IT company scam!!! my rights help!!!!

rwillis88

im still paying now approx 60 a month as i had to lower my payments its taking longer to pay off. and i have to pay the company for this privilege which is annoying, more money down the drain.
i have no assests, no car house savings. i would have these things if i hadn't been paying this course since 18. i haven't had the luxury of trying to save.
i currently owe 2700 approx?

rwillis88

when i rang barclays yesterday they had a log of the complaint i made right back to the beginning and advised me to keep paying, and they put me in the direction of the ombudsman who is now drawing up a complaint.
if i dig for information about this company and photocopy my credit agreement and the crap they gave me, and send it to barclays and the ombudsman...would you think it would help push my case further in my favor?
and highlight the fact to barclays that there are jointly liable, especially if the company goes bust?

gb12345

wealdroam wrote: »

You need to inform Barclays that ICT Skills Centre are not performing their part of the bargain, and you expect Barclays Finance to either provide the contracted service or a refund of all monies paid.

The problem with this is that the OP never gave IT Skills Centre the chance to perform their part of the bargain. They sent her the required details to access the course, but she chose to send them back.

There is no proof that, just because IT Skills Centre are no longer trading, the OP wouldn't have been able to complete the course. A "Web masters degree" (sic) would not take 5 years and they could well argue that the course should have been completed by the time IT Skills Centre ceased trading or that alternative arrangements were made for students to finish.

gb12345

rwillis88 wrote: »

im still paying now approx 60 a month as i had to lower my payments its taking longer to pay off. and i have to pay the company for this privilege which is annoying, more money down the drain.
i have no assests, no car house savings. i would have these things if i hadn't been paying this course since 18. i haven't had the luxury of trying to save.
i currently owe 2700 approx?

At the rate you are currently paying it is going to take you 4 or 5 years (depending on what you are being charged) to pay that back.

If you are not getting anywhere with Barclays/ombudsman then make an appointment with one of the debt advice charities (see the Debt Free Wannabe sub-forum for details). They will give you free advice - such as setting up a repayment plan or even going bankrupt.

rwillis88

i was asked by trading standards if the company had offered me alternative training solutions? because if they are going to change or go 'bust' they need to provide alternative training, i didn't know they were dissolved till yesterday? and i sent the stuff back before i even attempted to do the course.

my dad is checking hes computer to see if he still has the letter we sent on 07 with the evidence of the phone call i made to the salesman to cancel.

on another note. would barclays have recordings or phone calls from 07? just when i rang i was crying to them and all sorts scared explaining what this salesman had done?

rwillis88

gb12345 wrote: »

The problem with this is that the OP never gave IT Skills Centre the chance to perform their part of the bargain. They sent her the required details to access the course, but she chose to send them back.

There is no proof that, just because IT Skills Centre are no longer trading, the OP wouldn't have been able to complete the course. A "Web masters degree" (sic) would not take 5 years and they could well argue that the course should have been completed by the time IT Skills Centre ceased trading or that alternative arrangements were made for students to finish.

i was also told by the salesman that the course could be done in my own time, there wasn't a time restriction on how long it would take, it would depend on how much work i could put in at a time

gb12345

Your best bets are to see how you get on with Barclays/Ombudsman, but as wealdroam says, be prepared for a fight as Barclays will look to prove that the provider did everything they should have done and you could have (if you had chosen) completed the course.

If you get nowhere with getting the contract cancelled and a full refund then you need to look at making the repayment of what you owe as painless as possible. This will mean talking to one of the debt charities to see if they can agree a debt repayment plan (with interest and charges frozen) or if they recommend bankruptcy.

bris

I cant believe someone would take on an internet course without even having the internet in the first place, but thats not the point.

The problem the op has is that he was given the opportunity to take the course 5 years ago and didn't do it, the contract is concluded on that matter alone, he was never refused access to the course so had the chance.
The fact they are now bust gives a glimmer of hope, but leaving it 5 years to claim is pushing it a bit, I believe the ombudsman will side with Barclays on this one due to the fact you have been paying for 5 years, so accepting the debt.

bod1467

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?26694-Skills-centre

Might be worth a read. I also recall this same "scam" (same parties - Barclays and ICT) being reported by newspaper consumer journalists a few years ago (may have been Sorted in the Daily Mirror).

rwillis88

just read the link you posted. the skills centre, load of bull xxxx. just shows how professional they r to have a member of their team spend 100k of the companys money through gambling?
no wonder their in so much debt.
my partner is going to help me write a letter to the ombudsman and to barclays. fingers crossed please!