Confused
ROB - sorry to hear of your bad experiences with OFT but this is about OBA- a completely different FTO although they are both in Florida.
There is obviously a risk in going anywhere but OBA have been around and under the same ownership for (15? 20?) years. They were the originators of the genuine guaranteed price (not the usual training course 'estimate' rip-off common in UK and USA) and, although every system has snags, OBA must have trained thousands at a lower cost than available anywhere else.
I am confident that if anyone wanted to pay-as-you-go, the proprietor would happy to quote and take your money but it would obviously cost you a lot more in total than their package price- the factor is 'commitment'. If you go to Old Farts Flying Club or commercial FTO's in UK and just pay for one lesson, you and they have no commitment so you might find you won't be getting another, or any, lesson when you want it. You will probably discover, also, that your 'course' has lots of nasty financial surprises because it isn't actually a package and they won't let you pass until you've paid them enough. The current OBA PPL package price (£3995) is well under £100 an hour and includes lots of 'extras', e.g. exams, night rating etc. which most FTO's will stuff you for. Also and it is unusual, OBA do not require any deposit (they TRUST you to turn-up) and advertise NO FUEL SURCHARGE (another current rip-off at some FTO's).
For anyone quitting any package, you're fortunate to get any sort of refund. Don't moan because it's you, not them, demonstrating a lack of commitment. Just try quitting a package holiday half-way through and asking for a refund ! BTW You could/should get travel insurance to cover genuine reasons for curtailment such as illness, death of relative etc.
Not my business but I am sure if anyone has genuinely relevant hours and asked OBA for a quote you would get a discount from normal package price.