Skills Train HELP!!!!!!

[animal_lover]

I'm not sure if this counts as me being a student, but it's the best place i thought of to put it


I started a course with them in April 2007 just a couple of weeks after being signed of work with Stress and Depression.

When the lady came to discuss the course right at the very end she told me that it would cost me £75p/m i explained that i wouldn't be able to pay that due to my then current situation. so after a few phone calls CDF said that they would pay my course fees for me nothing else was mentioned about money apart from the £50 deposit, i don't even have a credit agreement.
When i sent in my first and ONLY assignment that's when the trouble started a began recieving letters saying i was behind with the payments and that i had to bring the payments up to date otherwise they were gonna take me to court. i left it a while as i thought it was a mistake but the letters kept coming so i rang them to explain that i wasn't told i had to repay CDF just that they had paid for it and that i needed to cancel the course as i couldn't make any payments, but they told me i couldn't do that so i left it abit longer
until i recieved a few more letters and rang them again this time the lady was alot nicer to me she told me to send in a letter from my doctor about why i couldn't continue with the course and they would look into cancelling it for me which i did a few weeks later i recieved a letter saying that they can't cancel the course but they would give me more time to complete it whilst maintaining the £75p/m and then i recieve a letter from CDF saying i need to pay for the whole course which is £2700.00 otherwise i will have to go to court,

there is othing i can do and my health isn't any better to even think about doing my second assignment. is there any way i could get them to cancel the course any help/advice is greatly appreciated

Thanks

[Goldlady]

Are CDF some sort of finance company?

If they are I would be tempted to ask for a copy of your agreement under the Consumer Credit Act.

I am pretty sure that if they did take you to court that you would be OK, after all you have tried your best to cancel the course. Please don't worry too much, I'm sure you will be able to get out of this mess.

[animal_lover]

yep CDF stands for Career Developement Finance ltd.

i'll ask them for my Credit Agreement is there anything i should look out for in it concerning my current situation as i can't afford to pay it.

i really hope i do get out of it as i can't afford to pay back £2700 esp as they never told me i had to untill i started recieving the letters.

Is there anyone i can ask to see what would happen if it did go to court as i want to be 100% sure before i let it get that far otherwise it might just make it worse. hopefully they will write it off as like i said i've only done 1 assignment and that was before i started getting the letters
so fingers crossed it will

Thanks

[Goldlady]

If you ask them for a copy of the agreement at least you will know what you agreed to - assuming they have something to send you. If the terms of the contract/agreement state that if you start the course you are deemed to have incurred the full costs then it could be difficult. But let's get some paperwork - or if you already have some have a read of the terms and conditions.

Did you actually receive all the course materials?

[animal_lover]

I've just found my credit agreement which i signed before i was told that CDF had paid for the course. i can't see anywhere that it says that i will incurr the full cost for any reason. And it says i can't cancel after 7 days but obviously that is a possibility otherwise they wouldn't have asked me to send them my doctors letter and that they would consider cancelling the agreement once they had recieved it.

But also would it make things difficult if i have signed a credit agreement as obviously i can't prove i signed it before CDF agreed to pay it.
I've only recieved the material for the first part of the course i'm not sure how many parts there are though

[Goldlady]

Do you know what the original deal with CDF was meant to be? I know you can get career development loans which are not repayable until you have completed your studies. I presume that the deal between Skills Train and CDF is a bit like when you buy something on HP - the finance company pays the whole amount to the shop/supplier and then you owe them the money. But if, as sounds likely, Skills Train have agreed to cancel the course (particularly if you haven't had all the materials) then they have taken the payment from CDF and it is those two parties who need to sort things out between themselves.

Have you had any communication with Skills Train recently or is it all with CDF?

[animal_lover]

The original deal with Skills Train was £75 p/m over 36 months until i explained my situation that i was only on benefits. she said that we could try CDF and see if they would pay it. which they did after the call all she said to me was that they agree to pay it nothing about having to pay it back at all so there was no deal with CDF as far as i knew. this loan came with the course they work will Skills Train it wasn't one that i got on my own to pay for it. that's also the problem when i sent in the letter to consider them cancelling the course they wrote back and said they couldn't cancel it but would allow me extra time when i feel better to ressume the course which i haven't done and don't intend to restart or finish.

i haven't heard anything from skills train since they wrote back about giving me extra time which was about June 07 and CDF i haven't heard from since middle of January 08, but a few of my creditors have done that not sent me any reminders etc and then all of a sudden they start again. that's why i was hoping to sort it out a.s.a.p so i would'nt have to worry about it

[Goldlady]

So really you were led to believe that CDF were giving you a 'grant' rather than a loan. If you didn't sign an agreement with CDF then it is their word against yours and they would not have anything to back up a court claim.

You could send them a letter asking for a copy of your agreement which will put the matter to rest once and for all - once they realise you are aware of your rights they will hopefully leave you alone.

If there is an agreement with CDF then you need to sort out the problem between them and Skills Train which might be a bit more complicated.

[animal_lover]

I've just remembered i recieved my credit agreement from CDF yesturday which i have signed but i honestly didn't know i had to pay back
This whole thing has been a mess from the get go

[Goldlady]

I don't understand how if you couldn't afford to pay skills train that they then put you onto some sort of loan agreement. Is there any way you can scan in the two agreements (remove all your personal details first)? I do think you can fight this - I would certainly do so if it was me.

[animal_lover]

Yep it's been confusing me for nearly a year lol, I'm not sure now to put them online and i currently don't have a scanner or anything.

I really appreciate all your help and advice with this

What should be my first steps

[Goldlady]

I think you need to go back to skills train and try and sort something out with them. After all they know you didn't finish the course and you need to make it clear that you do not want to postpone it - you just want to forget the whole thing. As I said above it seems that they have received full payment of the course fees from CDF and that is why CDF are chasing you. You need to point out that you have been ill and that you have a low income as well. If you want to draft up a letter telling it how it is I will try and help you with it.

[animal_lover]

yep that would be really great if you don't mind.

[animal_lover]

Hi Goldlady,

i was just wondering if you would still help me with the letter for Skills Train. And when would be the best time for you.

If you could let me know when you get chance

Thanks

[Goldlady]

Hi, got your PM - sorry I didn't reply but I 'lost' your thread.

Is the letter you have received now from a completely different debt collection agency or is it from CDF themselves?

I would be tempted to write something like this:

I enrolled for the course on xx date and explained to the lady from Skills Train that I was in receipt of benefits and could not afford the course fees, which I was told would cost me £75 per month. She then suggested that I apply to CDF for assistance - I understood that this company would pay my course fees. I believed this to be a grant, not a loan.

I have not completed the course, nor am I well enough to do so. I explained this to Skills Train in xx month and was told to send a doctor's note confirming my illness, which I did. I have not received any course paperwork from Skills Train, other than the first package, and therefore believe that they consider the course to be cancelled as I requested.

I would be grateful if you could advise CDF of my situation. I simply cannot afford to pay £xx for a course which I did not complete, and indeed for which I did not even receive all the materials.

It is not my best letter but let's look at it as a start. If you add bits in and post back I will try to help further. I think if it has been passed on to a DCA then you can write to them and they will refer back to the original creditor. Let me know what you think.

Goldlady x

[animal_lover]

Hi,

Yep it's from a completely different company now but on behalf of CDF.

I think the letter is great. I'll send it tomorrow and i'll let you know how it goes if and when i get a reply.

THANK YOU so much