Mature study and retraining
Has anyone used LearnDirect and had issues?
Bizziee · 11/11/2021 14:25
Really hoping for some help on this.
I hesitantly signed up with LearnDirect to study a Veterinary course but with the promise that if I didn't like the course or wanted to quit I could cancel at anytime. I signed up this year in July but never even got around to looking at the course till late September and hated it. I found it really difficult and didn't feel it was for me so I set about trying to cancel the course as previously promised.
I had trouble getting through to customer services and nobody seemed to respond to my emails so I just went ahead and cancelled my direct debit via my bank after getting fed up. Then I started getting threats that I hadn't paid bla bla so I called their debt collection and surprise surprise, I got through straight away and was referred back to customer service. I'm now being told that I absolutely cannot cancel the course because I didn't do it within the 14 day cooling off period which I was not aware of. I've tried to explain this to them but they're not having none of it and want me to pay off the full £1000 for the course whether I want to do it or not. What the hell do I do?? I've never even been sent their terms and conditions and I'm fuming that I was told I could cancel whenever I wanted, I wouldn't have signed up otherwise!!!
It's really causing me a lot of stress now and is going to ruin my credit rating if I don't pay. Can anyone offer me any advice on what I can do?
Thanks
EdmontinaDancesWithOphelia · 11/11/2021 17:41
Where did you learn that you could ‘cancel at any time’? Can you point out these words on the relevant section of the website?
LearnDirect’s Terms & Conditions are accessible at the bottom of the screen. They do very clearly state, at Point 11, that there is a fourteen day period allowed for cancellation. T&C for online businesses are generally conveyed in exactly this manner, so I’m not sure how persuasive it would be to argue that you didn’t see them - unless you have some specific difficulty in accessing or comprehending online material?
They also say:
Outside the standard Terms and Conditions cancellations may be considered on a case by case situation. In this case a cancellation fee equating to 50% of the remaining course balance will be charged. This fee will be requested as a one-off payment to settle the account.
Is this the route you attempted - did you ask for a 50% reduction?
Without wading into any legal debate, have you tried approaching LearnDirect through Twitter? It can sometimes effect a rapid change of mind.
Bizziee · 11/11/2021 20:51
I didn't ask for a reduction but they did offer me a 50% reduction. I'm just miffed at having to pay anything at all. I honestly didn't log on to my account for over 2 months because I've been moving and dealing with other more important matters first and to be frank, I never read it because the person who sold me the course online literally told me I could cancel anytime 
I feel stupid now because I clearly should have checked. They have some pretty bad reviews though so I'm not the only one who feels scammed.
I don't use twitter but if it'll help me then I may just use it for this.
Lei261 · 21/07/2022 18:26
HI Bizziee. What has been outcome of your issue now? I have been in a similar situation where i called in the next day to cancel it. However, they are saying you cant cancel it as you accessed the course. What the point in a 14 days cancellation policy. Worst company ever and customer service.
Bizziee · 21/07/2022 19:51
Hi Lei261
No they are still chasing me for money ☹️ Nearly £2000 now I just don't have that kind of money. I've sent letters and not had a response
Lei261 · 21/07/2022 21:41
is £2,000 for the whole course? You need to tell them that you are not going to pay them anything. Ignore the threats they cant do anything. Sooner or later they will stop
Bizziee · 22/07/2022 07:20
No it was a £1000 course. They have been adding fees because I've not been paying and it's now had a massive impact on my credit rating. Really don't think they're just going to give up and go away.
MagneticRubberDucks · 22/07/2022 07:36
@Bizziee
when you spoke to the person who sold you the course, the one who told you that you could cancel at any time, how did you speak to them?
on the phone, email, etc?
Do you have a record of being told you could cancel any time?
Honestly though at this point it’s been so long you are going to have a tough time proving it was missold.
Your best bet might be to negotiate with them, ask learn direct to take the debt back and offer to pay the £1000.
You can ask to set up a payment plan and tell them that otherwise you won’t be able to pay anything and they will have to take you to court and get a ccj against you, which you’ll likely only be able to pay £5 a month, so they might be better off taking your offer.
You really should have dealt with this a year ago,
your mistake was waiting two months to even look at the course after signing up,
why did you not wait to sign up if you were so busy?
Because it’s been so long I think the time to fight it has passed, your only option now is how long you want it to negatively affect your credit for.
If you come to an arrangement to pay it it’ll only be 5 years, if you continue to ignore it the money will keep going up and it could be on your credit file for 11 years.
Lei261 · 22/07/2022 08:34
have you seen it affect your credit rating? Or they just saying it.
Bizziee · 22/07/2022 09:07
At the time I had been looking at courses and of course, you then start getting spam and calls. This one sales person called me one evening and explained how the course worked, how much it was ya de ya de ya. I kept telling him I didn't think I could afford the monthly fees or had the time to study but he kept reassuring me that I could cancel at ANY TIME and study in my own time. So, I caved and signed up. That's how I was pulled in.
I did after a few weeks try to reach customer service because I really couldn't afford the monthly fees but I could never get through to anyone and no one would respond to any of my emails or messages through the study app. Of course, even more time passed when I tried again with the same result. So I decided if I can't cancel then I'll give the course a go. 40 minutes in to starting it I realised I absolutely hated it and tried yet again to cancel. It wasn't until I stopped direct debit with my bank that they finally got in touch with me. By this point they were telling me that I couldn't cancel and wouldn't pull up the phone records so I could prove that I was misinformed.
They did drop the fees to half the price but I still couldn't afford the monthly fees and was quite angry by this point so starting burying my head in the sand and ignoring it. Bad idea I know but I was already struggling just to put food on my table and pay my bills.
I've wrote emails, letters and tried to explain what has happened but they don't care and I get the same response in emails and no reply from my letters.
I know it's affected my credit rating because I check it all the time after my ex took out two credit cards without my knowledge in my name.
I was a single mum at the time just trying to find a way to give myself and my son a better life and now I'm stuck with a course I don't want to do or pay for.
Lei261 · 22/07/2022 10:40
Maybe your credit check affected by ex taking out credit cards on your name. It can not affect your credit rating as you never took out a loan, it just a payment plan. They just trying to scare you and get money off you.
Bizziee · 22/07/2022 13:01
No my credit rating was fine after the credit cards because as soon as I found out what was going on I got it all sorted out and went back to green. Now I'm in the red and it's because of this learn direct course
MagneticRubberDucks · 22/07/2022 13:59
Do you have a copy of the emails you sent to them a few weeks after signing up?
did you specifically say that you wanted to cancel?
they could be essential to your case.
Bizziee · 22/07/2022 15:15
Yes I think so but because they were outside the 14 day cancellation period as they put it, it doesn't matter. They don't care that I was told over the phone I could cancel any time
Lei261 · 22/07/2022 17:23
they wont allow me to cancel the course saying i accessed the course, even thou i rang them
within the 14 days to cancel it. On the terms and condition says you cant get the refund, not that you cant cancel the course if you access it? I am not going to pay them all as am not using the service.
Sabbyf · 04/11/2022 22:04
I am in this exact situation . I signed up for a nursing course I was never told I can't cancel and I was never sent the terms and conditions. I'm a single mom and find it difficult to do the course so I've been calling to cancel and ok being told I can't becausei had 14 days to do so I was never told so by the agent. I'm now receiving letters from debt collectors and this will ruin my credit. How can I pay for a course I never logged into. I'm really sadden at this .. Those scammers
NancyVicious · 04/11/2022 22:39
Learn Direct are terrible. I was sent there as a 17 year old to do some admin on placement for an administration NVQ. The tutor left. They made me the tutor for three months.... I didn't have so much as a gcse at this point yet was running the courses for the whole centre
Mariaban · 30/12/2022 08:34
I'll be honest, between the guy not letting me speak and not receiving any material I just cancelled my first payment. I'm paying for something I can't do. Also when signing the thing with them they were rushing me through terms and conditions???? Dodgy? And I am not planning to pay it at all. It seems like a massive scam
LilLilLi · 20/02/2023 23:05
I really don’t see how it’s a scam?
Im doing a course with them - if you choose to pay monthly it’s a finance agreement through a third party. You have 14 days to cancel if you don’t access the course.
I have never waited more than an hour for a reply to an email, the online chat has a 5 minute response time and when I’ve had to call their customer service team has always picked up within a few minutes. They’re really not hard to get hold of.
You took out credit, signed up to a finance agreement and didn’t cancel within the terms (which are clearly stated on the website). I fail to see how that’s LD’s fault.
Gaben · 14/03/2023 11:48
What happened after? I just asked because I have a similar situation.
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