O God I think I've been ripped off !! Have I got any rights now?

PlutoinCapricorn

If you research the market before buying, the variation in prices for what appears to be the same product can be amazing. Howver you do need to be careful that you are looking at the same model: for example, I was upset when I found a better price for a laptop that I had bought then realised that the cheaper one had less ram and hard disk space.

Paulwf and Any have made good suggestions. You can tell the course seller that you have discovered that you can get the same course elswhere at a much lower price, and are very unhappy about that. If the company think that you are considering dropping out because of the cost, they may come to an arrangement. It is also possible that your material is more up to date. Could you go any faster and arrange to pay less because of that? Could you offer them a lump sum now that would cover the remainder of the cost?

At least you have not given up early as some people do, thus wasting all the money. It proves that you are serious as you have made a big investment. Charities often use people who are not full accountants, and getting the figures right is a necessity not a luxury. I am sure that you will find enough work to justify the effort and recoup the costs.

4Chickens

rebootz

Yes you should have shopped around a bit but hindsight's 20/20 isn't it?

Keep going, it is an investment for your future. I did an open learning book keeping course when I was 25 (am 37 today) and I am called a book keeper or accounts administrator and I earn over £20k. My role includes accounts to Balance Sheet, payroll, all office admin and to a certain extent personnal assistant. Book keeping is not out dated at all, it is necessary in every business. I also save my husband a fortune by doing his accounts for free (not very money saving for me). This course will change your attitude to money, finance etc in all its forms (you will be able to spot a duff deal at twenty paces).
Give yourself a big pat on the back for getting off yer butt and at least trying to improve your lot. It will be the best money you have ever spent.
Good luck, and I hope you pass with flying colours:T

4Chickens

Oh and another thing SueSueSue is a miserable so so. You should see some of the nasty replies she has posted on some threads. Don't listen to anything she says. Book keeping is a fundamental role in EVERY business.

PlutoinCapricorn

Rebootz, perhaps you could email the other places offering the course, just to put your mind to rest. You could ask them exactly what you would get for the money, even perhaps say that you have seen the same course on offer for a lot more money elsewhere, and you are worried that lower costs mean lower quality, less material and support etc. It could just mean that they have dropped their prices to attract sales, it could mean that they are not long established and the first students get the best deals.

There may be a good reason for the price difference, and you may even find that by accident you made the best choice! If not, well it could be leverage to use with your current provider. I would not cut your losses until you have established all this and tried to negotiate a better deal. You could say that you will tell everyone about the cheaper courses.

The best thing is that unlike all the IT courses which people take in the hope of getting huge salaries, your studies are very likely to lead to paid work.

inmypocketnottheirs

To quote Ruskin:

"There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little more cheaply. The person that buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey."

Here endeth the lesson!

rebootz

Thanks All !!

Lesson learned in more ways than one ha ha

xxx

weezy_gal

Hi rebootz,

what course are you doing? and who with? I think I'm doing the same thing as you if you're with the Home Learning College.

rebootz

hiya Weezy Gal

Yes, I am with Home Learning College lol

Funny how you knew which one it was

Maybe we've spoken on there lol

xxx

weezy_gal

ahhhh! the Sage Computerised course? I havn't really spoken to anyone on there. I knew which it was because I'm doing the Sage course and it cost around £1300, and you mentioned ICB 1 & 2. Actually I paid more than you so you got a good deal LOL!

Just to put your mind at ease, I did a little research on the course before taking it on and paying for it. There are many Sage courses out there, but with the Home Learning College you get the Sage Accounts package (Including licence) which on it's own is over £100. you also get all the course materials to get you not just through bookkeeping but purchase ledger etc etc etc. alot of the courses that are run out there do not give you the Accounts package and you have to attend a college, they also do one unit at a time, so for what we're doing with the HLC is quite a good deal. well I thought it was as I saw a place in London that was doing 1 unit or £600 for 3 days, so put on top of that your travel expenses etc, it was not cheap.

I wish you lots of luck with the course.

rebootz

Hi Weezy Gal.

Actually No Sorry It's Not The Sage course - But thankyou anyway

I'm on the ICB Levels 1 and 2 in Manual Bookkeeping

I have not been provided with any software etc seeing as it is not a computerised course ( even though I am doing it on Excel )

I have recieved 4 books from them which include all the PQ's, and Assignments and the PQ answers, and I get phone and email tutor support from 11 to 7.

There is also the VLC forum.

And I do pay monthly.

however, at least 2 of the other colleges also have monthly payment options at no extra cost, 8 hours a day tutor support via phone and email, and provide the same information.

The only difference I can find at all between the courses is that there is the VLC forum, which to be fair I have used quite a bit, but not enough to warrant such a huge price increase. In fact , one of the other course also supply unlimited mock exams, whereas HLC offer 2 per level and any subsequent ones have to be bought directly from the ICB.

I don't suppose I would be quite so bothered if I hadn't had to point out no less than 12 mistakes and misprints in the books that have been provided.

O well, at least we know eher I won't be studying my Level 3 lol

Good luck with your course too



xxx