Advent Computer Training (Barclays Partner Finance)Info and discussion thread

[sparkylad]

Hi everyone i signed up to Advent on December 18th 2009 and paid £5950 for a MCSE course and have so far received just the standard book that these people send you. I did my own research before joining to prove this company was ligitimate. I have hardly spoken to these people and was just reading my book and taking all of this information in and waiting until 1st February for my first module when i heard about their sudden crash and insolvency.

Hmmmm sudden crash and insolvency.....I dont think so.

They knew there was a problem back in December and they did not pre warn anyone and kept this very quiet.

They kept signing people up as if all was the same yet they knew this was going to blow up. The people that worked for them new there were issues and they were talking about re-structuring the business

The director as far as i can work out is a person that uses loop holes within this industry to start a business and then fold using our own laws as a protection for him. (The guy is a low life for sure).

I noticed tonight they have issued a new statement to say THEY ARE SORRY.. Just go to their Web site to view there new message.

 

Does anyone have a picture of the Director as this would be very helpful as i would defo like to meet up with this guy and have a chat! If you do have any info or know where i can find him I AM ALL EARS

 

Checking a few things out this director Allchurch has HISTORY of starting a company and then folding so i do believe this was a personal plan from him from the start to make as much money out of innocent people as possible and then do a runner!

 

I have taken this matter up with the bank and section 75 seems to be the way forward after doing some research into this matter!

I strongly agree with what has been written so far hence ....taking money when a company knows its going to fold.

 

Thank you

Sparky:)

[Sticky1]

Just a quick question here:

 

Advent have taken (or will take) the £76.08 Direct Debit out of my bank for 1st Feb.

 

I spoke to the bank today and the woman said that I could reclaim that amount through the Direct Debit Indemnity Act.

 

I have heard from another person though that the Indemnity does not extend to loans.

 

However even if that is true, my money has gone somewhere and if it has gone to Anglo Capital/Advent then surely this is fraud?

 

Your money is being collected by FCC = First Capital Cashflow

[chmod]

Hi

 

I am in the same situation as everyone else I seem to have lost all my money £5000 and have not completed my training[MCSE]. I am one exam short of my MCSA and feel so angry that this has happen but I feel worst for the people that have just had the first book though. I would just like to ask some questions.

 

1. Why has the notice on the advent web site been removed

2. has any one spoken to anyone for advent since they had the e-mail

3. does anyone know who the insolvency partarns are or had any contact with them?

[chmod]

sorry one more thing

 

Barclays have said they will find another training provider , I am sure this just means people that had finance thought Barclays with the student loan and not every body at advent ??

[MARTIN3030]

First Capital are registered with the FSA;

 

507969 - First Capital Factors Limited

Current status: Registered (AML only) Effective Date: 29/10/2009 Tied Agent:

Undertakes Insurance Mediation:

Registered under Money Laundering Regulations: Y Address: Weaver House

Ashville Point

Clifton Lane

Sutton Weaver

Cheshire

WA7 3FW

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

Website:

+44 0844 826 6700

+44 0844 826 6701

[email protected]

[pvincent]

But my bank statements always read Anglo Capital and I have never heard of this First Capital.

 

Is it okay for me to cancel the Direct Debit taken in Anglo Capital's name and will I be able to reclaim February's Direct Debit payment to them?

[MARTIN3030]

Hi

 

I am in the same situation as everyone else I seem to have lost all my money £5000 and have not completed my training[MCSE]. I am one exam short of my MCSA and feel so angry that this has happen but I feel worst for the people that have just had the first book though. I would just like to ask some questions.

 

1. Why has the notice on the advent web site been removed

2. has any one spoken to anyone for advent since they had the e-mail

3. does anyone know who the insolvency partarns are or had any contact with them?

 

 

 

1.It was still showing earlier.Its possible that Barclays have had it taken down,given that Advent appear to have implicated them,and also stated that Barclays had retained some monies from January.

 

2.Theres no reports of anyone being able to contact Advent.

 

3.This does not look to have been announced,they are likely to be putting things in place to deal with clents before making any announcements.

[wizard21]

Sorry to the member who asked about my post and sorry if this is isn't what you asked (about to go to work AGAIN) but my agreement is also with Clydesdale/BPF and it ALSO says that the CCA covers my loan. However, they are denying ANY refunds and also say that if they find alternative training we must honour the agreement as per the terms.

 

1. The "terms" are for ANS + CCNA paid for by BPF on behalf of Advent. I paid off my loan to BPF before making a payment and i paid a grand off with my CC, so will this help a claim under S75? Why should I expect an alternative when no mention of an alternative is mentioned in my Agreement?

 

2. What if i'm not happy with the alternative? Advent was 29 miles away from home. My girlfriend is 3 months pregnant and I don't want to be spending 2 nights away from home every month to sit exams... that's why i signed up for a provider within driving distance. BPF surely can't MAKE me take a course in London or Glasgow??

[benann]

you can get your money back from the bank iusing indemnity i told them whats happend and they did it immedeatly and cancelled my direct debit too because the company doesnt trade anymore so they cant legaly claim any monies also that company that collects the monies is based in cheshire isnt that funny considering that the director lives somewhere in manchester apparently

but dont stop your studying do it your self because apart from the two days which spent at advent which to be honest didnt learn much there they just give you a book which with info taken out of the microsoft book anyway you learn more yourself

i took the 70-270 with very little input from advent and scored 996 so i am going to crack on because thats what i intended to do when i was with advent complete the course i mean using technet Testout CBT nuggets and the microsoft books bought from amazon they wont stop me and i will over come because i discovered through other students who did get to talk to the staff admitted that advent didnt want you to complete the course because you still had to pay if you quite and thats where they were making there money and with the stupid mock exams that quite often had no relevance to the exam you were taking so nmow instead of the end of next year i will be an mcse this year then on to cisco but never with a training company again because enough techies out there on the net to help if you get stuck

[wizard21]

I won't stop my studying - I work in IT now and know how important having that MCSE is - you can only get so far without one! I got my job based on the fact that I would eventually be an MCSE.

 

Although I do think that some of the criticism of Advent is unfair as the trainers did seem to genuinely what us to succeed, how the hell the expect you to become ANS + CCNA in 2 years is beyond me.

 

Exams required -

 

2 x A+ exams

2 for DST

3 for MCSA

3 for MCSE

1 MCSE Security

1 MCSE Messaging

1 for ANS

1 for CCNA

 

14 exams in 24 months? The way that Advent structure the workshops works like this example

 

Jan 10 - start course, pass online exam, get first A+ book.

Feb 10 - Get invites to March worshops

March 10 - Go to March workshop, sit exam OUTSIDE of workshop, pass. Get second A+ book.

Apr 10 - Get invites for May workshop, sit exam, pass, get first DST book.

May 10 - Get invites for June workshop

Jun 10 - Attend workshop, pass exam, get 2nd DST book

Jul 10 - Get invites for August

August 10 - Worshop, exam pass, 1st MCSA book

Sep 10 - invites for Oct

Oct 10 - Workshop, exam pass, 2nd MCSA book

Nov 10 - Invites for Dec

Dec 10 - Workshop, exam pass, 3rd MCSA

Jan 11 - invites for Feb

Feb 11 - Workshop exam pass 1st MCSE

Mar 11 - Invites for Apr

Apr 11 - Workshop exam pass 2nd MCSE

May 11 - Invites for June

Jun 11 - Workshop exam pass 3rd MCSE

Jul 11 - Invites for Aug

Aug 11 - Workshop exam pass MCSE Sec

Sep 11 - Invites for Oct

Oct 11 - Workshop exam pass MCSE Mess

Nov 11 - Invites for Dec

Dec 11 - Workshops exam pass ANS

Jan 12 - Invites for Feb

Feb 12 - Workshop exam pass CCNA

Mar 12 - Invites for Apr

Apr 12 - Workshops exam pass course complete.

 

So that is 28 months to pass a course that Advent say "on average" takes 2 years to complete, and that is by dedicating your WHOLE LIFE to the course, understanding everything with virtually no Mentor help and only the workshops, assumes that you only take early month workshops in order to get the exam in before your next module workshop dates come out, don't take a holiday, use all of your annual leave at work to attend workshops, and basically full-time study a SELF-PACED learning kit...

[benann]

wizard i wasnt having a go at the tutors pete,mark,kam,tim were all great guys and i liked them but in the context of the learning we only went over what we learned in the books ourselfs just read the book that you get on the two day sessions and you will find that its mostly taken out of the microsoft books with the odd tweak of words my critisism is that delay tactics were used for exams trying to slow down i was ready for my 270 after 3months and they kept trying to delay with are you sure and would you like to come and a have a one to one session in the end i went down had the one to one but demanded my exam that day to which i was booked in took the exam and blew it out of the water because i knew my subject and was ready and to be honest it was quite an easy exam to take now i am going to take 290 in about 6 weeks because i have been studying since september for this and tried to get mock with then but they kept fobbin me off so now no more silly time wasting mocks and can crack on with real thing and then on to the next one

Edited January 31, 2010 by benann

[SajstarHero]

Now I am feeling completely insecure about any of these providers. I want to do my studies at a Manchester college. I know they got no where to run and they wont be packing bags and fleeing the country. I bet the directors are somewhere nice outside the UK, they probably are living it up with the millions, as there is no way in hell those books and a few trainer costs with the building broke them. I doubt they are gonna get caught as any sense would say leave the UK.

[benann]

No they are still in the country because the D***k heads were at the mews on thursday in a brand new range rover sports seen scuttling away without comment but they had time to completely empty out the offiecs and classrooms of equipment before anybody was told this really smacks of a setup and was planned all along

[Sticky1]

But my bank statements always read Anglo Capital and I have never heard of this First Capital.

 

Is it okay for me to cancel the Direct Debit taken in Anglo Capital's name and will I be able to reclaim February's Direct Debit payment to them?

 

On my statment it says ANGLO but the payment details on mine say FCC: re Anglo Capital. It also says this on my Advent Paperwork.

[benann]

ffc just collect the monies on behalf of Anglo Capital but with Anglo Capital gone in to insolvancy they are not by law allowed to collect monie for a company that is no longer trading so they can jump and shout all they want but legally the contract is null and void its the Barclays customers i really feel sorry for because they have no intention of finding different trainers its just a tactic to avoid been sued under section 75 of the consumers act but ive lost £3000 quid so far so they can swivel and see them in court cant wait because i will counter sue the directors

[Sticky1]

I think I found a solicitor who specialises in this sort of thing. I have sent them an email and I will Just wait and see what they say.

[pet431]

I would like to thank to all the staff at Advent who gave their best and hope you guys will find another job soon. Mark, I always enjoyed your workshops. Good luck

[benann]

a second that too because i believe they were kept in the dark too by the crooks but dont worry they will get theres when the authorities get em isnt that right Ashley Jones i dont care if there named because we are not getting our money back so only thing we can do is to make sure the world know these **** and try to prevent them from having other training companys

[Sticky1]

There is a phone number for a John J Whitehead in the phone book at the same address as John Richard Whitehead a Director

[danicu]

Hi there,

Did anyone spoke with Barclays Partner Finance? And if you did, what did they say? I have my loan with them and nobody contacted me yet. I am getting worried:( (sorry if the answer is on the forum already, but I didn't see it :o )

[pvincent]

Just one more bit of evidence.

 

Advent (Directors) claimed to know nothing of the company's financial situation until mid January.

 

Yet for some reason they changed the name of all their companies on 7th December 2009. Which suggests that they knew at least as far back as then what was going to happen and maybe even planned it.

[rbarnes]

Hi there,

Did anyone spoke with Barclays Partner Finance? And if you did, what did they say? I have my loan with them and nobody contacted me yet. I am getting worried:( (sorry if the answer is on the forum already, but I didn't see it :o )

 

Danicu - I too have finance with Barclays Partner Finance (originally Clydesdale) I'm going to contact Barclays next week and see what they have to say and where this is all going. So I have seen throughout the posts on this forum Barclays are drafting up a letter to send out to all those who went with Barclays when they signed up.

 

If you haven't done so already join the the facebook group....

Advent training Scammed Us - we want our Money Back!

 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=275300983566&ref=ts

 

Here you will be able to keep up to date with any news.

 

If I hear anything from Barclays Partner Finance I will let you know.

 

[email protected]

 

RB

[danicu]

thanks russ!

they say on the forum that Barclays is looking for a new provider. what do you think about that? because I am not very keen on going on with the course any more after all this story

[benann]

they are trying to clearly get around clause 75 of the consumer act which has as they know full well been breached and also its a stalling tactic to keep receiving payments they are not entitled too

[Rage84]

I won't stop my studying - I work in IT now and know how important having that MCSE is - you can only get so far without one! I got my job based on the fact that I would eventually be an MCSE.

 

Although I do think that some of the criticism of Advent is unfair as the trainers did seem to genuinely what us to succeed, how the hell the expect you to become ANS + CCNA in 2 years is beyond me.

 

Exams required -

 

2 x A+ exams

2 for DST

3 for MCSA

3 for MCSE

1 MCSE Security

1 MCSE Messaging

1 for ANS

1 for CCNA

 

14 exams in 24 months? The way that Advent structure the workshops works like this example

 

Jan 10 - start course, pass online exam, get first A+ book.

Feb 10 - Get invites to March worshops

March 10 - Go to March workshop, sit exam OUTSIDE of workshop, pass. Get second A+ book.

Apr 10 - Get invites for May workshop, sit exam, pass, get first DST book.

May 10 - Get invites for June workshop

Jun 10 - Attend workshop, pass exam, get 2nd DST book

Jul 10 - Get invites for August

August 10 - Worshop, exam pass, 1st MCSA book

Sep 10 - invites for Oct

Oct 10 - Workshop, exam pass, 2nd MCSA book

Nov 10 - Invites for Dec

Dec 10 - Workshop, exam pass, 3rd MCSA

Jan 11 - invites for Feb

Feb 11 - Workshop exam pass 1st MCSE

Mar 11 - Invites for Apr

Apr 11 - Workshop exam pass 2nd MCSE

May 11 - Invites for June

Jun 11 - Workshop exam pass 3rd MCSE

Jul 11 - Invites for Aug

Aug 11 - Workshop exam pass MCSE Sec

Sep 11 - Invites for Oct

Oct 11 - Workshop exam pass MCSE Mess

Nov 11 - Invites for Dec

Dec 11 - Workshops exam pass ANS

Jan 12 - Invites for Feb

Feb 12 - Workshop exam pass CCNA

Mar 12 - Invites for Apr

Apr 12 - Workshops exam pass course complete.

 

So that is 28 months to pass a course that Advent say "on average" takes 2 years to complete, and that is by dedicating your WHOLE LIFE to the course, understanding everything with virtually no Mentor help and only the workshops, assumes that you only take early month workshops in order to get the exam in before your next module workshop dates come out, don't take a holiday, use all of your annual leave at work to attend workshops, and basically full-time study a SELF-PACED learning kit...

 

They Only ever offered me one workshop in 14 Months Mate and every time i asked why, i would get told that there was a problem or that they had been cancelled and that i was too late to book one when i rang.