Train 4 Trade Skills

[fuzzy]

defo the fault of the salesman, clear description of miselling. yes the peson signing up should take some responsibility but salesman prey on the willing, those who have a need to be excited by something. they work on that and convince the reciever they are doing the right thing. push for a signature at that time as the plce will go or something, just same technique you get from door to door double glazing.

4 days later the penny drops youve been hoodwinked, happened to many in the past. if it wasnt an effective system, salesman wouldnt use it would they

 

[paul.glazebrook]

Hello there,

Perhaps foolishly I parted with £100 yesterday for the C&G 6189 NVQ Diploma Levels 2 and 3 obviously I had to take out the 0% 42 month £135pm loan which is going to stretch me but I want to know have I just made a very big mistake or a very wise move for my future? They have advised me if I need to be put in a work related role they will handle that for me at no extra cost which I did have the brains to ask about as I know you need to be in a job or on job placement to acquire the relevant portfolio. So I ask you, have I made a big mistake or a great decision for my future? I dont have a clue yet. After reading many articles about T4TS being a con it is worrying and with my 7 day cooling off period, any advice would be very welcome.

Cheers! 🙂 Forgot to put the number in lol.

 

[fuzzy]

you need to work in the industry to get those quals, are you assured a job by them? do u have it in writing?

 

[paul.glazebrook]

No fuzzy I dont which is whats worrying me, they may be promising me things they cant commit to and leaving me out in the cold and unemployable. It's a dilemma, I know we have the week long practicals after each group of modules when we go to the centre and from what the guy said to me thats when we get certain parts signed off. Not sure if thats possible but its what I have been led to believe.

 

[fuzzy]

the only quals recognised are those you get assessed for on site. the others are just part quals, may be ok but realise they r not full quals, go to a college

 

[msec]

defo the fault of the salesman, clear description of miselling. yes the peson signing up should take some responsibility but salesman prey on the willing, those who have a need to be excited by something. they work on that and convince the reciever they are doing the right thing. push for a signature at that time as the plce will go or something, just same technique you get from door to door double glazing.

4 days later the penny drops youve been hoodwinked, happened to many in the past. if it wasnt an effective system, salesman wouldnt use it would they

I understand what you are saying Fuzzy, I'm not defending the salesman, but where does responsibility stop and start? If the salesman has blantantly lied then of course it is misselling and misleading and I would then understand if people feel aggreived. However, I really don't understand how people can complain about the 'hard sell' or selling techniques, these are pre booked appointments, they havn't just knocked on the door so there is clear premeditation on the customers part. Plenty of time then to do some proper research and find out the quals you need to do what you want. In this day I'm amazed people can still claim to have been a victim of a salesman. We all know that they work on commision so of course they are going to try the hard sell. It is their job and living and as long as they don't lie or intimidate I don't see anything wrong with it. We are not talking about coldcallers forcing the elderly into buying double glazing here, these are prebooked appointments requested by a person seeking a career change. We all have the free will to say no if we wish as many do when I'm out quoting!

 

[fuzzy]

If they title theirselves as "career advisors" the receiever is under the impression the advisor is there for their benefit, not the companies, this places a whole different emphasis on their guidance and advice. Why would you do extra homework when you have a dedicated careers advisor coming persoannly to your home, they are the 'homework'.

They often prey on peoples vunrability, people who are struggling to make a living always went to hear of potential earnings and consider working hard as a means to an end, only to find the reality a little different than percieved.

i always like to point out the facts, im independant. If people know the facts and the course is right for them then fine, im happy for them. All too often people come on here with a different story though, if its the be all and end all that its sold as, there wouldnt be that many would there?

 

[msec]

If they title theirselves as "career advisors" the receiever is under the impression the advisor is there for their benefit, not the companies, this places a whole different emphasis on their guidance and advice. Why would you do extra homework when you have a dedicated careers advisor coming persoannly to your home, they are the 'homework'.

So you are saying that rather than doing your own research you should simply take the advice of someone you've never met before asking you for £5k?? Every salesman, wether they are selling plumbing courses, cars or dishclothes is going to tell its the right thing to do. Do you not sell yourself when quoting for work? Don't you try and be smart and friendly? Do you not emphasise to the customer the virtues of employing you rather than another plumber? If you got a job to fit a bathroom and then a couple of days later the customer realised they can't afford it and start calling you a pushy salesman would you not take offence? All the costs of the course are explained in the appointment, in black and white. If its a monthly figure you can't afford, then say 'I can't afford it' if they then get pushy then of course there is an issue but I don't think that is what has happened with the majority of complainers in this thread.

They often prey on peoples vunrability, people who are struggling to make a living always went to hear of potential earnings and consider working hard as a means to an end, only to find the reality a little different than percieved.
[/QUOTE

If you are a person struggling to make a living, then why would you sign up to £135 a month? Why do salesmen sell brand new cars on finance to people who don't have a penny in the bank? Mainly because these people have the same attitude towards money as they do everything else. They hear the 40 - 50k figures flying around and see pound signs. How is that different from the greed of the salesman? I have been a sparky for 12 years but didn't get into it until I was nearly 20, I left home at 16 lived in a hostel and spent long periods homeless and unemployed between 16 - 19. I understand the true meaning of the word skint, so I have every sympathy for genuinely vulnerable people. My belief is that the problem here is people who previously thought plumbing was manual labour carried out by hairy arsed gorillas have now realised that their media and philosophy degrees are not going to get them very far (not a slur on further education, just certain people in it) they are also required to work. So now they want a trade but don't want to bother with the 4-5 year hassle we had to go through. I find it personally insulting. Let me reiterate that I am not defending the salesmen, in my opinion the vast majority, whatever they are selling, are flash, full of carp, idiots with low morals at best. However the majority of complainers on this thread give the immpression that they are exactly the same, they just don't have the sales job to go with it. I am not tarring everyone with this brush, we all make mistakes, but some of the comments made, with no foundation or substance, regarding the course indicate to me that these people have no idea of life or how the world works. Look through the complaints on this thread, there aren't many complaints with genuine substance just a lot of hot air and sensationalism. The problem is that immediatly people jump on the 'salesman - conmen' bandwagon without looking at the facts, much the same as every tradesman gets labelled a cowboy as soon as there is a problem regardless of the issue.

 

[truemanufan]

At the end of the day salesmen didn't force anybody to pay deposit and sign up! If u have all ur marbles there's no reason why u would be thinking about cancelling a course as soon as u have started!

 

[Amine1]

Hi I don't no if I have done the right thing after signing up for a plumbing course with trade skills home learning based in Luton, I have found this forum and their are so many negative comments I'm worried now please help

 

[msec]

Hi Amine1,

What background do you have and what are your intentions for the future? Do you wish to run your own business etc?

 

[Jon03]

I understand you have had a good experiance with T4TS but we are not all idiots and some of us have been lied to and mislead.
My husband was told it was a course tutor that was coming to see him and was told in great length about a course they offered for people who wanted to go into house renovation which is what my husband wanted to do which meant at the end of the course you had a plumbing, electric and gas safe qualification and this course apparently doesn't even exist yet T4TS won't cancel his course and he is lumbered with a plumbing only course he doesn't want to do.
The man who came even took his story as far as to say his son had finshed this same course last year (complete pack of lies)
So as you see some of the people on here are not stupid and have just plain been lied to and conned!!!!!

 

[msec]

Hi Jon 03,

What quals did the salesman say your husband was going to get? What course is he on/paying for? I must say that if a salesman told me that his son had done the course that would ring bells immediatly. Please don't take my comments personally, they are not aimed at everyone, If a salesman has blantantly lied then that is another issue.

I must also say that I have only completed the first 4 modules so I've barely started yet, I am not commending t4ts I am simply reserving judgement until they have done something wrong which they havn't so far.

 

[Weegie]

Wonder why such a "reputable" company would have logos on their paperwork(constuction skills,bpec,e-skills etc) when they have no permission to do it. Also funny that the loan to pay the course comes from a company in the same street who appear to have board members that are on both companies,just saying like...

 

[Amine1]

Hi Msec I would like to be in the plumbing trade probably employed, not looking to much into them I applied and they give me all the crap about doing a favour for me and I might not get accepted you know, but pulled out bow he is meeting me Thursday to return my deposit but it's hard to know which path to take to get into the trade I have an interview soon at a local college

 

[msec]

Hi Msec I would like to be in the plumbing trade probably employed, not looking to much into them I applied and they give me all the crap about doing a favour for me and I might not get accepted you know, but pulled out bow he is meeting me Thursday to return my deposit but it's hard to know which path to take to get into the trade I have an interview soon at a local college

Hi, my advice would be that if you are looking for employment then I would definatly go to college. I would say T4TS is much more targeted to people wanting to set up themselves (several of the modules are on business, accounts, marketing etc.), unfortunatly a salesman on commision isn't always going to make that clear! Thats not to say that there is anything wrong with the course, I am currently doing the plumbing course and enjoying it, however I am currently a self emloyed electrician so I am doing this to expand my business. I will never have to apply for a job as a plumber so the quals are not really the issue.

Obviously, personal circumstances may dictate that college is not an option, plus at some point you are going to have to find a placement. Unfortunatly, this really is the only way of becoming an industry recognised qualified plumber. There really is no 'fasttrack' into any skilled trade. If you can afford to do it I would get the details of as many plumbers/firms as you can and send in your CV, maybe trying to get on as a trainee. Follow that up with a call a few days later and see what feedback you get. If nothing, then maybe working for free occasionally around other work to get some experience. Hope this helps, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[msec]

Wonder why such a "reputable" company would have logos on their paperwork(constuction skills,bpec,e-skills etc) when they have no permission to do it.

Hi, where did you get this info from? These logos don't appear on the paperwork I have, they are also not on the website though obvioulsy they may have been before.

Also funny that the loan to pay the course comes from a company in the same street who appear to have board members that are on both companies,just saying like...

This is a very very common business practice, carried out by most large companies that organise finance. Usually a bank subsidary is involved somewhere, in this case I believe it is Barclays. Me and the wife sold our car last year to webuyanycar.com. Their office was INSIDE Carcraft. Were we under any illusions that they are 2 different companies? No, our car wil have gone straight from webuyanycar.com onto the Carcraft forecourt to be sold, on finance, for a large profit. When we bought our house the mortgage brokers office was inside the estate agents, I don't think there is anything underhand in it really.

 

[Jamie88]

I've joined the course in December with false information, he said I would be qualified within 9 months and go away for just two weeks for the assessment cause most of the training is done through 3D scenario. In march I found out that's it's 13 weeks away and the accommodation is not all payed for. I now have a daughter which will make it hard for me to afford to take time of work, Its also affecting me to get a mortgage with my partner, I've asked them if I can cancel the course cause I'm not that far Into it and they refuse without care of my situation, being so stupid to sign up for this is the biggest mistake of my life so far and I hope

 

[Jon03]

I can really sympathise, they don't give a monkeys about peoples personal circumstances. I hadn't even started course and they wouldn't cancel Train for Trade Skills are just in it for the money they don't care about the people!!!!

 

[fuzzy]

sorry to hear that jamie