Thanks LA, my MP is now taking a fresh look at it. Will keep you all posted, so to speak! I don't hold out much hope this late in the game but if they are re-investigating and Barclays are under the spotlight again for training methods then there may be a chink in the CDL armour yet. CF

Hi Lee: All I can offer you at present is that the climate may be turning against these type of "smooth operators" If, as Monty suggests, we start peppering our representatives (MP's) etc we may finally see some movement from the government/onbudsman. Clearly, after suffering such heavy losses and at a time when legal aid is damn tough to get the county court angle is beyond most victims but, if we act together we may finally see some joy, or if not, certainly more awareness of these "august educational institutions" . With luck it may mean they can no longer ply their trade. BTW I have noticed a nascent facebook group: "Those affected by career development loans scams" search it, join it, if FB is good enough for Barack Obama why not us??? CF

Thanks Slick. No problem, I understand. Personally I dare them to come after me but if it could get the site in trouble that's cool. All the best CF

Hi Folks, newbie with every sympathy for the above tales so sorry this is longwinded. My first post is about a very personal experience retold in the hope it warns or helps others: Britannia IT are/were a bunch of edits and no doubt the edited owners are still out there I defy them to sue me for defamation, in fact I'd welcome it as it would drag them into court. I'd be like the proverbial dog with two tales if there were ever a chance for some payback, even 4 years on. I burn with indignation at the way these cowboys caught me at a low moment and fleeced my family and I of more than 7 grand. My Britannia IT tale of woe for what its worth: I was contacted via telephone and email in late October 2004 by an agency promoting the Britannia Academy. At the time I was actively seeking employment as my previous position had been made redundant. I attended at their offices on 4 November 2004 initially to see an advisor who, when not available passed the matter to another who outlined Britannia’s products and gave me various forms fill in. At this stage I was not given all necessary information required by the Learning and Skills Council: i) I was only given the choice of Barclays Career Development Loans whereas on the LSC's website it clearly states that learning providers should offer a choice of 3 banks including Barclays, The Co-operative Bank or The Royal Bank of Scotland. ii) I never received an Application Pack. In fact until Barclays sent us a copy I had never seen one. On 15 November 2004 I received provisional approval from Barclays Career Development Loans and some forms for completion. I contacted Britannia's office and made an appointment with the "advisor" to come in and complete the forms. I attended at Britannia on 17 November 2004 and met the "advisor" he told me that he was going to try and get me into an induction class but it was full. He then took me for a tour of the campus and back to the cubicle where the initial meeting had taken place and proceeded to reiterate the benefits of the course, this basically consisted of flipping over some flowchart diagrams and student conditions. The "advisor" was with me for approximately 30 minutes, I was given a textbook for A+ Complete Course and told that although there was no place for me on this particular module at present I would be doing it at a later date as part of the course. I was then moved on to the reception area and met a female member of the customer service staff and was told that the first module of the course would start in January. I came out of the meeting somewhat perplexed and confused. I started to feel I had been bounced into the course and basically given the hard sell, I began to have second thoughts about the training course not least because it seemed to me that a reputable academic institution would have treated me in a less offhand manner. I did some research into Britannia's courses. I found that there were a lot of people dissatisfied with their service. The original contact had stated in her e-mail to me of 28 October 2004 that there was a 100% job guarantee on completion of the course yet some people stated that when they could not be found jobs they were given inappropriate short term contracts unrelated to the courses they had completed or, in some cases, positions training at the Academy, at which point Britannia had then told them that these positions constituted fulfilment of the job guarantee. Other students told of courses changed at short notice by the academy with no recourse for students whilst Britannia levied severe penalties for students attempting to change course dates and unreasonable penalties for arriving late, this completely contradicted the assertions of flexibility and fairness made by the "advisor". During the course of my investigations I also found that the Advertising Standards Agency had made an adverse adjudication regarding the “guaranteed job” portion of Britannia’s advertisements in 2002. The following week I received a phone call from Britannia's administration team stating that a place had become available on the A+ Complete course starting the week commencing 29/01/05. I felt that this was extremely short notice, it served to further raise my disquiet regarding the Academy and, given that I had been given this particular textbook, smacked of a company wishing to tie me into a contract I could not back out of. I declined the place and immediately decided to cancel my application. I wrote to Britannia and Barclays on 24 November 2004 notifying them both of my decision. I received a response from the Academy on 26 November 2004 advising me that I had carried out the Induction module and had, therefore nullified my statutory cooling off period. On 27/11/05 I noted that a sum of £820.00 had been paid into my bank account by Barclays on 18/11/05, this amount related to examination fees which I had been told would be exclusive of the course costs, at no point did Britannia indicate that they would form a part of the loan, I refunded these monies to Barclays at my earliest opportunity. The letter further stated that no refund of the course monies would be given despite the obvious fact that I had yet to commence any form of IT learning with the academy. Various letters went back and forth between the Academy and I have recieved no joy. Points of Dispute i) I was not told on 17 November 2004 that I was at a point of no return. In fact the "advisor" tried to get me into an induction class but it was full. I did not therefore undergo the induction part of the course. In any event it is not stated in Britannia's Terms and Conditions that an induction is part of a course and as such a point of no return. ii) In correspondence with Barclays Career Development Loans it came to my attention that I did not fill in the course start date on my application to Barclays. My copy of this form, provided by Britannia, contains a blank course start date field. This was filled in after I had signed the papers on 17 November 2004 and sent direct to Barclays by the Academy. The money was then transferred to them on 18 November 2004. This is therefore a false document. Barclays have provided me with a form upon which a course start date of 17/11/04 has been entered. iii) On the Client Information Sheet I received on 4 November 2004 it says that it takes anywhere between 6 to 8 weeks to process applications. my application took 2 weeks. I feel that I was rushed through this. iv) After my meeting with the "advisor" on 17 November 2004 I received 4 letters from the Academy all from different people. None of these letters stated that I had completed the Induction Module. v) On Britannia's Complete Learning Programme it does not include the Induction as part of the course. vi) In the Training Application Form Terms and Conditions at 5.5 it states that monies should be paid 14 days before the course, or the first course in the package of courses. This is a contradiction. I attended Britannia's offices on 17 November and the money was received by them from Barclays very swiftly on 18 November. If I underwent an induction course on 17 November 2004 as stated by the "advisor" then why was this allowed to happen? i) I was given the impression that this was a government based scheme and that the financial risks were minimal given the astronomical earning power I would obtain on finishing the course. I believe that I was rushed through a process that should have taken 6 / 8 week in just 2 weeks. I believe that it is my word against the "advisor" with regards to my undertaking the induction module. What I would say is that there is no evidence to back up this fact. There is nothing in writing received by me to state this. I repaid to Barclays the sum of £7,180. I looked to Britannia to reimburse me in full or, less the £39.99 cover price of the aforementioned A+ complete textbook. I had undergone absolutely no training with Britannia Academy. I attended Britannia's offices twice and talked about the course and filled in forms but I was still well within my rights to cancel the course as it was not going to start until 24 January 2005. My wife contacted the Academy incognito and was told by the staff that an induction course lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes. I was present at the offices for no longer than 40 minutes. In view of the information above I asked that Britannia reimbursed me the sum of £7,180.00 at which point the textbook would be returned or £7,141.01 without return of the textbook. They refused, the banking onbudsman studied the case and found Barclays had no case to answer and the Learning and Skills Council told me there was nothing they could do about it. In 2006 I gave up the chase but still burned... I was royally screwed by these people, had to remortgage my home to repay the loan and learned a valuable caviat emptor lesson. All I can say in my defence was that I was unemployed and at a low place when these people caught me out. In a funny way the experience also helped me build a totally new and unexpected career too, not a bad silver lining! Good luck all. CF