oxford aviation (cse) and refund of course fees

[capt*caveman]

hello,

can anyone help, me and a friend both signed up at the same time for oxfords distance learning ATPL ground school. we enrolled during the time NVQ discounts were arround.

Since then my friend has got a refund of his course fees, less £400 for books, but when i came to ask a refund they gave me a small amount back and kept £1750 and said it was non refundable phase 1.

please please please, can anyone offer any suggestions or share experiences in a similar situation. i want to exhaust all avenues before i get the solicitors involved.

many thanks

[Send Clowns]

You don't mention why you have requested a refund, nor why your friend did. This may be relevant. It would also be helpful if you could say what the terms were of the contract you signed with Oxford.

I say the last especially because £1750 is expensive for a full distance-learning course, let alone the non-refundable deposit on phase 1 (at that plus the little you got back you could have come to us full-time!). I used to work for a school that had a clause in the contract that if you signed up for a course, which could be zero to fATPL then you were committed. If you dropped out voluntarily (medical changes were excepted) the contract allowed them to demand 25% of the cost of the training agreed to but not undertaken. I don't know how often that clause was used (I know some were let off) but it was not one I really wanted to sign when I was a student with them, even though I was committed. Knowing what I do now I wouldn't, and prefer my current employers terms, with no ongoing commitment. Was there such a clause in your contract, as far as you are aware?

[oxford blue]

Please could I suggest that the best way to resolve this one is to write to OAT directly and not to post on pprune – this really is an inappropriate way to get it sorted. It may very well be an admin error. Mark it for the personal attention of the Managing Director, Anthony Petteford, if necessary.

I assure you that we take customer satisfaction very seriously these days, whatever may have happened in the past. The law has changed on NVQ and it may be that your friend was genuinely eligible and you were not because of some time difference or some small print.

If you have a genuine case, it will be taken seriously. Oxford does not give its customers the brush-off.

[scroggs]

I agree, your dispute is with Oxford and you should try all in your power to settle it amicably, calmly and fully directly with them before engaging in any name-calling here.

You cannot expect any serious answers to your question (either from OAT or from Pprune - or, indeed any solicitors you may engage) without full disclosure of all the relevent facts. Look carefully at the contract you signed, and if you don't understand it, get advice from a professional who does understand these things.

I'm afraid that a claim that 'Oxford ripped me off 'cos my friend got more money back than me' is not going to get you very far with anyone.

Scroggs

[capt*caveman]

hello to all that have responded to this thread.

Forgive me for not expanding on the issue in my initial post as it was just a general feeler to see if someone else may have had the same problem recently and would share on a course of action.

please allow me to expand a little further.

first, i was enrolled at the time of the NVQ discount which i did qualify for, infact i enrolled before i was fully ready to start the course to meet the 'sign up by this date and get the discount'.
this was explained to oxford at the time and the person taking my money said no problem.

I am a flight attendant for United Airlines and based here in london, not very senior with the company so the effects of 9/11 on our airline meant that still to this day my job is hanging on by a thin thread. My friend was also a flight attendant with united.

My wife also a flight attendant has been made redundant and so my career goal has been halted. i think you folks get the picture i don't need to go on.

I have written many letters some have even been sent by recorded delivery, i have been passed on from person to person, with the answer being given from the first varied to the last person i recieved a letter from.

The terms and conditions were not given to me nor did i at the time request them, (this was stupid of me) but at the time i did not think i would be needing them in the future. still to this day no one has provided those terms to me.

In short my friend and i signed up at the same schools for ground and flight training, we both qualified for NVQ. flight training has been refunded nearly in full to both of us, and my friend has recieved nearly a full refund from oxford. I have not.

* i do not mean to bad mouth a school, it is not my intention, if you are planning to go to oxford please dont let this posting stop you. my situation might be unique.

any further advice given the situation would be great

many thanks.

[Send Clowns]

Mmmmmmm, it is a difficult one, without full knowledge of sales legislation and any contract you may have signed that you seem not to have.

From what I know of them I would not expect OATS to try and cheat you - I have never heard their integrity questioned at all, and I considered them for training and am employed by a competitor, so have an ear to the ground. They have in the past had a reputation for poor admin in some areas (sorry Oxford Blue, I only mention this because it may be directly relevant, I know you have said that the problems have been accepted and addressed) so your experience may not be in line with policy, just caused by errors, so carry on trying to get a consistent answer.

They seem to have had your money for a long while (the last date to sign up for NVQ tax relief was June 1999, the last date to pay for training was April 2000 was it not?). Has all of your paperwork been traced correctly? Nothing lost? Have you now asked for a copy of the contract you signed? Do so if not, and take it to the citizens' advice bureau.