Anyone taken a training provider to court?

interesting question!

I haven't taken a Training Provider to Court, but I am a Training Provider, and I do take people to Court occasionally (for non-payment of fees), and I do some Expert Witness medico-legal work too, so I know how these things work.

Irrespective of the Course or Course Topic, if a Training Provider promised one thing and delivered another (goes on all the time, as many of us are very aware of) a student would be perfectly within their rights to chase them through the Small Claims Court (called something else now I believe) for either the total fee and a decent proportion thereof.

This would sail through, and the Provider would also have to pay Court Costs (around £80 currently). This can all be done on-line.

If the case was not so clear-cut (ie - the Provider promised one thing, and kind of delivered that, but some of the training was not up to scratch and the student was not able to apply the taught information satisfactorily) they may be better pursuing that through No Win-No Fee Solicitors, but only if the training cost was substantial.

As a side-note, I wish more people would take their Providers to Court if they have been sold a dodgy Course. It would make life much easier for the legitimate Course Providers!

David:)

As a side-note, I wish more people would take their Providers to Court if they have been sold a dodgy Course. It would make life much easier for the legitimate Course Providers! David:)

Hear Hear!

I can't believe the number of courses that have sprouted up over the many years I've been in the business, that try and assure potential students that their training is 'recognised', 'insurable' but under scrutiny falls way short of the mark and is sometimes downright dangerous. Some of these courses are also horrendously expensive - sadly, however, there is usually some very small writing by way of a disclaimer, within the booking information, and they get away with it!

Had a problem Derek?

Jabba,

I've pm'd you!

I too am a training provider, and like David, have never been taken to court, however have successfully taken students to court for non-payment of fees. Not a messy business at all, if someone agrees to pay but doesnt and has no intention of, then its easy.

I have to say, as a training provider, that occasionally students have a problem but dont let the school know until after they have completed their training, in which case its usually too late to rectify, and I think if this was the case, and the student hadnt gone through the schools complaints and appeals procedure (that all good schools are required to have), then the court wouldnt look favourably on the complaint.

As a training provider I would also agree that if you dont provide what the student pays for, then you should be held to account. If you train with a school that has external stakeholders, ie recognised by external awarding bodies and professional associations, then you should in the first hand, take it up with these. If they cant/wont deal with it satisfactorily, then you have the option of going to court.

The thing about disclaimers is this, yes it can be argued that if you sign to agree to a disclaimer that you sign away your rights, but it doesnt change the fact that these disclaimers have to be within the law....and some of them arent, so they are worthless and wouldnt stand up in a court. (the same applies to therapists disclaimers too).

I get my disclaimer checked by a solicitor on a yearly basis, as laws do change, but I know some dont.

Derek, I hope you get your problem sorted without too much hassle.

As with a couple of the other posts on here, I'm also a training provider and I've never been taken to court neither has by business partner on the training side (he's been teaching a lot longer than me and was originally my trainer).

I would expect the court to look at it as any other consumer case (I've previously taken a large retailer to court and won), in that if the training company clearly hasn't provided what was promised for the fee then a full, or part (depending on the circumstances) refund would be due, or the lack of service should hopefully be put right before it even gets to court.

I agree with David that I wish more people would take the dodgy training providers to court. I've been contacted several times in the past few months by people who have completed a course elsewhere and have then been let down when it comes to the mentoring/supervised work that follows. They've ended up emailing other training schools and therapists asking for help in this but have little money left after paying for the course they've attended. This is disgraceful, when you pay for a course where you have to clock X number of hours additional practical experience between completing the course and receiving the diploma (which is common in hypnotherapy and life coaching) but then receive no help in doing so. At the end of the day, I couldn't really help them as I have my own students who have to come first, and it's a bit cheeky to expect another training provider to help you out for free when you haven't done their course!

Hello Derek

I have taken a course provider to the SCC. If you would like to discuss further, please PM me.

J

Several years ago, I wanted to take a training provider to court but at the time was too traumatized. They also threatened to sue me for libel for warning a friend off them, which added to my fears and hesitation.

I am now a training provider myself and have never been sued. I bend over backwards to please clients, within reason of course, as every happy client will bring others in due course.

Quite honestly, it cost me thousands to do the course I wanted to sue for, and had I done the other course I was considering at the time, I would have not lost so much time and money, nor would I have gone through the trauma, since I had already taken a course with the other provider and they were excellent. Thinking back, I should have sued. I hope this helps you in your decision.