Up Front
Just about to buy a new (fitted) kitchen from a plc and, guess what?, they want all the money up front- months before the fitting date.
Booked a holiday and had to pay weeks before we are due to go.
As others have pointed out, you could pay-as-you-go but because you are not on a package you wouldn't get the package price. Seems fair enough- you cannot expect to have it both ways. Also, you didn't have to pay anything before you arrived there so they were booking your time, instructor, accommodation etc. with no deposit or other security if you didn't turn up.
Sadly, there are customers who are crooks, dreamers, liars, simpletons, tossers etc. and some are wannabes (see examples on this forum) so it shouldn't surprise anyone that FTO's offering an incredibly cheap deal will protect themselves against damage, drop-outs, fraud, theft etc.