Be careful out there....

[UKPPL]

Hi,

Just been told by the liquidators of Four Forces aviation that I am unlikely to get a penny of the £2495 I paid out to 4 forces for a distance learning CPL course.

To say I'm p%&$&%d off is an understatement.

To have an industry where the 'official' 'approved' training providers can run their businesses in such a gash, unproffessional way is a joke... where's the regulation?

Guess the moral of the story is don't pay all at once for any training etc.

Anyway, thats the end to my ideas of getting a CPL and an FI. I had dreamed of getting a part time job as an FI, helping a local club to teach people to fly (put something back into flying etc, etc). Sod it, I'm going to spend the money on aeros.

Sod the CAA!

[A and C]

For about the forteenth time i will say PAY FOR YOUR TRAINING WITH A CREDIT CARD.

I,m very sorry that you have lossed you money but the answer to this problem has been posted on this forum by myself and a number of others so just to make sure that all you wannabes get this clear.

PAY FOR YOUR TRAINING WITH A CREDIT CARD.

PS try ATA at coventry they seem very stable having been going for ten years or more and i have yet to hear a bad word about them.

[HomerSimpson]

For any company to obtain JAR approvals for training courses they have to satisfy the CAA that they are financially secure.

If the information can be found that they were either trading insolvent or falsified these records then you can sue the directors of the company personally (although this is very hard to prove).

Sorry to hear of another aviation horry story, best of luck for the future.

Homer

[EGDR]

The only word in groundschools - BRITSOL GS

[QUERY]

Isn't that posting the old lie, just free advertising and bad spelling?
Tut, tut, where are the PPRuNe police?

[GPS Approach]

A and C,

Not everyone has Credit Cards with a sufficient credit limit on them to pay for expensive flying training or the means to get one.

UKPPL,

You have my sympathy mate, I recently got made redundant by a company I was working for, lost out on £1500 wages, which was supposed to be going towards my CFI rating, so I know exactly how you feel. Sad thing is with limited liability in this country, people can rip others off under the umbrella of a company, go bust and then start up again the same day if they so chose and do it all again if they want to. Makes me mad. :mad:

[Atlanta]

Sorry to hear about your predicament, UKPPL,
This just may help. In the latest issue of FLYER Mag there is a news article about the demise of PPSC. In this article, it is stated that other ground schools, acting in co-operation with CAA, are stepping in to help ex PPSC students. The ground schools mentioned in this connexion are PAT, Bristol and SFT, apparently among others. I suggest you should approach some of these establishments and explain your situation. Alternatively, contact the CAA and ask them to put you in touch with one of these. It just may work. Good Luck Kid!

[A and C]

If you have a credit card with a low limit talk to the card company pay them the money up front and then use the card to pay for the training.
this is the best way to CYA ,Im not having a go at enyone on this thread but im sick of seeing young and enthusiastic people getting shafted time after time in exactly the same way.

[ 01 September 2001: Message edited by: A and C ]

[Nightflyer]

Gill Airways were heavily involved with Four Forces and were ripping off potential applicants promising them a job with Gill. Gill went bust, but have now come out of administration. Frankly I would only pay them on a limted hourly basis never being in credit more than £500...that's is if you can get away with it.

[carbheatcold]

UKPPL, Sorry to hear your unfortunate news. I do hope it all works out in your favour.

With two schools going to the wall so quickly, especially PPSC who I was always advised by others as being one of the best, I wonder whether the 'beloved' JAR system has anything to do with it. It always seemed to me to be more demanding of both students and I guess schools, may be others will know differently.
I do agree with A and C though. The costs of these courses are huge and we have all had to scrimp and scrape to pay them and make ends meet. Surely if you can pay some of the cost by credit card then at least you are going some way to insuring yourself against loss. If you pay for anything over £100 with a CC then the card company is jointly liable. It happened to me with a healthclub and while recouping my costs was a complete pain due to the credit card company reluctance to accept the contract, eventually I beat them and got the two years I lost back. Getting a card should be easy judging by my junk mail and maybe will provide some security.