Advent Training Gone bust... what now??

Thatgutcraig

Its quite random that I posted on this site way before anyone had an idea that advent was going to go bust (well, everyone from the CEO's most likely)

I basically described how I phoned advent and cancelled my course last year, before I had done any training, and in the "years grace" as it was sold to me. I was told that this is all fine, as I had not done any training and had not used any resources.

Fast forward to Feb 09, and money starts disappearing from my account taken by Barclays. I cancel the direct debt and ring Barclays who tell me to contact Advent for proof of this. Surprise surprise, when I rang Advent, they claim to have never heard of my phone call.

After much battling and debating with them, I contacted every man and his dog about the issue. I contact Office of fair trading, trading standards, business ombudsman, Citizens advice, Consumer Credit, National newspapers and local newspapers. In the end, it took a very nice reported from my local newspaper to give advent a phone call and give them a kick up the bum.

After this, advent got their finance manger to contact me via email, and organise a close on the training and on the loan. The agreement, which I still have, said that If I did not tell anyone that we had come to an agreement, then they could cancel the course, and cancel the Barclays loan - on a settlement payment of £250 from myself.

I begrudged this payment, thinking that I should not have to pay anything, but in the best interest of me sorting out the problem, I agreed to pay this to set it settled.

I send them a reply agreeing to the terms of the agreement and a cheque for £250. A week later when i checked up on them, they claimed to have never received my cheque.

At this point, I was getting chased up from Moorcroft debt collections about me not paying the agreement. I sent them a copy of the letters and emails from advents buisness manager and they seemed to slacken off.

I arranged to cancel the cheque (which was a loan from a family member) and pay on a debit card. I asked the business manager if I could do this the following month, as I was short on cash. She agreed.

Each week I kept Advent updated as to when I would be paying the settlement, and made sure that this was all OK. Again, this is all on email.

Come December 09, it was sorted. I had paid the settlement, and have noted on who i paid this to, and on what dates.

Shock horror..... one of the teachers in the school I work in tell me that advent has gone bust, and looking on this forum where I posted my original problem, it seems that a lot of other people have heard the news too!!

is this a blessing in disguise for me? Or am I going to get some mumble jumble from Barclays... I wonder....

neilbadge

Not sure whether to carry on a studying now or to stop.

What is everyone else doing?

neilbadge

wannabe_super_saver wrote: »

Guys get on facebook and join the group. There are 110 members so far and more are needed. Goto facebook and search for
Advent training Scammed Us, we want our Money Back!

Apparently BBC Birmingham have a reporter working on this Advent story at the minute. We all really need to stick together on this one I think.

I'm not on facebook - should I join and sign up to that page? Is it like a petition?

neilbadge

matte1983 wrote: »

I 2nd that!!! :money:

I 3rd that.

wannabe_super_saver

Yes Naielbadge, you really should join facebook. There are over 500 people now on the Advent scammed us group.

NITLC

Free* Support & Advice for Advent IT Students

Advent IT Training announced their decision last week to cease trading therefore they were unable to continue to provide training to their students.

The National IT Learning Centre (NITLC) has received calls from Advent students many of who stated they were still studying their introductory modules and had not yet achieved their CompTIA A+ certification which is a requirement, NITLC understands, on all Advent courses.

Entry Level

The CompTIA certifications are entry level qualifications with limited earning potential but they are well recognised in the IT Industry and can lead to higher qualifications alongside gaining experience. Whilst in the current climate jobs are hard to find CompTIA certifications do get you on the first rung of the ladder and can create the opportunity to market yourself to the IT industry.

NITLC’s 6 Point Free* Support Offer

1.Telephone advice from NITLC’s Head Office via the Student Services Manager regarding the next steps and options to consider with regard to your IT training. Please note no sales are involved in this process, this is a genuine offer.

2.Subject to the course materials Advent students have already received, NITLC will provide places based on a first come first served basis on a 3 day workshop free of charge designed to supplement the knowledge students have gained and prepare them for the CompTIA A+ examinations.

3.Past Advent students that have reached a certain level will be invited to complete an online assessment before attending a workshop and provided with Tutor advice related to the examinations.

4.The CompTIA A+ exams can be taken following the workshop at NITLC premises which the student would need to pay for. Pearson Vue charge £131.10 per exam taken.

5.NITLC will provide at no charge, access to their StudentNet exclusive student information and student community site providing key note revision materials, online assessments and the ability to interact on the site and chat rooms.

6.NITLC do not guarantee jobs or interviews and in fact recommend that students proceed with great caution with any provider that does. Free advice and help for those students booked on a free workshop i.e. CV writing, interview preparation and job searching tips will also be provided free of charge.

* Does not include cost of exams, travelling expenses to NITLC or overnight accommodation if required, these would need to be met by the accepted students.

Contact our Student Services Manager, David Greenwoodat NITLC head office on 01636 612226. Between 9am and 5pm weekdays in the first instance.

NITLC are a Microsoft Gold Partner and accredited by CompTIA, IITT – Institute of IT Training and IITT Personally Funded Training Accreditation, Adobe, Cisco, and CIW.

For further information regarding NITLC please visit our website.

pvincent

The real problem here is for those of us who had agreements with Anglo Capital
which is a group company / subsidiary / for all intents and purposes is Advent.

People with Barclays loans are being found alternative training and may be able to get full refunds / debts written off.

But are people with finance agreements with Anglo Capital screwed? Who can we sue / receive compensation from if Advent is insolvent?

I doubt we'll get much, if anything from an insolvency practitioner.

nikki2804

pvincent wrote: »

The real problem here is for those of us who had agreements with Anglo Capital
which is a group company / subsidiary / for all intents and purposes is Advent.

People with Barclays loans are being found alternative training and may be able to get full refunds / debts written off.

But are people with finance agreements with Anglo Capital screwed? Who can we sue / receive compensation from if Advent is insolvent?

I doubt we'll get much, if anything from an insolvency practitioner.

I'm just hoping that we don't need to pay anymore. I'm waiting to hear from the insolvency practitioner, they can take me to court.

Kirk89

neilbadge wrote: »

Not sure whether to carry on a studying now or to stop.

What is everyone else doing?

I want to stop and i just want to know that i dont owe them anything and thats its been written off although it would be nice to get a refund since we have all paid them money for nothing pretty much.

broke=skint

Just thought i'd tell you my Advent story...I hadn't been panicing about getting my money back until I noticed this topic!

I have been an Advent MCSE student since 2006 but not yet taken a single exam, mainly due to other commitments...moving house, new job etc. However no help from Advent or encouragement!

I have a Barclays CDL which the support ended in May 2008, so I've made nearly 2 years worth of repayments to them. Plus my employer then paid me half of the course fee (which I stupidly used to pay off other debts!).

I called Barclays yesterday to find out where I stand or if they can find me alterantive training but they don't want to know either way! They say because I'm already paying back my CDL, I should have finished the course by now!

I called consumer direct, they were a little amazed at what I told them, they were also really friendly and helpful. They told me to write an official letter to Barclays Finance asking for the above (like many of you have suggested) and a reply within 14 days then take it to the financial ombudsman.

They also said that the ombudsman service have not yet decided what is fair in this case but they did say that under section 75 of the consumer credit act Barclays or any other institution are obliged to help.

I hope this helps, and fingers crossed we all don't lose out.