TAKEN FOR A RIDE

Avoid unregistered trainers and always sign a contract with your training school, police advise people

MUSCAT: Rogue driving instructors are taking hundreds of rials from learner drivers then disappearing, prompting a warning from the Royal Oman Police.

Learner drivers have told Times of Oman that they paid between OMR250 and OMR500 upfront for a block of lessons – only for the “instructor” to stop taking their calls.

“My instructor not only took my OMR500 from me up front, he also took my learner’s book so I was stuck with him and couldn’t go to anyone else,” one resident said.

“He never answered his phone, and I kept calling him over and over again before I finally got through to him and almost had to plead with him to give me back my book, let alone the money, which at that point I knew I’d never see.”

Another resident said: “I began learning to drive in 2008, and I only received my licence recently because I had changed more than six different driving instructors.

“I have spent more than OMR1,000 on all of my lessons, and my teachers would never arrive on time.

“Fortunately, the last instructor I met was very good,” he added.

The reason so many residents chose to learn from independent driving instructors is because they had been referred to by acquaintances, and had signed on out of trust. Independent instructors are often cheaper to book than affiliated driving schools, residents said.

“My tutor would blame me for all the problems his car suffered and he treated me like I was a bur- den,” said another resident. “Once he received OMR250 for lessons, though, I never heard from him again.

“If you have such a bad instructor, how will you feel motivated to drive?” he added. “Now I have a family so I will need to start learning to drive again, but this time I will go to a school.”