Advent Training Gone bust... what now??

bubblybea

Hi All,

I signed my contract with advent and barclays finance in Nov 09, i paid £100 deposit for the course and ive had the intro book and the essential guide book and thats it.
ive recieved a letter from barclays saying they are trying to find an alternative provider but i want out the contract! my local college or the open uni can do the same course at a fraction of the cost (£400).

AdventSucks

I found out yesterday. I too signed up in Nov. 09, but paid in full for my courses. Someone mentioned on the first page that if you didn't pay with a credit card you wouldn't be insured to receive your money back.

I paid with my debit card and ironically bank with Barclays. They said they were going out to send out a dispute form. All I needed to do was provide proof that Advent went under. However, they could not say how long the process would be.

I also phoned the National IT Learning Center today, and they did not mention offering a free Comps workshop either.

I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? Thanks.

aron80

Can someone please tell me if I can refuse an alternative course that Barclays offer me?

I have already found one I like that I can afford, and I'm waiting for this to hopefully be over so I can enrol.

Please help!

wynnvegas

Having looked at this for a few days now (I recruit IT professionals and my brother stupidly signed up for this course in June 2009 against my advice), I wish you all the best in recovering your monies. The Advent business model of distance learning is predicated on the assumption that a majority of the people won't bother with the studying / ... See moreclass days and will be left with the debt alone at the end. I'm told that it is something ridiculous like 85% of people who sign up for home study courses fail to complete them. Advent going bust will really only be a good thing if the large percentage of people who have varying excuses for not making the effort to chase their qualifications get a refund or are able to agree a settlement payment with whatever credit provider they agreed to get into bed with. I fully expect that all credit providers will manage to worm their way out of a refund option but I hope, for the sake of you all, that a consumer rights heavyweight gets behind your cause and gets something out of the credit providers.

From my perspective, I would not employ anyone who had trained through advent as it shows a complete lack of common sense to have signed up with them in the first place as any cursory investigation of the sales pitch (£40k within two years of starting the course was a particular favourite of mine) would have shown. All these courses are available via a variety of sources at a fraction of the cost advent were charging and home study options have only served to devalue the MCSE and MCITP accreditations as employers are more and more finding that the lack of practical experience behind these accreditations is a major issue.

Cheers,

Billy

chubbass123

I spoke to BPF today and they have agreed that i can cancel my DD until this issue is resolved. In the meantime i have also written them a letter confirming that i will not be taking up the offer of another course provider and it is not within my contract that i have to do this. Hope this works and i will post the outcome as soon as i receive one.

Good luck everyone.

neilbadge

wynnvegas wrote: »

Having looked at this for a few days now (I recruit IT professionals and my brother stupidly signed up for this course in June 2009 against my advice), I wish you all the best in recovering your monies. The Advent business model of distance learning is predicated on the assumption that a majority of the people won't bother with the studying / ... See moreclass days and will be left with the debt alone at the end. I'm told that it is something ridiculous like 85% of people who sign up for home study courses fail to complete them. Advent going bust will really only be a good thing if the large percentage of people who have varying excuses for not making the effort to chase their qualifications get a refund or are able to agree a settlement payment with whatever credit provider they agreed to get into bed with. I fully expect that all credit providers will manage to worm their way out of a refund option but I hope, for the sake of you all, that a consumer rights heavyweight gets behind your cause and gets something out of the credit providers.

From my perspective, I would not employ anyone who had trained through advent as it shows a complete lack of common sense to have signed up with them in the first place as any cursory investigation of the sales pitch (£40k within two years of starting the course was a particular favourite of mine) would have shown. All these courses are available via a variety of sources at a fraction of the cost advent were charging and home study options have only served to devalue the MCSE and MCITP accreditations as employers are more and more finding that the lack of practical experience behind these accreditations is a major issue.

Cheers,

Billy

Billy - out of curiosity, do you work in the IT sector or the recruitment sector?

Kirk89

How do all, hope your all getting some where with your agreements.
I as i have said was with Anglo Capital for my finance tried to contact Anglo and Advent but obviously theres no phones to be answered cause someone forgot to pay the bill and the office phone was flogged on ebay to try and raise some cash.
Mind you i have not been contacted at all from there half yet and i have managed to dig out all my advent contract crap and found the business card of the salesman that got me hook line and sinker so i will give him a call later to see if he knows anything but to get to what i was going to say in the first place, as i said i found my Advent documents and i have had a quick perusal at the back of my enrolment form which on the back states the:

ADVENT CONSULTING LIMITED
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS

10 TERMINATION
10.1 The Contract will terminate immediately on notice from us to you:
10.1.1 In the event that we make any voluntary arrangement with our creditors or become subject to an administration order or go into liquidation(except for the purposes of amalgamation or reconstruction and in such manner that the company resulting there from effectively agrees to be bound by or assume the obligations imposed on that other party under this agreement);

I took this as the contract between them and me is now over even though they haven't give me notice.
Am i right to assume that the contract is over and im not to pay a penny more to them?

Worryingly nowhere in any of the documents do i anything that says its regulated by the credit agreement act and all that.
But if anyone wants me to make a copy of Advents terms and conditions of business than just send me a message.

flexrider

just been reading about insolvency and i beleive when the company is final in liqudation then it is up to the liquidators and assessors who come into the company to salvage what can be sold off for company debts to decide if they should reembuse people who have paid up,

i also have this experience because when hitchens went bust i had a 50 inch television awiting to be delivered however they went bust 2 years ago and i throught i lost my order, however i was told i had to go were the store was as the liquadators were there that day and i eventually got my television which still works well today,

so i guess i know its a different senario, but the same procedure applys, find out who the liquidators are and try that way, or if you have paid by credit card then do the s7 refund way

as for the barclays bank loans ect, contact your bank a.s.a.p they should be in touch with the liqudators and informed on what to do

andy

flexrider

anyone who is looking for alternatative provider try jobkos, they offer a classroom based enviroment and are more better then advent, i got my a+compita form them and my micosoft certifaced personal certifacte, plus barclays does there grants also so i presume you lot may get a call asking to switch to them

just a idea,

macca78_2

Does anyone know if advent have appointed an administrator yet as companies house is still showing them as an active company??