Don't let this put you off South Africa
I just hope that a lot of prospective students read this public airing of dirty linen and then decide SA isn't the place for them. Its the nature of the world that these kind of disputes will occur in life and what saddens me at the end of the day is that the only winner is usually some shark of lawyer.
SA on the whole is a great place to learn to fly, the people are generally friendly and professional. CFS has been in business for years and you simply don't survive for years (as a private company) by shafting your clients. In Sandy's case may be CFS didn't quite perform to par but lets not tar flight training in SA with a negative brush.
I think George is on the whole a pretty decent environment to learn to fly. The town itself is dead if it's a party atmosphere you're looking for, but you've got Knysna and Plett to make up for it. It's not as windy as PE or as congested as CT. I'll admit that George has it's own weather (which has seen me spend a few unplanned nights in Oudtshoorn) but apart from that it's a decent place to learn to fly.