For those who have kids and have either sent them to private education establishments or indeed university, these education facilities impose yearly fees which parents are required to pay in full at the beginning of the term year!
For those of you who say don't pay up front (and I totaly agree I don't think anyone should hand over 80K for a 15 month course at the beginning of that course), do you think the university or private school is going to allow your kid to start their education without the funds in place?
As I believe it has been mentioned above, most of those PTC students did not pay the whole lot in one instalment and I'm pretty sure it would have been in 4 instalments much like OAA, CTC and FTE do, are you now acussing these 4 well known and established pilot training institutions to be 'suspect' and in the same league as PTC?? I don't think so.
That is how companies work these days and yes if you don't like it take your business elsewhere, however as one poster has already stated, if he is offered a part sponsership with Flybe by attending PTC and PTC ask him for 4 instalments or even two instalments over the course of the 15 months, I think most of us would do so.
BA cadet recruits are currently training with OAA, CTC & FTE, I bet they paid whatever the training provider asked them to and if that was an all up payment they probably did so, would those of you who say don't pay in adavnce advise those indivduals to not do so?
The downfall of PTC is probably more to do with the company trying to grow too fast (you could use the word greed!) and stretching itself to the point of collapse. Just look at the number of companies set up and who knows what other avenues the company has expanded towards.
Purchasing a 737 sim and housing it in Cambridge (if they did in fact purcahse it) is not cheap and it's these sorts of things where some companies use cash meant for other avenues (pilot training) to fulfil other aquisitions (737 sim), now I'm not saying that is the case because I don't know but PTC have always tried to play with the 'big boys'; they never were in that group nor ever will!
For all those students affected, I'm sure you're already way ahead on this but your best course of action is for all of you to collectively pursue the company(s) or individual(s) through the legal process.
It's ironic really but PTC through examinership are looking to resurface with a new business plan to conduct only the IR training in Waterford! If my recollection of PTC serves me right, that is how they first started! mainly marketing those with FAA CPL/IR to train at Waterford for conversions to JAA. Even if this were a viable option for PTC now, is anyone really going to go and train with them in the future?
It is a sad state of affairs and one I hope that the students concerned are able to get some recourse from and lets not forget the staff at PTC who through no fault of their own, have overnight become unemployed in this current climate.