Home Learning College

[cazbarr]

Right, I have a mistake. I gave you the wrong company number. The number I gave you seems to be the company number that the ombudsman is working with. On the companies house website, this company number belongs to a company called: STUDY REALISATIONS LIMITED. on the section of previous names, HLC is there, with several other company names.

 

The above mentioned company is indeed being shown as liquidated in 2009.

 

If you put in this company number number: 06177616 on companies house website, it will bring up the company HLC, with the Kent address. This does NOT show HLC in liquidation.

 

Sorry to mess you about, but you need to ring the ombudsman and explain that the company number: 06177616 on companies house website belongs to HLC and is not being shown as being in liquidation. They can check this while your on the phone.

 

The numbers are the companies registered company numbers by the way.

[cazbarr]

Yes the address you gave is the same company that I am dealing with.

[daniel.creanga]

I did that last night and the guy from Ombusdman checked and told me the erronate info that HLC from kent is liquidated since 2009.Even them cannot help they said.

So in your case how far have you gone with your case?Any good?

[cazbarr]

When I got the response from the ombudsman telling me that HLC are in liquidation, I rang her to find out more info. It came apparent that the ombudsman were searching under a different company number. When she checked against the number I had (06177616), she checked and it showed HLC as not being liquidated. So they are looking into my case further. I'm still awaiting a reply.

 

This is why I say give them the new company number, (the one above). Because if HLC are not in liquidation, the ombudsman should be able to help you.

[daniel.creanga]

I got your point but how come they cannot find out such a simple thing when you tell them whom has done damage to you.Sounds like they are not really well prepared to sustain a case.Let's see what they tell you regarding your matter.

Please keep in touch.

[cazbarr]

I have found the main problem to be the fact that this company has had many different names and company numbers. It has become quite a web of stuff. I'm not surprised the ombudsman is finding it difficult.

 

Yes I will let you know how it goes.

[philipsteele]

i think home based course is the best, because it helps to reduce many of the expenses like traveling, cost of the books, pen, pencil, ink and other expenses..

[daniel.creanga]

To be honest Daniel, if it was two years ago you signed up, you may not have much of a case. But of course I don't know the full story.

 

In saying that, your best route at the moment is to take your case to the financial ombudsman. They are dealing with my case at the present. The lady dealing with my case is Lindsey Abbott.

 

Put your case in writing to her and I am sure she will be able to advice you the best way forward. According to the literature I got, they can tell Home Learning College to give you your money back, IF they decide this is the conclusion to your case.

 

My case is about Fraudulent Misrepresentation. I was given a lot of false information when the course advisor came to see me, which I did not know until a few weeks into the course and found out more information to be false along the way. I signed up for the course only last December, so my case is quite recent.

 

I'm now awaiting a reply to my case.

 

Cass

 

This was done in my case too basically the slaes man pressurised me with his practices to sign on the spot.He was saying that there is only a limit amount of a time and is a good deal and blah blah....another thing is because I wasn't aware about all these dirty tricks being from another country he took the ADVANTAGE of me BIG TIME.I did ring him to cancel in fact but again he managed to trick me again and say is not possible.When I swapped my course in 2010 for Mcse they gave me MCSA.So there is the error once again second one.I have the email where the administrator says that I can pay 80 pounds to swap my course for MCSE.I received MCSA and from there I keept fighting with them asking where is my course.Today she admited on the phone that was an error.Hold on I said you are playing with my money.Why do you think salesman drives BMW?

Because of his dirty ways of selling courses?Also to mention that these books worth 100 pounds

So 2000 grand for what?They don't care about you, you call them don't answer,if email as well no answer.Tutor is online as if is not....all is just a big mess.I will never reccommend them to anyone.

[Asmodai6]

i have also made the mistake of signing with hlc in Sept 2010 was told i would recieve everything that i would need to do and pass a comptia a+ course all i got was a few books. have tried to cancel and got nowhere. already paid 500+ dont want a refund just dont want course any more can any one help.

[leontelford82]

Have signed up for the Travel and Toursim via the monthly installments however havent signed the papers yet, have only paid a £40 deposit ovet the Internet via a Debit Card.I presume if I dont sign that loan agreement paper I've not agreed any more money to come out thus stopping me doing the course as the reviews seem terrible

[dazzs]

I am so glad I found this forum. I sent off for info from The Home Learning College about a Java programming course. I've not received anything through the post yet. But I have had them text me, and they called my phone whilst I was at work so I got out of the call because of that. But it concerned me that alarm bells were already ringing. They have not sent any info about the cost of the course, and they wouldn't tell me quickly on the phone how much it would cost, I had to make an appointment for someone to come around to my home to tell me about it. But I refused, said I didn't have time etc, and hung up.

 

I've since found from searching on the net that the course costs a few thousand, and yet when I visited the Oracle Java website the most it would cost for the exam is couple hundred pounds! As for learning how to program they have tutorials for free, and I've found a couple of books that teach me all I need to know.

 

Looks like HLC is a total rip off, I shall be staying clear of them.

[bermuda lady]

Currently living in Bermuda (yeah, yeah, I know, don't get lost in the triangle) I thought I'd do some studying. As an expat I can't look for work and as times are tough here to, it's Bermudians first in every job. So I thought I'd study further whilst here before returning to good old UK.

 

I got in contact with HLC via email to ask them about their Sage Payroll Management diploma - a nice easy course to start with before trying something more complex. I didn't get a reply in four days, so I emailed another company to ask them about the same course. I had a reply from the second company within that day. Considering that I'm 4 hours behind UK, I thought that was pretty great communication. I was given a breakdown of what the course entailed, what I was expected to achieve, advice on learning hours, mock exams, exams and costs. They also checked with ICB that I could do the course via Bermuda. Understandably, the only item not included was the ICB membership which needed to be applied for directly. I was very pleased with the price (slightly higher than what was on their website due to international postage) and it fit in with my budget.

 

I sent another email to HLC to say if I'd not received an answer from them by Tuesday of the following week, I would go to their competitor. I got an answer from HLC the following day saying that they tried to call me and couldn't get through, which is utter rubbish because I received a call from South Africa and UK over the weekend! I was then given a number to call someone in the UK. I really didn't have time to do so because I had to pick my daughter up from school and asked all the questions via email that I needed to about the course. This was to compare against the second company that I had already replied to me. I asked for the course breakdown, what was included and the cost. He gave me everything except the cost and after three emails, he finally gave me the cost. Well, that was a shocker! It was just under three times the cost of the other company and after doing more research the prices were consistant and nothing like HLC (where does HLC get their pricing from?)

 

I emailed HLC as I was preplexed about the variance - I got a whole paragraph of wibble and nothing to justify almost three times the cost. Saying that, it did include the cost of the ICB membership......a whole whopping UKP 45. After confronting HLC, they did offer a free Management course after I completed my Payroll course. I think I will be studying with someone else.

 

Thanks, but NO thanks HLC!

Edited November 15, 2011 by bermuda lady

[dr3bin]

Hi guys,

 

In relation to all the above I wish to cancel a course I have with HLC.

 

A month ago I signed up to their MCITP: Enterprise Support Administrator course after a few discussions about the course with a sales rep over the phone (I forget his name). The guy didn't seem to know the ins and outs of the course too well, but I did through research elsewhere - so I went with it and signed up.

 

However, the entire course is one HUGE copy of the official Microsoft self-paced training kit, which I already own. The books they've sent me, the online VLC... everything. There is absolutely NO original content provided by their study books or VLC.

 

The kicker is I'm paying just under £2,100 for the same content that's found in a book I bought from Amazon for £26.

 

I've already cancelled my DD and have sent an email complaining and requesting an address to send my HLC books back to in order to cancel my contract.

 

I am assuming that HLC will moan with something along the lines of "you're outside of your 7 day 'cooling off' period so you can't cancel sucks to be you blahblahblah'.

 

I will get in touch with the F.O. tomorrow and get the ball rolling with them.

 

I'm in no way happy paying out £2,096.76 for the same content that a £26 book gives me!

 

Do you guys have any advice for me in the meantime? For example, any letters I can send to HLC if/when they give me grief to help word my complete dissatisfaction towards them?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to give me.

[cazbarr]

Hi dr3bin,

 

In response to your thread, my only advice is that if you are going to go through the Financial Ombudsman, do it straight away. They take months and months to get back to you.

 

I have been with the Ombudsman for 10 months now regarding HLC. Also, if HLC send you any threatening letters, put in writing to them that you are now dealing with the Ombudsman and when you hear from them, you will let HLC know.

 

Include ALL relevant materials, (copies, not originals), of all and any documentation you received from HLC about the course, plus the fact that all information contained in the book you bought is exactly the same as in the HLC course. It may help to send snippets of both the book and the course. (copyright infringement my apply here) not sure though. Ask the Ombudsman to make a thorough investigation of comparison between the book and the course. (This is important) as it is exactly what you are claiming as to why you wish to cancel.

 

HLC will argue as to why it took you so long to wish to cancel, if you knew the book and the course were the same, why did you not cancel within the time frame. Have your answer ready to include to the Ombudsman.

 

Basically put in as much factual information as you can to the Ombudsman.

 

Hope this helps and good luck

Cass

[Bhuna76]

Hi all HLC victims. I too signed up for a course over 3 years ago and have received letters demanding payment from CapQuest DCA. The same day the CapQuest demand arrived I received a letter from Barclays Partner Finance telling me they had sold my account to CapQuest. This is my problem....When the representative from HLC visited me in my home to talk to me about the course, he wanted a £50 deposit upon my signing of the credit agreement. I told him I did not have any money and he said he would NOT PROCESS my credit agreement until I had contacted him and made the £50 payment. The rep mislead me and processed my agreement which led to my bank charging me for Bounced Direct debits and for taking me £50 overdrawn after the finance company took money from my account. I DIDN'T start the course and was not sent any 'Work materials'. Barclays say they paid for the course(£1552) whether or not I actually did it, and HLC say I contractually started the course the moment I signed the Forms regardless of whether or not I was misled by the HLC representative. How should I deal with this? Thanks in advance.

[cazbarr]

Hi Bhuna,

 

My advice to you would be take your case to the Financial Ombudsman.

 

Things you need to tell the Ombudsman.

 

Did you sign the agreement for the full payment, or for monthly instalments?? If you signed up for monthly instalments, then your bank had no right to pay the full amount.

 

Did you receive any course material at all at any point, if so, did you return them within 7 days with a notice of cancellation? You have 5 days to cancel the financial agreement and 7 days to cancel the course from the date you signed the agreements.

 

Also, did you receive any terms and conditions in writing when you signed the agreements, if not then you need to tell the ombudsman if you decide to go down that road.

 

Be as specific as you can about what happened, but as it has been three years, not sure how much help the ombudsman can be, not sure if there is a time limit for bringing a case forward.

 

Your first port of call as you have already contacted HLC would be the Financial Ombudsman.

 

I hope this helps

Cass

[Bhuna76]

Thanks cazbar, I'll try and find the paper work but I've moved house 5 times since I signed up for the course. As I remember it, I signed for monthly instalments and the only amount that was taken from my account was the £50 deposit(at which point I immediately cancelled the direct debit). I believe the course was initially paid for in full to HLC by Barclays partner Finance who then take the monthly instalments from the account named on the agreement. When I received a demand for the full amount from BPF, I told them I had not started the course and was not going to pay them. They said they would want the money back from HLC and told me I was my responsibility and that I would have to arrange it. I'll try and find the paper work and come back with more details. Thanks again.

[Juz07]

Just spoken to someone from Consumer Direct and she basically said Im screwed unless I could see that they are in breach of the contract in some way or another. Even then theres a 14 day period for them to come up with the goods to get out of this so unless they really really wanted to mess up, then I cant see that happening.

 

Unfortunately, I feel my grievances are small-fry compared with alot of others on here. But my bottom line is that Ive become so angry and frustrated with this course and their attitude that I simply cant justify paying out another £800+ and continuing witht the awful sham of a course on such low wages. I really really wish I hadnt been pushed into it by their stupid rep and had considered going over the contract with someone first...We should all be able to get out of the contract just based on how many lives its ruining so far. 'For a brighter future' MY ARSE!

 

Ive paid just over £1k for my Flash/Dreamweaver CS4 course and it has to be the worst decision Ive made of my life. I would have been better off taking a credit card and swiping it up to the £2k mark and bought a butt load of fudge or something, for the good that this course has done me:

 

*Its damn near impossible to locate how to contact my tutor from their VLC student 'lounge'

*There is no way that someone with no understanding of Adobe software would get through this 'basic' Flash course.

*The course materials contain spelling mistakes, bad grammar and worst of all, exercises 6 pages long that dont actually work!

*When I brought their attention to an error in one particular exercise which did not work, they replied and AGREED that it didnt work, but with NO explanation as to why!!

*After trying another long winded exercise that AGAIN didnt work, I asked for help and didnt ever get a reply.

*ANYONE I have ever spoken to at their call centre has always been hostile, rude and very unhelpful, the animosity is present even in emails:

 

'Once your statutory cancellation period has expired you are then liable for all monies owing regardless of whether you choose to study or not.'

 

*Once you get this type of response you know theyve gone and bent you over and spanked you with a money-grabbing paddle.

 

They dont care if you succeed or fail. Whereas most colleges would NEED you to succeed for their pass rates to gain funding, these guys bleed you dry and couldnt give a hoot what you did with their awful materials.

 

Anyone who wants to report them to Watchdog I say go for it. Their slogan is 'For a brighter Future'. LIKE HELL!!!

[saff104]

I take admission in Home learning college in Feb. 2010.

By the end of March I lost my job and start having the financial problems.

I ring home learning college and speak to guy name Henry

I ask him to cancel my enrolment,

but I was told that is not possible and the reason is I sign the contract and I am bound by the law even if I cancel it

I have pay the full amount of the course otherwise as an defaulter they put that into my credit history .

My Account went into arrears and I ask them to reduce the payment so can I afford it,

they did reduce it and now without any attending any lecture or submitting any assignment or any form of help from the college

I am still paying the fee and they still asking me more.

 

I stop paying fee this month, now I start receiving mail and phone calls from Clarity Credit Management Solutions Limited.

I am really depressed now.

Regards

Saff

[dx100uk]

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