So my girlfriend decided to enroll in some sort of plumbing course, mostly home based learning with a short spell at a facility to learn some practical idea, I have no idea what drove her to do this.. But here are some facts.

 

- The course cost around £4000

- A gentlman visited my girlfriend explaining that this would be a beginners course.

- As far as im aware theres is no time limit on the course, could be wrong though.

- The company sorted out a Loan for my girlfriend so the bank paid them, and my girlfriend owes the bank. This is pretty clever when you think about it, because the company has the money and if my girlfriend refuses to pay, she is refusing the bank, not the company.

 

Here are the problems.

 

- The course is far from beginner, there are terms, words and references in the learning material that she doesnt understand because it hasnt been covered (i.e its not explained properly)

- She emailed the company explaining that she wasnt happy with the course and its not how it was discribed to her, but they just sent her a copy of the contract she signed, basically saying there isnt much you can do, we have your signature.

- She then sent another email, not sure what it said, but she still obviously isnt happy and they came back with 'we gave you a 7 day grace period in which you could cancel the course at any time'. They didn't tell her about this, apparently it was just there.

 

Possible solutions?

 

The company hasnt done anything illegal, at worst false advertising, so disputing this via the system will end up in a loss in time and money for us..

 

But can I build an opinionated website (or at least let the company know that im thinking about it) that could potentially harm future sales if we dont get some sort of reimbursement? Im not talking 100% of the money, but £4000 is a lot to lose for nothing.

 

As I say, coud I email them just saying I am a web designer, with a bit of SEO knowledge and if I push the right buttons, my website could come up when searching for the companies name, even if they decline the website could warn people?

 

Ive got a feeling im treading on legal eggshells, so if one of you guys can point out why this is a bad idea (legally), ill hang up my cape and stop trying to be a SEO superhero.

 

Thanks for the help.

Lewis.

Surely, you could go for sold under false pretenses ? I had a home learning course, and they told me it has free resits,but it didnt include them. when i went at them with false pretenses, i suddenly get free resits.

 

Fight them, and they will normally crumble, particularly if you use your rights to freedom of speech to spread the word.

 

If you threaten them witha "ill ruin you" then they will fight back harder, and if you cant prove they are doing wrong, they could sue you for libel.

 

Reaper

Appreciate the reply Reaper, so far its been the girlfriend emailing them, maybe I will have a go..

 

If I was to mention that I could set up a website, I definitley wouldnt use the words 'ruin you' HAHA! If I was that company id squish me just to make a point that I could!

 

But id be gently saying that I dont think its fair the course has been explained as 'beginner' and it quite blatently isnt, so I feel I should *warn* other people..

 

As long as I slapped 'the content of this website is purely the opinion of Lewwy' (obviously putting my name) at the top somewhere readable, it shouldnt be taken any other way.

 

Maybe the thought of them losing £4000 (or more) to my little website will urge them to give me 50% of the money back, at the end of the day, we wont be doing the course, so it will be the easiest £2000 they ever made!

 

I want to reiterate that I wont be writing any emails as if I was threatening them though.

 

Thanks again,

Lewis.