Contractors Inteligence School Outdated Material and No Accountability Rancho Cordova CA

I’ve had two good experiences with Contractors Intelligence School in the past, but my latest one was so bad, I feel obligated to warn others. I enrolled in their program to study for the Hazardous Substance Removal (HAZ) Certification. I studied the material front to back, passed all their practice exams with flying colors, and felt fully prepared… until I sat for the real test. The actual test content was completely different from what they gave me to study. I still managed a 63% (you need 66% to pass), but the real shock came afterward. When I reached out, they admitted they knew the material was outdated, said they had discontinued the course due to repeated complaints and failures, and yet never notified me — not even a heads-up before the test. When I asked why I wasn't warned, they said that because they helped with the application process, I wasn’t eligible for a refund — even though I hadn’t asked for one. To make things worse, they sent me a carefully crafted email offering a "courtesy refund” of $202, but only if I agreed to not leave any negative reviews, stay silent about my experience, and legally release them from all claims. In other words, they knew they were in the wrong, but instead of fixing it, they tried to buy my silence. What makes this even more devastating is the timing. Since the Palisades and Eaton fires, long-time customers of mine have been waiting weeks for me to obtain this certification so I can move forward with permit applications and help them rebuild their homes — or help their clients do the same. I now have to refund some of their deposits, I’ve already lost over 10 fire clean-up contracts, and I’m beyond embarrassed. I pride myself on professionalism, but CIS left me completely blindsided. If they were really the only school in California offering HAZ prep material, then they had a greater responsibility to make sure it was accurate and up-to-date — not to quietly keep selling it and blame the test when people fail. If you’re thinking of signing up for any of their programs — especially for rare certifications like HAZ — I strongly recommend looking elsewhere. This has cost me time, money, reputation, and client trust.