Another SKILLSTRAIN Victim...please help

[Guest sharonsmith]

I have enrolled onto a skills train accounting course. I had to guy come round and d the interview, and give me an aptitude test, which i got 100% on and he told me id be exellent on the course. I was told all this stuff, that i would be a fully qualified accountant at the end of it and be able to use letters after my name. I was told that it would cost £17 a month. When all the money started being taken out of my bank, they were taking £75 a month. This amount they were taking i was unable to afford as i was on benefits at the time. Due to this i strarted getting into debt. I tlelphoned them saying that my partner had left me and i was struggling to pay for this and bring up 2 kids. They said it wasnt their problem and that i had signed the agreement so there was nothing i could do other than pay it.

 

Well i am now using CCCS to help me pay my debts, so they now recieve £5 a month along with all my other debts. But now ive finished my first folder of work, they will not send me my next folder until i am up to date with all my payments. So now im never going to get anymore work, as i am so far behind with my payments, and its costing me so much money.

 

I wish id never been misled about this course as now i know i could have done a proper course, with a proper qualification for free as i was on benefits at the time. This course is gonna end up costing me £2000, but im not sure whether to just stop doing it, but then ive still got to pay for it, or to just wait and carry on when they send me my next lot of work.

 

Im so confused and very upset at the man that came round to sell me the course. I though i was finally getting a qwualification behind me

[Guest sharonsmith]

another thing i want to mention is...i havent been able to get any finance for a long time now...so how did they manage to do this (LOAN) for this course????? Its ok for them to put things through when they want to, but when we want to we cant get anything!!

[PGH7447]

Have you got any paperwork that detailed the course fees and the amount per month you agreed to pay?

[Guest sharonsmith]

i have but its in scribbled writing, and where ive been given a carbon copy of it, its very faint and you cant really read what it says.

[PGH7447]

OK, this is going to cost £10 send skills train a SAR to obtain all the correspondence that was either provided at the time you took this out, this is to inlcude the notes from the guys visit.

 

In the mean time send whoever is hasseling you for this money an account in dispute letter, along the lines of

 

This account is in dispute for the following reasons

. It was mis-sold to the the following conditions.

 

being on benefits the skillstrain person should have pointed out that you could have had a similar course for free.

the guys mis-quoted you on your payment scheme

skilltrain have failed to deliver the second course syslabus

 

send the sar by recorded letter, they then have 40 days to provide you with the info.

 

The sar can be found in the templates section

[Guest sharonsmith]

they said they are not sending me my next folder until my payments are back up to date. but i said im on benefits and want to do this course so that i can get a better job and provide for my family, then i can afford to pay the course. But they wont help. clydesdale have passed my account onto a debt collections agency who i now pay the £5 a month to through my CCCS payment plan.

[Spiceskull]

From your other post:

I then found out they were taking £75 a month out of my bank, even though i was told £17

Check your SkillsTrain contract (if you still have it to hand) - it would have had something like:

 

Total Cost: £xxx

Payment Term: xx Months

Interest: 0%

Cost Per Month: £xx

 

Before deciding anything else it is important to know and understand what you have actually signed for with SkillsTrain. If the contract said £17/month, and they have been debiting £75/month, then clearly this is a contractual breach.

 

Bear in mind that there was likely to be an initial setting up fee/deposit of £75. What you are interested are the ongoing monthly payments to SkillsTrain...

 

Regarding the mis-selling, I broadly agree with PHG. Another thing to bear in mind is that the SkillsTrain agent would have 'implied' that he/she was running a credit check on you. From your post it is clear you would have failed the check, so another element of mis-selling, and one that is worth also getting a copy of your credit file to check.

Edited August 20, 2008 by Spiceskull

[Guest sharonsmith]

but they never told me they was going to do a credit check. because i had tried getting a couple of different things on credit around that time, but couldnt get anything. If they had said they were doing a credit check, i would have said i wont pass it. but they never mentioned anything about it....but i bet they are putting even more bad marks on my credit file as im only paying the £5 a month!!!

[paul_a_uk]

How did you get on ?

 

I signed up and due to my poor credit rating my wife completed the payment agreement - is that also miss selling I wonder.

 

Paul

[citizenB]

This thread is now in "Training & Apprenticeships" forum

 

It is purely an administrative move.