Advent Computer Training At home - Wishing to cancel course.

AdZc1987

Hi all, bit of background first a year ago i decided to do a MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) course with Advent Computing. now it all got put into motion and i was told total course was about £5000 so i took the finance option as i did not have this sort of cash.
When signing up a lot of it stated you get sent on workshops to backup what I am learning, all sounding very good etc.
What i discovered though was the workshops are based in Worcestershire, a good £80 rail ticket (i am based Near Edinburgh), also they are only on during the week. At no point was i was never told by the representative who interview me about this. My course involves 20 workshop days, with 25 days leave from my current job this isnt very good.
It states that you can learn whilst still working whilst this is somewhat true, holding workshops 9-5 during the week??

Now my issue is that I dont wnat to do this course, having looked about online I found self study books that would probably do me. But according to advent because i signed the finance, i could stop studying but would still have to pay for the £5000 course. At the moment all i have had from tthem is:
A ring binder with about 20-30sheets of A4 with all sorts of Information
Textbook (there own) with about 200pages
First Course Textbook (has a cover for advent but the book is written by an American Author and they have merly but there cover on and sent to me) of around 600 pages.
Not really 5grands worth.

I wrote a letter asking again to cancel the finance offering to pay for all textbooks etc, (i had already been paying about 6 months x £150 in repayments at this point.) but they still told me no i would have to study and pay, or just pay the finance.

My situation has changed since i started the course, which is another factor in trying to cancel, when my partner was pregnant i done all teh above.

1. Can anyone advise if this may be a consumer rights violation of some sort? I feel i should have been told the distances involved for the workshops (i assumed these would be all over the country, as a representative came to visit me to sign me up i thought they would have mentors who do the workshops in edinburgh/glasgow)

If nothing can be done and i am stuck paying this then:

2. At the moment i am paying the finance back at a reduced rate £50 a month, they agreed this with me because i told them i was accelerating paying some other debts they did allow me a few month of not paying them also.
But come October they want £150 a month, now my partner is still on maternity but her wages will come down in this month, as she is going to part time, I cant afford this and am sure they will demand this sort of cash.

I checked my credit report recently and it does not show the finance on this, i dont know if this means anything.

Could anyone give me some advice on this, if you need more info please ask

P.S. Im sorry if this is wrong forum but not sure where i should go.

Thanks.

inmypocketnottheirs

Hmmm.

So you signed up for a distance learning course 12 months ago, and now you wish to cancel?

You entered a contract to pay £5000 for the materials, home study and workshops, and have only now discovered that you don't want to do it?

The company presumably are prepared to honour their part of the deal, i.e. train you to the relevant standard, bit basically now, after signing up, you have thought about it and changed your mind?

PlutoinCapricorn

If you google "Advent Computer Training" you will find that other people are in the same position. Some have been advised to contact Consumer Action Group and Consumer Direct.

However, it is always advisable to research the company and the material before signing up for these courses, and to be sure that your financial and other resources are sufficient before entering into any committment. It is not up to the salesmen to look after your interests, you are responsible for that.

There are several threads on MSE about expensive IT courses. There is no guarantee of a job at the end of these courses: many professional IT people with a lot of experience can't find work. Sometimes you can get the material free or much cheaper. These companies seem to rely on business from people who would probably not sign up if they were aware of all the relavant facts.

DCFC79

Surely if they say it can be done whilst working but clearly its not the case as you need to attend workshops which are only on during the week plus the fact the rep didnt mention the workshops were only in worcester

AdZc1987

@ inmypocketnottheirs
That is a very basic way of putting it, i did rush the post slightly as was at work, When i originally took an interest in the course, i had plenty of income, a month and a bit in is when we and my partner found out she was expecting, i realised that it is something i could do without, this was around october last year. I contacted them a few times regarding this (still paying the monthly dues to them) so it had been going on for 12 months, mind you i have been a bit busy with a new baby boy and house, cars being stolen, debts to sort etc in the meantime also.

Its not really a case of changing my mind its more i cannot afford it now as my circumstances have changed since signing up. If i did not have my baby son then i would most likely not have this problem.

Its not a case of 12 month later i have decided "na i dont want to do this". It was 2 month in and "i wont be able to afford this anymore."

Yes they will train me, but i cant use all my holidays attending workshops, Rail fairs of around 80 plus the overnight stay.

In future could you please give constructive comments rather than futile attempts to sum up my original post. (Albeit inaccuratley)

@PlutoinCapricorn
Yes, unfortunatley i now realise that i should have looked first, i did not think, with the TV adverts and the information i read on the website it sounded good to be honest.

Im not blaming advent that i can no longer afford it, as i said above when starting the course it would have been ok nd still would be...if i was young free and single which thankfully im not

@ DCFC79
I agree, i realise now i probably should have asked where the workshops are and when, but when someone would come to my house to do the interview, they are advertised on TV and seem proffesional, told etc. maybe it was a bit naive to assume the workshops where in scotland.

It seems like they have the interviewers all over the country but the workshops only in one location? Makes it easier to sucker ppl in?

dmg24

Sorry AdZc1987, the responsibility was on you to check where the workshops were to be held, not for them to tell you. If you sign up to OU, nobody holds your hand and says 'you do know you'll have to travel to attend the workshops/ tutorials', it is up to you to find out where they are.

The argument that the workshops are in the week does not hold any weight. OU workshops are also in the week, and again, you could have checked this before starting the course. Also, do you not realise that many people (including IT professionals) work weekends?

The post by inmypocketnottheirs is 100% accurate. Unless they are in breach of contract, you have no right to cancel.

Could I politely suggest that you also take a literacy course? An IT professional would be expect to demonstrate a far higher standard of English than you have.

AdZc1987

inmypocketnottheirs wrote: »

and have only now discovered that you don't want to do it?

This is not accurate. As previously stated I tried to cancel the agreement after 2 months, not 12.

Could I politely suggest that you also take a literacy course? An IT professional would be expect to demonstrate a far higher standard of English than you have.

Nowhere in my post have I asked for any opinion on my literacy skills. The last time I checked that this was a casual forum not an English language discussion group. You know nothing of my qualifications and for all you know I could be dyslexic!

I've previously been on an OU course. Throughout the process they advised when the workshops were and they were all held in the evenings.

And to your point about IT professionals working weekends - I am well aware of this, if you had actually read my post you will have seen that I commented that the workshops were through the week. If they were held at the weekends there would be no problem with attending them.

I have asked for some helpful advice on this subject, I know I was foolish in signing up for it. My main priority now is my son, surely you would complain if I was spending money on this course and he was going without. This leads to my second point, I cannot afford the £150 repayments (and my partner has threatened to leave me if I have too) is there any way I can offer reduced payments?

Helpful comments please. Moneysavingexpert is for help and advice, not for flaming!! I have to say in all my years of using online forums I have never been flamed so quickly!!

AdZc1987

dmg24 wrote: »

Could I politely suggest that you also take a literacy course? An IT professional would be expect to demonstrate a far higher standard of English than you have.

Should this not be expected? I politely suggest that you also consider a literacy course. If you find a cheap let me know then we could attend together :beer:

PlutoinCapricorn

Citizen's Advice are a possibility: could you check their website, phone your nearest branch or even call in? They do a lot of social welfare type of work, but consumers often need help and advice too.

dmg24

OP, you should be aware that if you post on a forum, you are going to get responses that you do not like. In this case, those responses are correct.

I would have sympathy if you were not so downright rude in your responses.

Good luck with your career. I fear you are going to need it.

AdZc1987

Thanks for the helpfull responses. I will probably be better finding advice elsewhere by the sounds of things.

DMG24 - im sorry but you pretty much made me out to be illiterate and at the end of the day had nothing to do with my questions. Maybe it was the way the inmypocket typed his reply and how i read it I did not feel it was helpful, and a bit patronising.