National Auto Academy NAA Took a $700 deposit and cannot get in contact since Allentown Pennsylvania

I was contacted regarding an open position at a Kia dealership. They conducted the preliminary interview and then the subsequent training course over the next three days. On the second day, they said they needed a $699 deposit in order to "show good faith” and that it was refundable upon completion of training and manufacturer certification. I complied, gave the deposit, and completed the course at which point I was told I was hired and received a certificate of completion from the academy. After the last class, I was told that the following Monday I would need to come in to the dealership to do a follow up interview and get my schedule. Monday came, no contact. No big deal, it’s only a couple of days. I spoke with a woman named Katie on that Tuesday and she said she was waiting to hear back from the dealership. Now at this point I was already a bit dismade because I had put in my resignation at my current position in favor of the new position at the dealership upon being told that I was hired and already paid my deposit. I continued trying to reach out to no effect as neither Katie nor the instructor, Mike, answered their phones.

Katie’s number is disconnected and the general number for national auto academy is out of service. I left voicemails, emails and texts and for the past week and change have not received any follow up from anybody. They are absolutely embarrassing in terms of their customer service ethics and now I don’t even see how I could get my deposit back. This is an example of gross incompetence and shows how inept they are when it comes to taking care of people that have their hard earned money to try and begin a new career. To be fair, employment wasn’t "guaranteed” though the instructor assured me that I was hired and would likely be starting the following week after the training course with NAA. I still haven’t heard back and have been screwed out of $700 just so I could not get in contact with any of the clowns that work there. If you are contacted by this company, I strongly urge you to steer clear unless you want to end up frustrated and $700 poorer with nothing to show for it besides a workbook and certificate. Another great part of this is that they promise "lifetime job placement assistance” via their company phone number. How the hell can you help me with job placement if you idiots listed a non working number on your site and other sites such as Facebook and Google? Doesn’t make any sense. Avoid at all costs. Will be looking into options for taking legal action against this excerable company.