Comments

Claim title: REFUND

[08/05/2009] www.skillstrain-online.com - WWW.SMALLCLAIMS.UK.COM & CYTT ARE NOW WORKING TOGETHER ON CONSUMER COMPLAINTS:

When you posted your complaint on CYTT, you ticked the box requesting free legal advice. SMALL CLAIMS says:

Thank you for posting your complaint on CYTT. As part of our commitment to help individuals we have posted the following reply:

We've done some research for you:

1)The name and address of owner:
registrant-firstname: Patricia
registrant-lastname: Fero
SkillsTrain Ltd
56 Collingdon Street
LU1 1RX
Luton
GB
08450509514

2)The law says, if the goods you received were not as described or what was promised, you are entitled to a full refund.

3)We assume you were paying monthly, debited from your credit card or debit card.

4)If you paid by credit card, you can go back to your credit card provider under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

5) If you paid by debit card, you can go back to your bank and ask for all the money back under their Direct Debit Guarantee which has to be refunded IMMEDIATELY.

If you need help on this matter, you are welcome to contact me through my website: www.smallclaims.uk.com

We hope this has assisted you.

Claim title: I WANT A FULL REFUND!!

[22/07/2009] Thanh: Ive started the course at the begginning of the year and haven't touched the course or material since. i wasn't expecting any payments to come through my door since he didn't mention anything about payments until the end of the conversation. after i had signed and put details down he just left in a hurry saying he had more clients to visit. i didn't find the material in order to start the course until a week later because he had hidden it. he also didn't tell me about a "cool down" point of a week. i called 2 months later saying i couldn't afford paying it. all they repeatedly said was "you signed the contract thats the end of it". i also told them that its becoming troublesome and its been affecting my performance. now they are sending letters through my door requesting a large amount of £3000! and they want me to go to court... and to think that i haven't touched the course EVEN ONCE! im being charged and scammed for absoulutely NOTHING! im only 17 and they are going all out in order to get payments off me! i don't know how to sort this out right now..

Claim title: Skillstrain/Clydesdale Scam

[04/03/2010] skillskiller: I am in the process of getting a refund from Skills Train and having my credit agreement, with Barclays Partner Finance, nullified.

I originally was inspired by stexposed through the website

www.collativelearning.com/SKILLSTRAIN%20SCAM%20&%20REFUND.html

I like so many others were mis-sold course(s) that are over-priced, falsely endorsed with materials that are out-dated, poorly written and in some cases no authority has been granted from the examination body to advertise or publish study material on their behalf, due to Skills Train not being fully endorsed.

I started my campaign to get a refund with contacting my local Trading Standards office, these are the people who should take any action on your belhalf as this is where the offence took place, however I gained some valuable information from Luton TS, in whose geographical area Skills Train trade, extracts of which I am posting below:

"Trading Standards authorities are separate bodies – it is not a national government service, so each authority will operate independently of each other. On occasion they may co-ordinate investigative work as long as it is legally permitted, but those decisions are left to individual authorities"


"I was suggesting that you sue the trader in the civil courts (prosecution is usually done in the criminal courts by state-authorised enforcement bodies) as the burden of proof is lower than for a criminal court. Additionally, there is no right to civil redress (refund etc) available under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regs, so you are best using the rights afforded by the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and the Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982."

As informed by stexposed 5 false endorsements, regardless of the over-pricing, poor materials etc., have been exposed so far but anybody taking a CompTIA course might be interested in extracts that have sent to me on 01/03/2010:

"The type of membership (associate membership) that Skillstrain currently have with CompTIA entitles them to use the CompTIA logo on their website and to take advantage of the membership benefits. With the current type of membership we do not vet the company and cannot vouch for the quality of their service, thus they are not endorsed by CompTIA

They are, on the other hand, currently going through the application process to join the CompTIA Authorised Partner Program. There are service quality checks in place during this application process, including making sure that they use CompTIA certified instructors and that the trainers have an instructors certification (Eg. MCT, CTT+). If their application is approved they would then be endorsed by CompTIA.

In reference to the courseware that they provide: if the books they provide are the most up to date versions from Prosoft and they are CAQC (CompTIA Authorised Quality Curriculum) stamped then they are CompTIA endorsed books. To the best of my knowledge, the most recent Project+ courseware from Prosoft/Compuprep is the 2009 edition."

Therefore we can deduce that Skills Train are not endorsed by CompTIA and the material supplied by Skills Train for CompTIA courses are not CAQC stamped and I am presuming that if this is the case, as it is, that providing illicit material would be a civil or possibly criminal offence.

I have recruited the support of a local councillor in this matter, perhaps you can do the same to get the TS office moving as fast as possible

There, of course will be the problem that the Credit compny will be threatening and demand payments regardless of any action you are taking against Skills Train and to date I have received a text message on my mobile and two letters demanding there mothly payments. So far I have ignored these threats but kept them informed, by sending duplicates of Recorded Delivery letters, to them. I have also asked Barclay Partner Finance if they vetted Skills Train, as they have so much adverse publicity, prior to accepting them as clients, To date they have not answered this query.

If I can be of any assistance just ask.

[19/07/2009] sara: Do not use! A rep came to my house after i was initially informed i may be able to get help towards my course. this was not the case other than having a interest free loan. THIS IS A SELLING POINT! They leave you thinking you will be meeting up with others in your area soon but instead you are compeatly left to it.

It all got too confusing for me so rang up to ask for help. But the trainer would answer my questions on what modal i was on raher than how i needed to be shown. This is out of order after all ive paid 3 grand for this!!! She didnt know where i was on the course by my student number. BEWARE!!! I gave up in the end and out of pocket!

[04/01/2010] stexposed: I recently got a full refund from Skillstrain with an admission of liability. Here's how I did it.

1) I wrote to all the companies whose logos were featured on my course materials and asked them to confirm if they did or didn't endorse skillstrain and its courses. So far I've discovered three additional false endorsements that were not revealed in the BBC Watchdog report.

2) I contacted my local trading standards and provided copies of signed letters by the three companies confirming the false endorsements, links to the BBC Watchdog (making a total of five proven false endorsements) and copies of my skillstrain course materials and brochures from the original sales pitch proving the false endorsements had been claimed by skillstrain. I also cited sections 5 & 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

I also have a lot of additional info about skillstrain's and its partner's activities posted in a detailed and factual article. If you want to know more google collativelearning doht cohm and go to my website.

[13/03/2010] Skillskiller: Further to my posting on 04/03/2010 I have now received a response from CompTIA which will interest anybody who signed-up for a course where they are the examining body:

"The type of membership (associate membership) that Skillstrain currently have with CompTIA entitles them to use the CompTIA logo on their website and to take advantage of the membership benefits. With the current type of membership we do not vet the company and cannot vouch for the quality of their service, thus they are not endorsed by CompTIA.

They are, on the other hand, currently going through the application process to join the CompTIA Authorised Partner Program. There are service quality checks in place during this application process, including making sure that they use CompTIA certified instructors and that the trainers have an instructors certification (Eg. MCT, CTT+). If their application is approved they would then be endorsed by CompTIA.

In reference to the courseware that they provide: if the books they provide are the most up to date versions from Prosoft and they are CAQC (CompTIA Authorised Quality Curriculum) stamped then they are CompTIA endorsed books. To the best of my knowledge, the most recent Project+ courseware from Prosoft/Compuprep is the 2009 edition."

As you can see Skills Train are not endorsed by CompTIA and the course materials are not CAQC stamped.

Hope this information is of use.

[12/06/2010] MICK: SADLY TRYING TO GET THIS BUNCH OF FRAUDSTERS TO ADMIT THEY HAVE SIS-SOLD AN OUTDATED AND FRANKLY VERY POORLY WRITTEN AND STRUCTURED 'COURSE' IS HARDER THAN YOU COULD IMAGINE. 1/ THEY DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE 2/ THEY WILL CLAIM THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG WHEN THEY (EVENTUALLY) GET ROUND TO REPLYING TO YOUR GRIEVANCE 3/ THEN THEY WILL REALLY RUB IT IN BY WISHING YOU "GOOD LUCK WITH THE REST OF YOUR COURSE" . AT LEAST I 'ONLY' HAVE £600 LEFT TO PAY THESE TRICKSTERS.

[19/09/2011] John Malone: See my later post - have you already tried claiming your refund from the Finance Company? I believe Barclays Partner Finance have taken over from Clydesdale (but may be wrong?).

You should be able to claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act - obviously they may initially refuse.. but should give you another option, particularly as you have been through the FSO already?

Claim title: Cancellation & refund

[29/04/2011] Lee Francis: Hi David, do you have an update?

Claim title: websie design manager

[29/04/2011] Lee Francis: Hi Alan,

Any luck with you claim?

Claim title: Mis-sold a distance learning course I want a re-fund

[10/11/2012] AJ: I have paid in full for this as well and I am not sure how to resolve this now. Where did you put your complaint in? Could you let me know how your claim goes please? @ nexhia@wp.pl

Claim title: MISS SOLD COURSE

[09/01/2012] Stephen Devlin: I have just emailed the trading standards.