Home learning ripoff

moinerio

just done some reserch in to home learning and prices vari by £oos for same course.
One company Home Learning college appear to be worst offenders
Any one done a price comparison??

redmel1621

Open University - by far the best in terms of price (esp. if you qualify for grants etc.) and quality.............

Mel x

Andy_L

Unless you want a vocational qualification which they don't do (Except for PGCE)

moinerio

was not looking for degrees or access courses just looking for bookkeeping course, and found a minefield of different prices.
Some companies wont give out the price someone has to visit you to sell you the course, a female rep called around give me the price of £ 990 when I said I can get it for either £295 or £550 she just said thats how much we charge!
And this Is what I could not understand about 6 weeks later the same company HLC phoned me to offer the same course at 50% less, unbeliveable!
I think there should be a comparison site for this because theres savings of £00s of pounds.
Companies are getting away with ripping us off!
Come on Mr Lewis have a look at this

black-saturn

He's done something like it here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=294426&highlight=free+online+courses

If you persevere with Home Learning Direct they can and will let you have the course cheaper. I got them down from their £43 a month quote to £9 a month but make sure you sign an agreement saying this before they start taking money off of you.

Becles

moinerio wrote: »

was not looking for degrees or access courses just looking for bookkeeping course, and found a minefield of different prices.

Have you tried your local "bricks and mortar" college? I did a bookkeeping course for free. All I had to pay was a nominal fee (around £20) to do the exam at the end.

Be wary of home learning companies. There are some out there who charge an absolute fortune for courses that are not recognised by employers. I used to work for an IT company and would sift the applications when they came in for the techy positions. The director would not take on people with what he called "micky mouse" qualifications from some home learning places, as he said they were not experienced enough to do the job, and being a small company, we didn't have the time to train them up to standard.

Reasearch the qualification before you start and make sure it is going to get you where you want to be, in case you waste time and money for nothing.

mountainofdebt

The OU does do an accounting course but a) it does a fair bit of money - but is the usual high standard you would expect from the OU b) is perhaps geared to those who want to launch into a career into accountancy but c) it is recognised by the professional accountancy bodies.


I did study with learning direct but was disappointed by the standard of support and the quality of the materials - perhaps I'd been spoilt by the OU eh?

OP - what exactly do you want to do is it a course on how to use SAGE or to have an understanding of book-keeping?

pipkin71

black-saturn wrote: »

If you persevere with Home Learning Direct they can and will let you have the course cheaper. I got them down from their £43 a month quote to £9 a month but make sure you sign an agreement saying this before they start taking money off of you.

I thought it was passport to learning who paid the extra fees on top of the £9 you paid, rather than you bartering with learn direct to get the fees reduced

moinerio

Home learning college was home learning direct.
This Is a private company no funding, they do offer 0% repayments at inflated prices.
Wanted a book keeping qualification to do books from home, they offered I belive to be the correct course...BUT AT VERY HIGH PRICES LIKE FOR LIKE AGAINST OTHER PROVIDERS?
Sage course they offer for £1400, again found at £349!
I also found a book keeping couses level 1 & 2 & 3 and sage for £750, Home Learning College charges £990 for level 1&2 another £900 for level 3 and £1400 for sage £ 3,200 against £750. I tried to get as many prices from the Rep when she came because they will not tell you on the phone!

Hapless_2

try evening or weekend classes at your local college, some of them do distance/open learning too.

regazzi

Home Learning College, Home Learning Direct, The Learning Library, Oak House College. These are some of the names that this company has used over recent years. They are not a college, but a marketing company. Search The Guardian's web site for some stories about these companies ( the Capital Letters feature)Capital letters | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
Capital letters | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
The finace company regulary changes its name as well, Empress, Aquos etc. They are the same company. The awards at the end of the course come from the AFCPD. This too is the same company. The awards are not recognised. The clue is in the advertising, they claim that every one passes. What kind of course is that? surely some one must fail.
They claim to be Microsoft Certified, they are not.
By the very nature of these companies, the learning materials are out of date.
The "tutors" are not trained teachers but self proclaimed "experts" who work from home at the end of the phone.
The salespersons who give the hard sell on the courses are the people who advise customers to use their in-house finance company. They are not Licensed Credit Brokers however and should not be selling finance. Let your legal advisor, or Citizen's Advice or Trading Standards office know about this in order to have the finace annulled.
Home learning is about teaching yourself, so why pay vast sums for it. Get some good books, read up yourself, study hard, then find out where you can sit exams which carry a real and valid qualification. Many examaning bodies allow this. Check the net.
Genney