Warnings to wannabee pilots in the Aviation Mags
Another thread currently running demonstrates, yet again, that anyone learning to fly, should never hand over cash in advance to pay for their training, no matter how lucrative the offer may be, unless they pay by credit card or use a regulated bank loan.
In this particular instance, the sums of money lost by decent and honest people to smooth talking crooks and charletons is relatively low, but more often than that, it is in the thousands.
It happens every year, several times a year and, to be frank it makes the flying training industry look like a bunch of complete and utter amateurs, unable to regulate themselves and difficult to trust.
I don't know if its a legal requirement for the magazine to say so, but all UK based magazines, from the basic up to Flight International always carry a warning in any recruitment page that it is illegal for any agency in the UK to ask for fees up front.
So my question is this;
Why don't all the UK based magazines publish a warning at the top of each page in which any flying training organisation advertises, that customers should never pay up front for block fees unless it is by credit card or regulated bank loan.
I am sure that they could come up with a more appropriate form of words, but if it was a mandatory agreement between themselves, they'd have nothing to worry about regarding loss of advertising revenue and the flying training industry maintaining some credibility.
I know that this forum is read by many of those Editors, so I'd be interested in your responses amongst many others.