Student left with huge debt and no qualification slates 24/7 Training UK
The website of distance learning college 24/7 Training UK carries an impressive endorsement from television DIY expert Tommy Walsh.
He gushes about the huge job opportunities in the home energy renewables industry for anyone with plumbing and electrical qualifications, describing the training course as the "complete package".
"If you have the motivation and will to succeed, our proven programme will deliver the skills and qualifications for either a well-paid career or enable you to start a thriving business in this essential new generation industry," he says.
That endorsement was one reason that army veteran Thomas Rose got a £7,800 loan to pay 24/7 Training UK for its home energy renewables and plumbing course.
But he became quickly disillusioned, describing the course text books as having “no accreditation or author – they looked as if they were just downloaded off any website.”
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Then he discovered that the Tommy Walsh video had been made for a different college, Engineering Real Results, or ERR Limited.
Tommy Walsh video embedded in the 24/7 Training UK website“By the time I realised this and had found swathes of negative reviews I was trapped because the cooling-off period had passed,” said Mr Rose, 33, from Leeds.
“I don’t feel that 14 days was enough time to receive everything and get to grips with the material.”
He left after completing three assignments and complained, saying that he felt that he’d been missold the course, but was refused a refund.
Now he’s been left with no qualification and paying off the loan at £180 a month to lender Caledonian Consumer Finance.
"I don't see how I'm going to stop paying or get my money back," he said.
24/7 Training UK is a trading name of Menage Pantano Limited of Hemel Hempstead, Herts.
“Our courses deliver on every level, be it theory, practical training, virtual reality training or onsite training,” said company director Jan Dvorak.
He answered Mr Rose’s criticism that the coursework was shoddy and unaccredited by saying: “Given that he had no experience in plumbing prior to purchasing the course, we believe that this statement cannot be taken seriously.”
Mr Dvorak did not directly address the claim that the Tommy Walsh video is an endorsement for a different course provider, ERR Limited, other than to say that his company outsources practical workshop lessons to ERR. He dismissed Trustpilot reviews, 69% of which have the lowest one-star rating, saying they should not be assumed to be genuine.
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Tommy Walsh did not respond to invitations to comment.
ERR said that the video was made "about unique methods, but not about specific colleges".
Last week I wrote about complaints surrounding another distance learning college, New Trades Career, that article is here.
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