SAN DIEGO -- An El Cajon driving school is under investigation by the Department of Motor Vehicles, 10News reported.

Angry customers say they're not getting the lessons they paid for.

There are 22 complaints on the Better Business Bureau Web site against East County Driving School.

If you call the school, chances are you won't get an answer, and that's why many customers -- and even the DMV -- didn't know whether or not it was still open.

You can find plenty of information about East County Driving School online, but finding someone to talk to there is a different story.

"We prepaid for the three classes. He got two of them, and when I went to schedule his third one, I didn't get an answer on the telephone for two days. I drove over to the school and found it all locked up and quiet. I can't get a hold of anyone," said upset customer Celeste Lawrence.

Lawrence, who is married to a 10News reporter, believes she's out the $250 she spent on driving classes for her son.

Another customer also had problems.

"I was asking for a refund because after the first lesson, which we paid in full, they stood her up three more times," said upset customer Alana Colburn.

Colburn got a $150 refund on her credit card, but on her next billing statement, she found two unauthorized charges by East County Driving School, totalling $300.

"I can't get a hold of them. All I could do is call my credit card and cancel my card, and they're doing a fraud investigation," said Colburn.

And while the driving school looks closed, a neighboring business told 10News the owners have been coming into the office.

Late Wednesday night, 10News talked on the phone with the company's owner, Ken Bigalow -- a former police officer.

He says he's still in business.

"The office staff have all been fired. The only person left now is my wife and my daughter. If we were out to just take people's money in the area and leave, we would have closed shop a long time ago," said Bigalow.

Bigalow says he has plenty of happy customers and blames his problems on poor instructors.

10News caught up with a former instructor, who now works at Worldwide Driving School.

He says he left Bigalow's school after five paychecks bounced.

"It's worked out for me. I kind of feel bad for them, but for my own interest I have to get paid," said former employee Marcus Green.

Bigalow says he will refund any unauthorized charges.

He also says he doesn't answer the phone because there's no answering machine or any staff to take the calls.

The DMV asks anyone who has a problem with any driving school to file a complaint with them in Sacramento by calling (916) 229-3154.