First i will like to address the issue of OFT quoting less than what you will eventually pay for.Being an ex OFTstudent, i think the problem has to do with communication.OFT gives you a quote for only the minimums required and i believe if you are able to complete within the required minimums, you should be fine.However, this is not realistic because of two reasons.One has to do with not flying for some days as a result of weather,mtx issues,or instructor unavailablity.As a result, you incur more money on accomodation and other incidentals.The second reason has to do with your ability to learn fast and the kind of instructor you have.You might be lucky to have a good instructor and you are not been able to fly well at the beginning,not soloing till maybe after 25 hours,or failing your checkride,etc.As result, it it might take you more than 50hours to get your ppl.You might also be unlucky to have a bad instructor whose only interest is to get hours from you and will rather sign you off at a late stage after getting many hours from you and teaching nonsense to you.(that i was a victim of)
However, above is what you can find in any flight school around.
What we normally did at that time was to request for our account printout on daily basis.I recall that on several occassions when something was wrong,Jessica Roldan will always refund the money back.And in most cases,it was as a result of the despatchers making a wrong posting into your account.
When i decided to leave OFT to another school, i had like 5,000USD in my account but Jessica was able to send my check to me on my time.
On the issue of safety, aircraft availability, guys you get what you pay for.If you desire something cheap or want to cut costs, it always gets back to you.You get what you pay for.And as Chris Squire suggested, he will ensure he does his preflight very well, which is key to your survival.
And i think the ladies working at OFT are wonderful people and will always make you smile..I rest my case, but please i am not pro-oft.I have just stated the facts as they are.