anotheradam, your attempt to justify this behaviour is outrageous. As mentioned earlier, refusal to issue a reciept is illegal.
The arguement that we will all pay more now is wrong too. It is not a case of the cost of a 170A now going up to cover the tax man. At reputable schools, it is included in the price and they happily advertise that.
I would guess that there is no mention of the requirent of a brown envelope with £100 in it just to complete the course in this particular FTO's glossy brochure. And, as the students are all (by definition) at the end of their course, they have no option but to pay.
Is it your business?
If I'm being asked to stump up a load of cash, with no recipt, for somthing that I thought was included in the price, then yes. It bloody well is.
The 'extra hours' thing is also an age old con. This IS done through the books though, so there's nowt you can do.
EK