Hi All In May I visited Brighton and went to park at the MET College as I had done many time before. However, instead of the college managing the car park it was now managed by CPM. The essential difference being that you used to pay in cash but now you have to pay over the phone to Just Park (not that you could tell how much as no signs showed the tarrif). After parking in the half full car park I saw a number of people in discussion in the middle of the car park. I approached and asked what was going on and they advised that they were all trying to call Just Park to pay for parking and kept being told the car park was full . After much discussion everyone agreed we would park and leave a note on our cars advising we had tried to pay and would be happy to pay if contacted. A week later I received a PCN for not buying a ticket. I had wrongly assumed the site would have a parking warden but of course the ticket was issued based on photographing my car on entry and exit so my note was never seen. I appealed the PCN based on the message saying the car park was full and requested they review their tickets for the afternoon as there would be an above average number of tickets issued due to the other people who also left messages. Today I have received a letter rejecting my appeal on the basis that the car park was full as other people had paid in advance for the spaces so by parking I was obstructing other drivers from using their designated areas. It says I should have refrained from parking and contacted CPM for advice. I repeat the car park was half full when I arrived and almost empty when I returned to my car. The recorded message did not explain why the car park would be full and I dont recall adequate signage explaining this in the car park. Can anyone give any advice on how I might appeal to the IAS? thanks Steve

Hi Received letter from DRP (Debt Recovery Plus) to pay £160 for unpaid PCN from 14.4.18. I've never received a PCN from UK Car Park Management Ltd before, so this is the 1st time I've seen anything! Just called DRP to get more info - they have photos, say I exceeded maximum stay (or may not have paid). I remember being surprised on the day that it has changed at Brighton Met College to the new system, lots of people that day had confusion, couldn't pay by phone (there's no cash option) or was told carpark full, which it clearly wasn't. I have phone record on that day, but that's all but think we may have had similar situation where it said full and we put notice in the windscreen to say this. They asked if I moved recently - I did in Oct, but did update my address with DVLA, etc. Again this is the 1st I'm hearing from them. They just said on the phone I have no right to appeal or dispute, to pay £160 or further action! Any advice would be appreciated - should I ignore, should I contact UK Car Park Management directly instead...? Many thanks,

I am currently unemployed and receive full housing benefit, my 19yr old son left school in June (repeated a yr due to disability) and starts college full time in August. Over the summer period he has not claimed for any benefits or worked. I received a letter from the council saying that I have been overpaid housing benefit since June as my son is now a non-dependant and are asking for £126 to cover overpayment, they are also asking for £12pw towards rent. They also wish to see his student loan payments confirmation letter. I'm at a loss here as everything I have read about housing benefit states that non dependants students living at home would not pay rent, I have even competed the council's online benefit calculator which shows we should not be paying rent. Are the council right?

Hi Can any one help I enrolled in home learning college september 2015, and have been trying to get rid ever since. It was a combine 2 and 3 year course which they advised and then promised tablet with course material which was around £5 from china and had no material. I received no eat package no student card and all arrived after the cooling off period . I am now in debt to them over £2000 and have never done any of the course . Can any one advise what to do?

Hello I enrolled onto a Marketing course in February this year with Home Learning College but can't afford to pay for and feeling a little frustrated with the course. I'm on Job seekers and can't get any funding to support continuing this course (Job Centre has scrapped funding. Useless). I now want to cancel the course as it has become more a luxury than a necessity. Does anyone have any ideas how I can do this? Thank you.

Hi, my son was suspended from college on 22nd October, a tutor called to say we would receive a letter to explain why, but would not elaborate on the phone. We know he argued with his girlfriend on campus and someone reported it, so guess this is the reason. As of today 4th Nov we still have no letter. Are the college legally obliged to send a letter within a timeframe. I think it is out of order that we still know nothing, I have called the college today and am awaiting a call back. Thanks

hi.im a single unemployed dad.i receive tax credits for my son,who might be leaving college next week unless he can get on an I.T course, which hes trying to do. if he leaves should i contact tax credits and tell them hes left, only thing is then we will both be living on £73 a week.

I'm looking for some advice please on how to proceed with regard to a county court claim I received today, courtesy of H&L. Back in 2011 I enrolled on a local college course for the academic year 2011/12. At the time I was unemployed and applied for "mature" student finance. This was ticking along and as the end of the year approached various people also on the same course dropped out as their finance was turned down or their circumstances changed. In January 2012 I was fortunate to secure full time employment and continued on the course, my employers allowing me to attend the college the one day a week necessary. I advised Student Finances of my change in circumstances but was told there would not be a problem - I just had to get evidence from my council that my household had been receiving council tax benefit for a period up until I started the course. I applied to the council for written proof of this, and to date this never came back. The course itself was flawed. The planned course tutor was on long-term sick and the college struggled to cope. As a class we lost countless hours waiting for a tutor, a room, many times just being told to get on with things or read one of the course books. As an example we had a lesson in flash, then never revisited flash for weeks, the same for Adobe Photoshop. Being told to read a course book was OK if you had the book. For those who were unemployed or on low incomes, we certainly couldn't afford all the books, and the college only had 2 or 3 which could be loaned out for limited periods. Things came to a head after the department head randomly came in one evening and asked for feedback. As a class we came together, wrote down our grievances and passed these on, much to the department head's shock and surprise. A class representative was appointed and a meeting was held and we were told things would improve. In the end I couldn't justify taking time off away from my work and I had serious doubts on the value of the course and spending thousands on a 3 year foundation degree for an education that I wasn't getting - one part of the course was fine - the lecturer did her bit but the main IT elements (this was an Internet Business course) were sorely lacking. I left the course in early 2012 and didn't hear anything from the college. No invoice, no calls, no final demand, no default notice .. nothing. In early September 2013 I received the first of well over a dozen of threatening letters from H&L Solicitors and I contacted the college to find out what was going on. H&L had added around £35 to the total apparently although this was not made clear. The debt was for £1207. I emailed the college and eventually received a holding email in October followed by a letter which claimed there had been no issues with the course , and that I had to pay. I replied by letter, which was never acknowledged offering to pay £300 to resolve matters and cover their admin costs, or for them to put me on a new properly managed course for which I would pay. Moving to 2014, after a flurry of threats from H&L I emailed the college again, asking for my complaint to be passed to the principal. Again I offered the £300, or to pay for a new course. This was ignored. Fast forward to 2015 and many months have gone by without any letters from H&L, so I wrongly presumed the college had simply moved on. Three weeks ago I received a threat of legal action from H&L, the same as many they'd sent before and today I received a county court claim. The total is now £1600 including court costs and £80 solicitors fees, and interest. I am in a position to pay but I'm unsure as to how to proceed. My life is more or less back together after an 18 month period of unemployment before 2012 and I'm with the same employer. I don't want to get my credit rating destroyed after I've been slowly building it back up. I have never contacted H&L as my complaint has always been with the college. The H&L letters do not make clear if they bought the debt or if they are acting on the college's behalf. If I defend would I have to pay more if I lose? If I get a judgment against me but pay within a month does that get wiped? Should I counter claim?, offer a part payment? - contact H&L? Since this started I've moved house and only received the claim because my mail is redirected. Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated.

Hi. I'm 24 and looking to go back into education in September (by which time I'll be 25) to study Animal Behaviour. I was told by a university this week that I would need either A Levels or an Access to HE course to allow me to apply. There seems to be plenty of funding available for university students, but I can't seem to find any for full time college students, as you can not apply for student living grants/loans until uni. I am living away from home and have been claiming ESA for a while now, but that will be ending soon. I know I can get a loan to cover the cost of any course and exam fees (from 24+ Advanced Learning Loan), but does anyone know of any help with living costs, or even any benefits I can claim whilst at college to pay for rent, food, bills etc? I don't know if this is the right place to post this thread, or even if anyone here can help, but I thought it was worth a shot as CAG has been very helpful in the past, and I'm struggling to work out what to do now after being turned down by the university. Thanks. Matt.

After every flight, Qantas pilots complete a form called a "Gripe Sheet" which tells the mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form and the pilots then review the Gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that the ground crews lack a sense of humour. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (P) and the solutions recorded by the maintenance engineers (S) Apparently Qantas is the only major airline that has never, ever had an accident. P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement S: Almost replaced left inside main tire. P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough. S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft. P: Something loose in cockpit. S: Something tightened in cockpit. P: Dead bugs on windshield. S: Live bugs on back-order. P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent. S: Unable to reproduce problem on ground. P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear. S: Evidence removed. P: DME volume unbelievably loud. S: DME volume set to more believable level. P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S: That's what friction locks are for. P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode. S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode. P: Suspected crack in windshield S: Suspect you're right. P: Number 3 engine missing. S: Engine found on right wing after brief search. P: Aircraft handles funny.... (my favourite this one) S: Aircraft warned, straighten up, fly right and .... be serious. P: Target radar hums. S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics. P: Mouse in cockpit. S: Cat installed. And the best one for last.. P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer. S: Took hammer away from midget.

Hi , i am IT student , i did enroll with one of private institute for IT certifications . i did enroll for year course on agreement but they said it may take longer if they dont have sufficient student batch. NOW they took two year but still half of lectures not scheduled . i keep on contacting them they always reply to wait for admin to contact back . few days back called them they says ur course due date passed so they reviewing case why course not scheduled . But i am tired to contacting them . i paid them £6000 but not got only half course lectures scheduled . i have all contract paper and fees proof of payment . Please can someone guild me how can i get this sort out ? thank you for your valuable time.

I left college in 2013 (Scotland) having completed a proportion of the course but left due to an injury at work. I don't recall any further communication from the college, however I received a letter today asking for an outstanding balance of the full course amount (£1,285) on behalf of the college. I have been instructed to communicate only with them regarding this scenario. I am wary of what my next steps should be as I don't trust these people and I expect that they would quickly use my words against me if they could. At the very most, I feel I should be liable for the fees only for the proportion of the course I completed. I am curious as to what my rights are in this scenario. I don't recall specifically if there was some form of credit agreement in place. Advise would be most welcome.

Hello, Just wondering if someone can give me a clear cut answer regarding my SAAS eligibility, I have had mixed answers :L I was born in England but moved to Scotland when I was young and have lived there for 10 years +. However I have lived in England for the past 4-5years due to my work sending me there. If I move back to Scotland am I eligible for SAAS straight away or will I have to wait? Thank you in advance. Oli

Hello, I am having problems with a dispute with a training provider. The dispute has been ongoing for nearly a year. I hope there can be help with this unhappy issue. I studied a "foundation degree" a while back and am unhappy with the way they (the college) have treated my complaint. I want my money back because I strongly believe the service was of exceptionally poor administration and not value for money. The administration of the course was extremely poor, the teaching was lacking and the vocational learning non-existent. In addition the lead lecturer clearly did not know the subject. There were no areas of work based learning offered and little material substantial to the area. In response to complaints of lack of expertise or lecturer handling of the subject, we were offered third party courses. These were available from one computer at set college times. The college has later denied a complaint took place and that the case was that the course was not for me. The college has refused to discuss the intricacies of my complaint (professional practice; relevant technology; conduct of staff) and thoroughly insisted that this is a personal student experience. In addition, the complaint is not to be upheld due to positive anonymous student comments and verification by an external verifier. And finally, they have openly aserted that I am a drop out. I was student representative of this course and heard many complaints regarding the course from other students. I was laughed at openly by the said course leader several times. The Skills Funding Agency have also insisted that as a corporate entity, the college is allowed to answer complaints as it sees fit. As such I am not eager to let the matter drop as it was very degrading. I am wondering if it is worth it to continue a complaint with the ombudsman as they have shredded me every step of the way, and I only know that I 'received' a final decision from correspondence with the SFA. I have demanded all records of my involvement at the college published under the FOIA, but of course this is a DP issue. It has been months and the college have yet to acknowledge my request anyway. I really appreciate any feedback whether positive or negative. **Long story short, went to a college, did a University course, got very bad value for money and have had exhausted their complaints procedure.

Hello, I was wondering if you could help my colleagues and myself. We were all recently issued PCNs by Smart Parking for not displaying visible permits during our time in the Edinburgh College car park (They only recently went over to this new system, previously we have had no problems as it was college run). We all attend the college, but do not have permits. We are all still within the 14 day pay area and wondering what would be an appropriate course of action. The PCN is for £60, reduced to £30 if payed promptly and if not paid after the 28 days an admin charge of £40 is incurred. Just for you knowledge. If you require anymore information I will be happy to answer. Thanks in advance, Gurk

Hi guys, I've been signing on to JSA now for about four months. From the moment I signed on I informed them that I would be starting a part time "Access to HE" college course in September, lasting a year, for 10 hours per week. They accepted this, signed me up as requiring full time work until september, when I started college I had this changed to part time. A month ago they started requesting paperwork from my college, and asking me questions about how I was paying for it. I told them I had a student loan, and brought them all the paperwork I had including the accepted student loan forms. Two weeks later they asked for more paperwork as my learning agreement didn't state my hours, I got a signed letter from the college stating my name, hours and course along with contact details should they have any questions, and gave that to them along with my learning agreement. I was told that everything was fine, I signed on as usual and was told my payment had gone through and would be paid on the usual day. on monday I received an ES48 letter, saying "A doubt has arisen on your claim for jobseekers allowance, as it appears that from 09.09.2013 you may not be regarded as available for work because you are a full-time student". The letter then directs me to read a leaflet that was supposed to be included in the pack, that is conveniently missing. I immediately rang them up, and was told not to worry about it, as the letter was probably sent out before they received my evidence, and that my payment would go through as normal. This hasn't happened, I've not received my payment, and it looks like they're investigating me for something they have concrete evidence isn't true. So does anyone know how long they can stop my payments for, and if there's anything I can do about this, as it seems someone has lied about my status.

Hi All, hope some kind person can help me, my husband receives JSA and also claims for me, we receive 112.60 weekly along with HB and CTB, up until last week I also received child tax credit and child benefit for him, this has now stopped as he has reached 20, he still has another year to complete at college and the only money he receives is a bursary of £110 every 3 months which pays for a bus pass to travel to and from college which is over 3 miles away. We are not in a financial position to be able feed and get essentials for the 3 of us on that amount of money we get weekly, my son has been trying to get a part time job for over 12 months but most ask for experience, he took up voluntary work to gain retail experience but so far hasn't received any replies from jobs he has applied for, he will be applying to go to uni when his course finishes next year, Sorry its a bit long winded but trying to explain best I can,

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Hello, I would really like to do another full time uni or college course because I think now I am in a good place mentally and would be able to do well in it, however I owe student finance from a previous course where I had big problems and had to leave.. would I be able to get more finance? Basically I did a foundation uni course and got finance for it I think it was about £3000 for tuition and about £3500 is maintenance loan which went ok, then moved onto do a full degree Did a few months of the degree and fell into trouble (stuff with my crazy ex and rental contracts etc money wise) I was really behind with the work and thought I wouldn't be able to catch up so agreed with the tutor about doing the course another time (hadn't thought about the student finance situation at the time) having had my tuition fees paid and 2 payments of maintenance loan. well a few weeks after this I get a letter from student finance saying something about me not attending the course and that they wanted the maintenance loan back immediately (£2500 ish) which I just ignored really (like I said I was in a bad place, very depressed and drinking alot I didnt give a damn at the time) Which brings me here, this was 3 years ago and I havnt had any contact with student finance at all since then, obviously I was hoping to get a full time job save up and pay back what I owe but being unskilled with only **** GCSE's I have been unemployed mostly apart from a few temp jobs and saving up is next to impossible. So now I would really like to get back into studying but don't know whether I will be able to get further finance if I apply or what I steps I should take to resolve the debt so I can apply or what, sigh, I worry about phoning the student finance to ask or apply and being told no and then having bailiffs or something turn up to collect the debt. any help very much appreciated. thanks.

Today we have recieved through the door a "notice of seizure " for my daughter for college fees. Debt £1015 - their charges £960 from Andrew wilson and co. She finished school with a levels - went on to university and did an HND in fashion buying, the recession then hit -no jobs in fashion so she got a job with a full time media company, one year later was made redundant so she decided to go to college to do an access course for teaching and as she was claimimg jobseekers she would get the course paid for ( or so she thought) . During all this time and still now to pay her car insurance she worked at a pub but was still able to claim jobseekers which was 40p most weeks as she only worked a few hours),this was 2 years ago. she is now at university doing primary teaching aged 25, he has 2 jobs to pay her rent, etc (obviously not claiming jobseekers now) My point is during all this time she has worked to try and better herself and make a career , and this is what happens for trying to educate yourself for a better life. As far as she was concerned these fees were covered by the jobseekers ( i helped her fill out the forms) . She or I at my address have never had a ccj for this or any communication in fact. Most certainly should this have been the case she would have contacted the college to argue the case. what can we do - she doesnt live here anymore but I feel so strongly about this I am happy to do whatever to defend her - she is an honest hard working girl and this is wrong.Please help

Just a word of advices to any one looking to start the AAT. Whatever you do NOT USE HOME LEARNING COLLEGE. They mislead you and are conniving. I was sold Module one Basic accounting the old qualification at the cost of £895.00. I was told by the guy who came to my home I was signing on to the Full level certificate in accounting at that price. However in the middle of module one I called to ask for the next module because I felt I could study for two modules being out of work. I was told that the cost £895 only covered module one. I had paid £400.00 via installment, when I refuse to pay the remaining £495.00 My details were sold to A credit collecting agency called Gothia's. After more than 5yr Gothia'e then sold it to MMF: National Doorstep & Legai Collection Specialists. I wrote to AAT 5yr or more ago, they did nothing besides all the complains for students. I also wrote to HOME LEARNING COLLEGE they could not care. All they were concern with was destroying my credit history and after more than 5 yr still doing so. PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE. ITS IS COSTLY, DEPRESSING AND SOUL DESTROYING..

I took out a Home Learning College course in Computer Repair in Oct 2006, mostly due to A) youthful naivety believing the Course Advisors/Salesmans pitch about "having a recognised qualification most people in PC World Repair Department don't even have" and B) desperation from spending almost 15 years working life going from job to job and not getting anywhere due to learning difficulties giving me sucky grades and jobs prospects, apart from basic manual labour and machine operation. Now, all was well and good until after further research into the course itself I discovered that it was a total waste of time, giving me at the end a sheet of paper that looks impressive to someone walking in my shop (should I have owned one) but would leave even the junior members of the PC Worlds Repair Department rolling around on the floor with laughter. But I bought HLC's crap thinking at the end of the day at least I'll have a grounding in something I can turn from hobby to job at some point maybe. But the problems started in Dec 2006 when I couldn't make the 3rd monthly payment of £133 after being laid off from an agency contract. After going backwards and forwards for a few weeks discussing repayments of £10 per month while on JSA it finally came to the crunch and my health visitor on my behalf sent a letter asking to cancel the course. Didn't happen. We got a letter back saying the course is cancellable but the payments are non-cancellable even on the grounds of pregnancy, unemployment, illness or death(????!!!!???). As it stand over the last few years I've received the occasional demand from one agency and another here and there for the last few place I've rented, mostly just threatening action that never happened. I've heard nothing about this since moving to my current address of 2 years until 2 weeks ago. Now they're asking for the full £1290. So I'm told, previously a debt of under £2000 for an unsecured debt of this nature (Aequs went bust a couple of years ago, so it was hardly worth their while to chase up) the new owner of the debt has nothing to lose since the debt will be statute barred in Dec 2012. Now my circumstances have changed and 1) I don't have £1290 to give even if I wanted but also 2) I'd like to avoid a CCJ if at all possible now I have a child to support. Wouldn't they have taken me to court if they could have already? I've heard a lot about DCA's making claims for money they can't enforce through the courts, so I'd like to avoid paying this (not in a malicious sense, I do take responsibility for my debts and have always done so, but more out of the fact that 2007 til today has sometimes been almost unbearable when dealing with HLC and this debt) Any advice would be great. Sorry if that went on a bit, or if the info was to sparse. I can elaborate on points if you need me to.

Hi All, Just remembered about a car I had around 10 years ago and thought I would try and find who I had the credit with. Rang bank and asked them for payments made for a specific month and turns out it was College Credit. Had a quick scour on data controller register but didn't come back with anything, anyone know anything about them? Are they a dormant company? I just want to send them an SAR and double check whether I had PPI, have a feeling I'm too late with this one though.

Hello, in Feb 2010 I had just come out of a really bad and abusive relationship and I was working, but I wanted something new. I saw an ad for HLC and took a look at their website. I saw that they offered courses for webdesign and I sent away some details to request more information. Instead I got a sales woman coming over and being in the state that I was back then I foolishly signed up for CIW 1 & 2 at the total sum of £2300. I wanted to sign up for one course but the woman said that they offered a package for both courses at a "cheaper" price. by August 2011 I had moved to a new city, worked at a new job for a year and was making plans to move to Canada. By that point I had already paid £1734 - well above the price for the one course I HAD received all the material for (they only send you the materials and books for the second course when you pass the first). I sent an e-mail to HLC saying that I was moving away to Canada and seeing as I had already paid for the one course I'd taken I would like to cancel the second course. I was told that I had to pay for the second course (apparently even if I haven't received the material for it). I (foolishly) cancelled the direct debit as by that time I had done all the Google research and seen what kind of company HLC really are and was frankly discusted that I had let myself get tricked into paying that kind of money when I could have saved it instead. My plans to move to Canada fell through due to various reasons and instead I received another job and moved to another city. I get paid more, but this city is expensive and I often have trouble making ends meet throughout the month. Last week I received a letter from Clarity with a reference number stating that I need to call them as soon as possible. I know that it's about HLC, because I pay my other bills just fine. Problem is: 1. I am a coward and often have issues with facing these kind of problems. 2. Despite working full-time I have trouble making ends meet every month and that in itself is depressing since I have a student loan from my birth country to start paying off. 3. I guess it's my pride speaking but can they really demand money for nothing? I have not taken the second course, I have not received material for the second course. It feels a bit like paying for milk but walking out of the store with nothing. Can I argue against this debt, or is it a lost cause? Thanks and sorry for the long post. This has just added to the depression I already have due to finances. Edit: I would assume that they've added some insane interest as well for the months I haven't paid, which just depresses me more.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-18272215