North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is suing NC Virtual Drivers Ed, LLC and its owner, Courtney Elizabeth Brazil, accusing the business of charging new drivers and their families for instruction it never provided and then refusing to give refunds. The lawsuit comes months after state regulators stripped the company of its license to operate.
According to qcnews.com, the defendants are accused of charging new drivers and their families for instruction they never provided and refusing to give refunds. Jackson said the business took families' money and never gave them the lessons they paid for.
What the School Promised, and What It Allegedly Skipped
NC Virtual Drivers Ed advertised driving instruction online aimed at young drivers and their families, with packages including 30 hours of online instruction for $125, six hours of private driving lessons for $450, six hours of group driving lessons for $250, and a combined 30 hours of online instruction plus group lessons for $350, per the same qcnews.com report. Jackson alleges the defendants failed to provide instruction or driving lessons that some customers had already paid for.
Instead of the required behind-the-wheel sessions, the suit claims the company substituted vision or medical screenings and parking lessons for actual driving lessons — a swap that did not meet the six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction that the North Carolina DMV requires. That six-hour minimum traces back to state driver-training rules governing courses of instruction. The company also allegedly failed to send certificates of completed online instruction.
License Pulled, Then Allegedly Business as Usual
In September, the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles revoked the business's commercial driver training school license and all associated instructor licenses, the station's report states. State officials separately told myfox8.com that the company had failed to maintain required office hours and staffing, improperly counted non-instructional time toward the required six hours of behind-the-wheel training, and lacked sufficiently qualified instructors.
Per the same account from myfox8.com, the company did not accept a probationary agreement with a corrective action plan by the August 31 deadline the state had set. Officials said NC Virtual Driver's Ed was required to issue all pending completion certificates and refunds by October 15. The DMV has said completion certificates issued before the revocation remain valid and may still be used for driver education purposes.
Jackson alleges the company kept operating and collecting payments even after that license revocation. In October, the business changed its website to sell defensive-driving classes without DMV authorization, the lawsuit claims — a pivot that came after the state had already pulled its authority to train new drivers.
What the Attorney General Is Asking the Court to Do
Jackson is asking the court for restitution for consumers and civil penalties, according to the qcnews.com report. He is also seeking a temporary restraining order that would block the defendants from advertising, entering into or performing driver education service contracts, collecting payments, and altering or concealing business records.
DMV Commissioner Paul Tine said driver education schools are trusted to provide quality instruction and prepare new drivers for the responsibilities of operating a vehicle safely. He also said he appreciated the N.C. Department of Justice's partnership in holding accountable businesses that undermine the integrity of driver education and family trust. North Carolina law declares unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce unlawful, according to state law.
