Refund for Driving Instructor course I never had

Lolla83

*I know for a fact that this is in the wrong place so please can admin move it to where they feel it's most suited - I've spent ages looking through the forums and can't see anywhere suitable, I'm desperate for advice - thank you*

Hi all
I enrolled on a course with The Instructor College in 2006. It cost just under £3000 (I had a finance loan to pay for it, which they arranged). I managed 2 lessons before I was in a serious car accident and was unable to drive for about 18 months. I contacted The Instructor College to ask if, under the circumstances (after the accident I was too scared to drive let alone instruct) they would consider giving me a refund for the course fees. I was told no, no questions asked. I didn't worry too much as when signing up I'd been told there was no time limit on completing the course and gave us an example that we could "leave it 5 years or so" between enrolling and actually doing the course. I hoped that one day I'd feel safe enough to get back in a car. So, after about 2 and a half years since the accident, I thought I'd bite the bullet and start the course again, it might overcome this fear I'd acquired. However, by this time, The Instructor College had gone into liquidation and were no longer contactable.

I managed to contact the liquidators asking if I could still do the course - I was told that I would have to re-enroll with this new company and as a 'gesture of goodwill' they would 'only' charge me £1500 to get back onto the course. This was not an option as there was no way I could afford that (nor was willing to pay more on top of the 3 grand I'd already spent).

I've got no paperwork from The Instructor College. Does anyone know if I've got a leg to stand on here with regards to getting my money back?

Thanks in advance,
Lauren

grumbler

I think you have a case against the finance company under the section 75 of the CCA: Section 75 refunds

What happened to the amount you owed them?

HappyMJ

Depending on the finance loan really. If the finance loan paid the college directly then you "may" have a claim against the finance company.

The college has no money so the chance of you getting money back from them is virtually zero.

Lolla83

grumbler wrote: »

I think you have a case against the finance company under the section 75 of the CCA: Section 75 refunds

What happened to the amount you owed them?

I paid it off in full within a year of enrolling. Thank you for the link

Lolla83

HappyMJ wrote: »

Depending on the finance loan really. If the finance loan paid the college directly then you "may" have a claim against the finance company.

Yes the finance company paid the college, so I then paid the finance company. I no longer have paperwork from them though, do they keep customers on file for this long?

Lolla83

I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the finance company! This is not looking good

grumbler

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?98671-Instructor-College-finance-Company-and-Me!!! ?

chattychappy

Assuming S75 does apply, you have 6 years (in England + Wales) from date of breach before your claim could be refused because of limitation. 2006 + "two and a half years" + 6 years = about now??

I think you should check some dates to see where you stand on this issue.

(Some might argue that you have longer because you were entitled to leave it 5 years or so before rebooking - so in theory there could have been a later breach. In my opinion, the liquidation + your failed attempt to rebook starts the clock. Later breaches could have been anticipated.)

Lolla83

grumbler wrote: »

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?98671-Instructor-College-finance-Company-and-Me!!! ?

Thank you for that

Lolla83

chattychappy wrote: »

Assuming S75 does apply, you have 6 years (in England + Wales) from date of breach before your claim could be refused because of limitation. 2006 + "two and a half years" + 6 years = about now??

I think you should check some dates to see where you stand on this issue.

(Some might argue that you have longer because you were entitled to leave it 5 years or so before rebooking - so in theory there could have been a later breach. In my opinion, the liquidation + your failed attempt to rebook starts the clock. Later breaches could have been anticipated.)

I'm assuming (and hoping) it would be from when I discovered I could not rebook without paying the additional fee to the new company. Also, I was never informed of LVG going into administration, it was only when I contacted them to book another session that they told me.

The 5 years was just an example that the Sales Rep gave me, she said that "people sign up, then find themselves pregnant and go off to have a family for years, then come back to complete the course"... I'm beginning to get the feeling from everything I've read that I've been well and truly bummed by them with no chance of getting my money back I wish I'd never signed up, it all seemed to happen so quickly and I was only 20 so was naive in falling for their sales pitch. Which was complete rubbish.

grumbler

Lolla83 wrote: »

I'm assuming (and hoping) it would be from when I discovered I could not rebook without paying the additional fee to the new company.

TBH, it was a very unrealistic assumption that you could rebook at all.

I agree with 'chattychappy' that 6 years started not later than in ~2006+2.5.