to remain compliant with State regulations for course providers. In part, one of the requirements is validating student participation, and upon failure, students must be excluded.We are confident that the course is functioning properly.Due to this inconvenience, I will go ahead and approve a full refund out of policy to resolve one and for all. Please allow 3-5 business days for this to arrive.
Thanks!
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Customer Complaints Summary
543 total complaints in the last 3 years.
114 complaints closed in the last 12 months.