I think i've been mis-sold a training course

[Claire Freshney]

Hello

So I purchased a training course which cost me £2.5k

This including 2 days of intense training and 30 hours of practice on our own. We had access to an App for daily support for 6 months.

My argument is this:

• We were told we would have daily support from our teachers when in actual fact the help was received every 2-3 days. The daily support is written all over their website and on the email.
• The 6 months is coming close, when i submit my work i have to wait a few days to get feedback, if i didn't i would have been able to complete the course quicker!
• We are now being told after making payment and completing the course, we have to extend the course to pass if we don't within 6 months.
  Now this is where i think they have been a bit naughty, because they promote it as 6 months use of the app, but we weren't aware when booking the course that the app is what you use to submit your work on. It makes it seem like you can't watch the tutorials on the app any longer, but you can still submit work - that is what we thought. So if you don't complete in 6 months you don't pass. They want you to pay to extend.
• There is nowhere on their website which explains extension fees, or terms
• Some of us on the course feel that our teacher is being picky with our work, just so that we end up paying to extend - after all they get more money for essentially doing nothing?

I feel this is so wrong.

 

[Newchodge]

You bought a 6 month course. If you need to use the course for longer than 6 months, why are you surprised that you have to pay more?

Were you told in advance that feedback on your submissions would be immediate, within 24 hours or what?

Have you asked for daily support and been denied it?

For you to be able to take action over the course being mis-sold you have to demonstrate exactly what was offered and how it has not been delivered.

 

[fisicx]

Websites usually have a disclaimer saying details can change, it's the T&C in the contract that matter.

You will also probably find the daily support has a caveat as well.

What does it say in the T&C about support and extensions and use of the app?

 

[Claire Freshney]

Didn't sign up to a 6 month course?

I said up to qualify, the only wording used was we could use the "app for 6 months". Prior to purchashing the course i had no idea what the app was or what it would be used for. After all, the course was hands on.

The website has no terms.

I have sent questions and yes, had no reply within 24 hours. I can demonstrate this.

The whole community (thousands) trying to qualify are extremely confused on the forum, with the same frustrations... something isn't right.

I will be contacting head office.

 

[Claire Freshney]

You will find there are no small print anywhere, its very unprofessional - i thought they would, but nope - no contract nothing!

 

[kulture]

I'm sorry, but what were you thinking signing up to a £2,500 course with no terms and conditions? What do you mean no contract? I am also unsure what you are complaining about, you had 6 months worth of training and coursework? What exactly do you get if you pass?

 

[tony84]

You would have to put a complaint in, if that fails, small claims court.

 

[Mr D]

Didn't sign up to a 6 month course?

I said up to qualify, the only wording used was we could use the "app for 6 months". Prior to purchashing the course i had no idea what the app was or what it would be used for. After all, the course was hands on.

The website has no terms.

I have sent questions and yes, had no reply within 24 hours. I can demonstrate this.

The whole community (thousands) trying to qualify are extremely confused on the forum, with the same frustrations... something isn't right.

I will be contacting head office.

Are they regulated by anyone or part of any industry body?
Check the website then check with anyone website refers to, sometimes people claim to be part of what they are not.

 

[kulture]

It seems to me that you accepted the 2-3 days response time for the whole of the six months and are only now complaining because you have not completed the course. If the 2-3 day response for commenting on your coursework was a material problem, why did you not complain earlier? How could you reasonably expect ongoing support with no time limit for no extra money? On the basis of what you have said so far you have little or no grounds to proceed.

 

[Big G]

Hi there Claire,

Unfortunately alot of people on here prefer to kick you when you are down rather than try to help you find a solution.

From what you have said this definitely seems very unfair and does not surprise me that they have a hidden agenda to delay things to ensure alot of people have to extend and pay further fees. I have dealt with alot of missold / misrepresented contracts but ultimately it will be up to you to prove that you were missold the service. This can only be proven by showing what you were promised/sold at the outset of the contract against what you actually received and providing substantial evidence of this.

I cannot say at this time if you will be able to prove a claim against them but if you would like to send some information relating to what you were promised at the beginning (with proof) along with what was actually received (with proof) then I will take a look at it and let you have my opinion. At no obligation of course!!

Feel free to send me a private message and I will let you know how to get the documents over to me.

 

[Supercoach]

Unfortunately alot of people on here prefer to kick you when you are down rather than try to help you find a solution.

+1

Go the small claims route - it will cost you very little even if you lose and is a simple process that puts the aggro and cost factor onto the company concerned. In my experience the odds are the company will see sense and back down when they realsise you are serious and won't be fobbed off.
Take screenshots of the website to back up your claims.

 

[Gecko001]

Have you records of what you completed and when. If it was impossible to complete the course allowing for weekends and holidays etc with the 2-3 day turn round time the course had promised then you could have a good case for a refund of some of the fees you paid.

 

[Mr D]

Has anyone been able to complete the course?

 

[kulture]

Have you records of what you completed and when. If it was impossible to complete the course allowing for weekends and holidays etc with the 2-3 day turn round time the course had promised then you could have a good case for a refund of some of the fees you paid.

Agreed, but it would help your case if you complained about this from the beginning rather than at the end. If you can demonstrate that it was difficult/impossible to complete the course with their delays, then that is your case. However if they can demonstrate that 2-3 days is necessary to give proper attention to the coursework and that it is straight forward to complete all necessary work in the time then you have less of a case.

Has anyone been able to complete the course?

is the important question. If no-one has completed the course then that is your case. If however the majority have passed then that is their defence.

 

[fisicx]

@Claire Freshney what was the course and who was the provider? Were they a recognised provider of the specific qualification?

There have been a number of training providers in the news who were never registered or recognised by the qualification authority. They took the money and did a runner and much like your situation there were no T&C or contract of training.

 

[Claire Freshney]

Hi everyone thanks for your comment.

I don't want to name the company, but they are a big brand - recognised globally in the beauty sector for semi-permanent makeup.

However, their setup seems very basic and quite, unprofessional.

For example in our course we have a 'master trainer' there are hundreds of trainers across the world and there are around 12 people per course.

Now to pass each level of our course (11 modules) - each master seems to have different rules e.g. one master wants to see 2/3 good submissions of work, whilst some are accepting one - again, massively affecting timeframes.

On my course only 1 student has passed and is qualified - the rest of us are struggling for time and the extension costs we have just been made aware of. I cannot find anything to back this up on their website or literature.

Each master trainer has their own website and i must say, they all create their own personal rules whilst sticking to the main guidelines of the main brand. This is where i believe the lack of consistency and professionalism comes from.

 

[Claire Freshney]

I'm sorry, but what were you thinking signing up to a £2,500 course with no terms and conditions? What do you mean no contract? I am also unsure what you are complaining about, you had 6 months worth of training and coursework? What exactly do you get if you pass?

please don't patronise.

 

[fisicx]

From what you describe this is a franchise operation. Which mean you will get inconsistencies and why you aren’t getting the support you expect. Your contract is with the franchisee no the parent company.

Is the company a recognised training organisation with an approved national qualification? Or is it something Avon has dreamt up.

 

[Mr D]

To be honest this does remind me of some of the , shall we say bad, training that has appeared in the media from time to time. Including Trump university.
It sounds like a lot of people were unaware what they were getting exactly and its been poorly managed at one end or the other.

 

[Newchodge]

So what, exactly do you want advice about?

 

[kulture]

please don't patronise.

The question remains valid. If anyone is going to spend £2,500 on a training course then it is good business to understand what you are getting for your money. A clear contract would be useful, a Service Level Agreement. Milestones and monitoring progress. Then as the course progresses you can see that your progress is on target or not to be completed within the six months. If it is not on target then as soon as you determine this you start asking what happens at the end. It is poor business to get to the end of six months before raising serious concerns. It weakens your case.

Now the trainer, given their poor success rate (11 out of 12 have not passed) should consider giving free support for a bit longer to address this. It this is a franchisee (and it sounds like it is) then although you do not have a contract with the Franchisor, they have an interest in preserving their reputation. It does not help them if they have a poor franchisee. The best way to resolve this would be to get the parent company to force the trainer to be more professional and complete your course.

 

[Mr D]

What has the one who has passed done different? Or simply chance?