Universal Driving School Ottawa Inc

Negative experience: When you go to purchase a package they offer you many things, and at the end they don't deliver. They convinced me to buy one of the more expensive packages because I would have two hours of practice before the test and they only gave me an hour and a half. You have to do everything from writing to your instructor to coordinate your lessons to making the appointment for the driving test. I don’t recommend them. The only good thing was the instructor, he is a good instructor!

Fantastic experience: Great experience the lady there helped me through all the course.

Fantastic experience: The instructor was a patient professional, I would recommend it to anyone. - Hussein

Fantastic experience: A great driving school overall for people trying to get their G2. I learned a lot and the in-car part made me gain a lot of experience.

Fantastic experience: Great service and nice people! Helped to improve driving skills to the next level! Would recommend this driving school.

Negative experience: To add to my last review! I was contacted by the driving school and this is what was said: We’re contacting you regarding the review that you wrote, we received a response from google Please contact me regarding to that We kindly ask you to remove the review asap You had no driving experience at all and this is your education skill where you start and learned how to drive from our instructors , it’s disappointing from you. I clearly stated in my email that I was not contacting anyone! If anything k should be contacted and provided a resolution and a full compensation package for all my inconvenience. Instead I have been contacted saying that I need to call them and that they are requesting I remove the review asap with not even as little as an apology? What is this disgusting school ?? They are so unprofessional they need to be out of business!!! Ofcourse I had no driving experience K obviously paid for this driving school tl learn how to drive??? Like hellooo do you not understand what driving school means? If you didn’t know it’s where people that don’t know how to drive pay their money and expect to learn how to drive and have the service they paid for! I have not asked for any charity work. I had knot asked for my rights as a paying customer. Please do not make the same mistake and do not go to this driving school. I will be taking legal action and go public!!! Edit: Hello, I have just received a deceiving phone call from this driving school it was terrible and unprofessional! I was blackmailed into removing this review in a week and if not they would call their lawyers? Like are you guys okay? This is sooo unprofessional! I have freedoms of speech to voice all of the concerns I have and this is another sign to never go with this driving school .

Negative experience: Even though I mentioned my lack of previous experience, they didn’t provide me with a competent teacher. I could only schedule one driving lesson per week, for which I paid for 10 lessons . However, it took three months with a teacher who frequently canceled classes, and as a result, I still need more practice. Now, I’ve lost trust in any driving school. It was a mistake to enroll despite their low ratings, and I don’t want others to repeat the same error.

Fantastic experience: Woww, I just did 5 hours with instructor mr. Hess. I pass 100% with no mistake. It was a greate experience with universal driving school. I highly recommend for everyone. They will teacher you with great skills you never learn by yourself. I got my g today

Negative experience: I took the drivers Ed course here and the in class part was good! But when it came to the driving part my instructor Olga was very rude and verbally abusive. I was driving once with her and she told me “why can’t you learn to drive, I teach so many people and you just don’t get it.” I was so shocked I almost cried in the car. She kept telling me how terrible I was but, isn’t the whole point of a driving school to learn and be better at driving? I didn’t end up getting my g2 until 4 years after the course because my confidence was so destroyed by Olga.

Negative experience: terrible customer service! they hang up on me

Fantastic experience: The instructors at Universal Driving School are the greatest; they are extremely patient and composed, and they are specialists at imparting the knowledge and abilities required to pass the G1 Knowledge Test and the G2 Driving Test.

Negative experience: I should have read the review before buying the package!! this school doesn't care about learners. It is so hard to contact them. I sent them emails, called both offices, and they don't reply you at all. Basically, take your money and ignore you. It is terrible management and poor customer service. 3 months ago, I called them almost 20 times to ask them give me a in-car lesson. Now, I finished all my lessons and just need them to give me the certificate, but they don't even reply me. I have a friend, also paid for a package, and the school ignore her. She asked for refund and they refused. I will share my experiences in my College and church discord community. I don't think they care about learners!!!!!

Negative experience: The worst place ever. I strongly DO NOT recommend. They get your money, you need to do everything, contact the instructors, find one that fits your schedule and in the end the instructor doesn’t show up. Terrible customer service, I don’t know how they dare saying they are the best. Please DO NOT contract them. Answering their feedback: DID I MISS COMMUNICATING? I sent several emails to your school, you kept sending me instructors that were not available in the days/times I was, even though before payment I asked if there was someone available on those specific days/times, and the answer was yes. I was the one that needed to check with YOUR instructors who was available, which is absurd. Once I found one, we schedule the time during a call, confirmed by SMS twice, also by email with the school, then guess what: SHE DIDN’T SHOW UP, she didn’t answer me when I texted asking if she would come, and after waiting for more than 30min I sent an email to the school and the instructor called me saying she forgot I was scheduled that day! You also called me saying it was my fault because I didn’t contact her?!?!? Come on! You should be ashamed. I have no idea how this school still open. Very disappointing, very dishonest, employees are very rude, zero consideration with customers. TERRIBLE SERVICE (or not service at all), DO NOT CONTRACT THIS SCHOOL.

Negative experience: Terrible school with unreliable instructors and rude staff. I booked 5 hours of in-car lessons and paid over the phone. I was told to TEXT my instructors. The instructor they put me with didn't show up to my lesson and when I texted him he told me, an hour after our scheduled time, that he had been in an accident a couple weeks ago and the car was still in the shop. I was unhappy that he didn't inform me ahead of time and asked for a new instructor. The new instructor did not respond to my requests to book an appointment, so I asked for a refund. The man on the phone was extremely rude to me when I asked for a refund, telling me I did not deserve to be at their school. They did eventually refund my money but I had to be very pushy with the man on the phone and start reading out my credit card number to get him to stop yelling at me. In general, what kind of terrible establishment argues with a customer looking to get a refund? One of the things they teach you in any customer service job is to take the customer's feedback and give a refund, even if you know the customer is wrong. They did, however, actually refund the money in the end.

Negative experience: STAY AWAY FROM THIS DRIVING SCHOOL. I can’t stress that enough. They won’t finish your hrs on time. The owner is rude and won’t even listen to your concerns. He’s always yelling.

Negative experience: Dishonest, rude, and unprofessional to say the least.

Negative experience: I wish I could give this company a zero for terrible customer service. This is the worse company I have ever interacted with in my life. The owner yelled at a customer and threatened to hang the phone on the customer for just explaining her concern. He wanted to do all the talking and ask me the question, and when I answered, he accused me of not listening, and when I didn't answer his question, he threatened to hang up the phone. They canceled the course; unfortunately, they refused to refund me fully. Today, the owner called me on a private number and threatened to send the money to the collection, telling me the collection lawyers would come after me. What is this madness? Does this guy think everyone is not informed of their rights? How do you send someone to the collection agency when you have her money? I said to him I was not here to argue with you. I want to inform you I am going ahead with the third party, and that is it. He keeps arguing and lecturing me with his childish thoughts over and over again for 8 minutes. Based on my experience, this company should not operate in Canada. Canadians are respectful and polite even if they disagree with each other. Acting on this value, I have kept my descent throughout this terrible interactions. I checked their rating online, and they have the worse on the BBB and yelp websites. I am filing a complaint with a third party and I would like to hear from others with the same experience.

Negative experience: Instructor was nice but two things really bugged me. First, the in-car hours included any driving by the instructor to get to your place and to get home. Second, though I bought the silver package, when it came time for the road test the instructor was not available so we could not use his car. Rather than offer to refund me the difference between the Silver and the Basic package, the company told me it was my mistake for not checking with the driver first. Like you have a choice these days given how difficult it is these days to get a driving test! So don't bother paying the extra.

Negative experience: The voice mail is always full, I’ve tried contacting them to book in car lessons and couldn’t leave a message. I contacted them again and finally received an answer the man who answered said that I have to pay an extra $500 on top of the $700 I already paid for the in car lessons due to inflation and because it was passed the 12 months period. He was very rude over the phone when I tried to explain my situation to him and tell him that I haven’t been able to get in contact with the company for months and haven’t received any calls from them to which he said they contact every student (I guess they skipped me) he eventually put me on hold for over 10 minutes before I hung up. Very unprofessional. I would not recommend

Fantastic experience: Great class really cool

Fantastic experience: I went and get a full course. It went smooth and I was happy to pass my g2 exam. I’m about to get a full g license soon and they’re helping me pass it.

Positive experience: Hi, I've been trying to call but your voicemail is full. I left a message months ago, but with the understanding that you were clearing your backlog of students. I didn't expect a response at that busy time of reopening. This review is more to let you know that others are probably also having difficulty reaching you. We have some questions and need to buy a package. You were recommended but we will have to book elsewhere if we can't get hold of someone here soon.

Negative experience: Worst attitude ever. Avoid if you can.

Fantastic experience: Thanks Hess!

Negative experience: If you have a child getting ready to do Driving school save yourself a huge headache and lots of frustration and STAY AWAY from Universal Driving School. They have been the worst to deal with. Unresponsive, I got hung up on twice, got told I didn’t care about my kid, complete runaround and they got very snarky when I asked for clarification on things. Absolutely worst experience. I would give a zero if I could

Fantastic experience: A great driving school, I would recommend it to anyone who is going for a road test and not feeling confident about their skills I passed my G2 test yesterday so I am really glad I took the right decision to learn with them, Hess helped me with effective instructions, so I am really grateful for your help.

Negative experience: As a new comer here in canada i wanted some help to pass my G test, they charged me over 120$ and the instructor didnt even tell me that i should be in the highway more than 5 times so they failed me at the drive test (they didnt even let me take the test) so i lost money of the test + the driving school fee to get the car for test) in total 250$ just like that. i called them and asked if they can refund me as i didnt use their service, the owner apparently who is the same instructor refused, they said if i wanted to get their car for testing i need to pay again. He didnt even offer to drive me home. He said i should pay him for the uber ride as he is paying gas, yes i was shocked stay away guys

Fantastic experience: Great school and drivers. I improved a lot during my time there. I would recommend Khalid.

Negative experience: I attended the universal driving school and failed my road test. Waste of money.

Negative experience: Came here a few years ago. Children’s aid paid for it and the scammed me and took my money and they just did it again to my friend. Stay away or you’ll end up having to take them to court

Fantastic experience: Passed my G2 road test on the first try thanks to this school, and my driving instructor named Van! I’m very grateful. Thank you.

Fantastic experience: These guys are great, they walk you through the process of what it takes to pass your G2 and G.

Negative experience: Edit after owner's comment claiming that I was not his student: I was and still have the certificate from his school as a proof. This is to say that the owner will do tricks like this to invalidate any negative comment in this Google review section. To the owner: you can flag me with Google support, I can prove it otherwise.

Fantastic experience: I took up the BDE course from universal driving school last month and was able to complete it on time. The course package is really professional and upto date which gave me the confidence to drive on the road. Special thanks to Vans who gave me the in car driving lessons which has helped me to ace the driving test. Also a special mention to Hess who coordinated me on the test day and motivated me to give out the best results. Thank you so much for helping me in getting my drivers lisence.

Fantastic experience: Universal Driving School was great. I learned a lot and passed my G2 road test on the first try. Hess was a great instructor. Many other driving schools are very overly expensive but Universal Driving is the best value, in my opinion.

Fantastic experience: I had a positive experience with all their staff and my instructor Hess was very helpful and patient with me. I passed my g2 test on my first try, highly recommend universal driving school :)

Fantastic experience: Pretty good experience with hess

Fantastic experience: Really good practice for the G full test

Fantastic experience: Such a great school to learn. Staff is very friendly, helpful. I passed my test with their instrucator named 'Hess'.

Fantastic experience: I received super valuable tips to perform the test. Without them, I probably would not have passed the exam, even though I am an experienced driver!

Fantastic experience: Hess is so nice and helpful!!! I pass the road test because of his nice training!!!

Negative experience: Take your money and run...don't even bother going here. The receptionist is very pleasant but the instructors are terrible. The first I got was so rude n said he wasn't available, like I was disturbing him. The second I got was in a hurry, poor at explaining etc. I eventually failed my G2, decided to watch YouTube videos to brush up (not a first time driver) and I passed..go figure!

Fantastic experience: Hess was awesome to deal with & Charlie made sure my son had a great driving experience! Lilly is a great help to keep things running like a well tuned automobile. Cheers Kevin

Fantastic experience: Thank you so much Hess and Ivan for your excellent guidance and training for road test. You guys are the best !!

Negative experience: What kind of driving school comes so close to your bumper while making a left hand turn? Tries to force you to go through a stop sign down a side street and then proceeds to speed around me while in a construction zone? A driving school that doesn't understand the concept of driving safely. I will be reporting them to the better business bureau, police and ministry of transportation.

Fantastic experience: The best driving school in Ottawa no doubt in my recommendation, excellent staffs and instructors both in class and on the road. They do want you to succeed. One love!!

Fantastic experience: Experienced and professional team. You will be in great hands.

Negative experience: Awful experince. The space is so small that even smaller than my bedroom, but the students are packed. It's just a way of stealing money from you. Please don't go. I have Hess as my in class instructor, he is just awful. I hate this experince but I paid already, too bad.

Negative experience: The owners need to learn to drive first ...

Fantastic experience: I had Balvir as my driving instructor. He was always fitting me in whenever he could so I could get my g2 as fast as possible. With his help I was able to pass on the g2 test first try. He was very patient and good at explaining what to do.

Negative experience: I don't recommend this school. They just want the money.

Fantastic experience: Amazing coaching! My instructor replicated my G test down to the number. Warned me about bad habits, make sure I knew what I was doing behind the wheel, and coached me for a perfect score on my G test. 10/10 Couldn't recommend it more!

Fantastic experience: Great driving school. Hess is really good with the in car lessons. They prepare you really well for the G2 test as well.

Fantastic experience: Instructor was great. Always tried to accommodate for my schedule.

Fantastic experience: Great School! Highly reccomended!

Fantastic experience: Excellent Coaching - I needed a few hours of driving and a car for my road test and they were excellent at squeezing me in (on the same day!) Hess was very clear when instructing and never made me feel uncomfortable. I would 100% recommend Universal to you or your family.

Fantastic experience: Great experience. Hess my driving instructor, is knowledgeable, takes his work seriously but is also laid back and funny. He helps to take away the anxiety for the test. I passed my first road test on the second day driving with Hess, with only a hour of practice the day before. He shows you where you will likely drive around for your test, depending on your test location. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: I had a great experience with Khaled and Universal. He really prepared me for my G test and I passed with no trouble!! Definitely worth getting lots of lessons, there were no surprises going into my test. I would highly recommend Universal if you are going for road tests.

Fantastic experience: Really a great driving school, all the instructors are well disciplined and competent to train new students. I took training under them only for 10 hrs and faced the G test. Happy to say I obtained the license in my first test. I would like to recommend Hess for anyone looking for a competent instructor.

Fantastic experience: I trained with hess and i should say he is a good instructor . I just passed my g2 test with a different route with only one mistake and all credit goes to him ,he instructed me with all the rules and regulations so i could make that.

Fantastic experience: I had a great time during the in class lessons! I was told that it was going to be boring but my teacher made it interactive so I enjoyed it. During the in car I found that I learnt a lot of things that I didn't know before which really helped me pass my G2 test!!

Fantastic experience: Really great driving school, probably the best in Ottawa. All my family took other driving a schools and failed their g2 the first time, I myself took Universal and passed my g2 right away 95%!!!! Honestly the staff and instructors made you feel at home!!! I really enjoyed my classes and driving hours!!! Ask for Hess, or Ivan, Hess brought me for my test and told me everything i need to know!! Great!!

Fantastic experience: I had an amazing instructor in Hess and I learned a lot. I recommend this driving school for anyone who wants to improve their driving skills and/or get their Canadian G-class licenses.

Fantastic experience: One of the best driving school in Ottawa. Instructors Hess and Abdulla are extremely knowledgeable , experienced, friendly and patient to ensure all students gain the required driving knowledge and successfully complete the various driving tests. A definite recommendation for any new driver hoping to get their license.

Negative experience: Amateur greedy people. After I paid in full and just before the test the instructor claimed I didn't pay for the test(so he claimed I owed 120$), and after calculating how much the lessons and test would have been WITHOUT a package(if I paid per hour) there was a 30$ difference. Before the test I asked what is my chance to pass the test he claimed 80%, after I failed he claimed he thought I wasnt ready and needed more lessons. I didn't take any other lessons from those guys and passed my next test easily. Bad people, bad lessons, be careful! Notice How the owner's response came 2 years after my review, of course he lied and I have not missed a single class. He messaged me on facebook 1 year ago, and demanded to remove my review, which is against Google's policy. Also notice how he has 5 stars reviews from reviewers who have only one review! Very suspicious.

Fantastic experience: Excellent driving school. They did a really good job by teaching and made sure I pass on the first try. I definitely recommend this place to everyone.

Fantastic experience: Great driving school. In-class sessions are so informative to prepare new drivers to be on the road. The instructors are great and patient to guide students through on-road sessions. The greatest thing is the school always has instructors ready to teach students even their schedules are the most hectic ones. Definitely a go-to driving school to get your license.

Negative experience: First, go and find another driving school. If for any reason you decided to work with them and take in car sessions, just pay session by session, otherwise, you may lose your money as I did! Here is my experience with them: I took in car lessons with Mr. Hesi (who is both the owner and the instructor) and paid 400$ for 10 sessions in advanced. After 5 sessions, I couldn’t schedule anymore sessions for weeks because the instructor kept telling me that he was all booked. When I asked him to give the rest of money (200$) back so that I can find another instructor who has free time, he told me: “it’s not our Policy”! Although he hadn’t mentioned anything about their policy before!

Fantastic experience: Best driving school ever! The instructor is just great! Really patient ! Very helpful and coperative! If i had to do this again! I would!!! over and over at the same school!

Negative experience: I took driving lesson from this company last year. Few days ago, my driving instructor called me and claimed that I owed him $299. I told him that I'm pretty sure I've paid all and it's impossible that I owe him any. Since I paid with my credit card, I went through my electronic statements and sent him screenshots of those transactions. Instead of checking with his bank, this guy accused me of faking those statements right off the bat. He demanded that I come to his office with the paper copies. I refused and he conceded to check with his bank. He confirmed few days later that I had paid in full. If I were to pay in cash, it would be his word against mine as I don't have the receipts anymore. With all that experience, I cannot recommend this school at all. Update : Now, he is threatening me with lawsuit to take down this review.

Fantastic experience: Took this school due to its excellent ratings over the internet. My experience learning how to drive was nothing short of phenomenal. I joined with zero experience in a car, never even turned on a car! Instructors taught me so well within the promised timeframe that I passed my G2 test within the first try! If you are looking for a professional, safe and trusting school, believe me, this school is right. They balanced my crazy schedule and catered to all my needs. I always felt that I was in good hands. Phenomenal company, with great great GREAT service.

Fantastic experience: Went to Universal Driving School to pass my G2, my instructor taught and showed me everything that i needed to know to pass and how to be a safe driver on the road. I highly recommend taking classes here! Learned allot and it was fun! Thank you Universal Driving School for teaching me so much and help get my G2!

Fantastic experience: Great instructors. Just finished the in class portion and they made it really fun to learn. Now i just have my in car lessons to go and then i get my license. Thanks UDS!

Fantastic experience: This is a fantastic driving school. The teachers are really knowledgable and are fully committed to helping you be completely ready for the driving test. They use your learning style [i.e visual, auditory] to help you master and apply various driving techniques.They are also quite friendly and patient with students as they understand the challenges associated with being a new driver. I got G2 after my first attempt and would definitely recommend this school.

Fantastic experience: Best Driving School. New location is right beside Algonquin, convenient for students. Great instructors who have experience. Passed my G2 the first try. Thanks!

Fantastic experience: Great instructors, great school!

Fantastic experience: My wife and I went to Universal Driving School for BDE Course and I was impressed that not just learned how to drive well ,but we passed G2 road test for the first try, I highly recommand Universal Driving School to all the new generation of drivers . Thanks again .... Santo Ottawa