NCT Virtual Classes (due to Coronavirus)

[TwinklyTwinkle]

Hi everyone,

Me and my husband signed up to start NCT classes in April. Obviously with everything happening with Coronavirus, they've now been cancelled. We haven't been contacted to be told, but I saw it on their Facebook page that they are starting virtual sessions online instead. I called NCT to see if there was any chance of a refund or partial refund if we didn't feel virtual sessions were for us and they said they were still waiting to hear from Head Office (I got a feeling this wasn't true and they were trying to avoid refunds) she said they'd run 50 virtual classes already so far and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We paid £200 for the classes including a breastfeeding session and I understand that everyone is in the same boat and this was unexpected, but I feel that's a lot to pay for what are now virtual classes. One of the main reasons I signed up was to try and meet other new local mums because I'm really worried about being isolated during maternity leave.

Has anyone had any experience of these virtual classes? We've also done the NHS Antenatal classes too which were helpful.

@2020Aug Ahh I'm in South Wales, that's probably why there's such a difference!

I actually emailed my specific course leader this morning just to ask what the virtual classes entailed and whether a refund was an option and had this back -

If you do not wish to attend, as we are providing a valid alternative in the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves, our normal cancellation policy will apply. That means that you would receive a 50% refund. However, we really hope that you will join us at this time of social isolation and a lack of NHS classes, we feel the course is more important than ever before.

Connecting local parents has always been at the heart of what NCT does. We understand how critical it is that you can still access the social aspects of our courses, while getting fully prepared for birth and beyond, particularly in these uncertain times. In readiness for this situation, we have been working closely with our course leaders so that we can continue to bring local parents together through a live, virtual alternative to our in person classes.

Your course will now be made up of a combination of live, interactive sessions, enhanced personalised support from your course leader and the opportunity to build the supportive group of local new parents that we know is so important to you.

Interactive, engaging and social, our virtual antenatal classes will continue to be a great way for you to get to know other parents and for our experienced course leader to help you prepare for birth and the early days with your baby.

I'm actually quite happy with that - a 50% refund if we want to pull out is fair, but now i'm just leaning towards sucking it up and just doing it with hopeful intentions. Personally, if I lived in London and had paid over £350 though... I think i would opt for the partial refund cos that's a lot of money..

So if you cancel you get 50% back, but if you want to do the virtual course it is the full fee - am I reading it right?

I agree with @LillyLeaf they shouldn't be charging for the hire costs and I cannot see how they can justify that the virtual is a valid alternative to pay the full cost.

@2020Aug I believe so..but it might be worth emailing your specific course leader just in case the rules are different in London! I can't imagine them being let off for hall costs in London though as rents are so high there probably even for venue hire, but definitely worth questioning!

If I were you though, I'd definitely push for a discounted price..

@TwinklyTwinkle Thanks for sharing this, really helpful! I'm also signed up to do NCT in South Wales in April and my motivation to do NCT was the same as yours. Maybe we're in the same class!

@RyvitaBrevis That would be amazing if we were!! Are you still planning on doing it? My sessions were mostly on Sundays!

@TwinklyTwinkle Ah, sadly mine were Wednesdays and Saturdays. I'll probably go ahead, but I'm not fully decided.

@RyvitaBrevis Gutting! We were originally signed up to do those Wednesday and Saturday sessions, but then we got invited to a family wedding in London on the Saturday session and when I queried if it was ok to miss one, the course leader advised changing onto one where we wouldn't miss any sessions to get our full money's worth, so we did! It's so nice to hear from someone local though, definitely let me know what you decide! :)

My course isn't until May in London and they've said this -

A full refund is available if you cancel more than four weeks before the start of the course, less a £30 cancellation fee

If that helps?! X

@TwinklyTwinkle Ok! Pm me if you want to chat!

We had our first session yesterday and it isn't the same as face to face but actually, it was much better than I expected. Plus no travelling after a long day at work for us and my partner could have a beer on the sofa! The sessions are done via Zoom and it's much better than Skype. The teacher has already set up a WhatsApp for us to chat on, and as part of the course she is going to be doing lots of extra support through that to make up for the loss of hours face to face. As a class, we have also said we are going to have our own zoom sessions to catch up!
Please give them a chance - my sister works for NCT and they are working their socks off to get these going, and maybe things regarding refunds etc have been slow, but they are a charity and so don't have lots of resources and people to deal with things like this that a large company would...
Hopefully, by the time we have had our babies, this might be over and we can then meet up in person, and we will still have our baby friend group 😊

I was totally talking about this exact situation with my husband. We paid £315 for the course in Hertfordshire and were deciding if we opt for the refund or go ahead. It is a lot of money but after having our chat we've decided to go ahead for the following reasons:

1. We would still value the course content and would still be able to learn with the instructor, ask questions and gain valuable knowledge to prepare for birth
2. Zoom costs money to use for the company, it's not free so some of the venue hire would go to their corporate subscription
3. We can still meet other parents even if it's virtually at first, we're really keen to make new friends as we're newish to the area
4. NCT is only a charity and not a huge company, with limited resources they have to juggle replying to hundreds of queries, sort out cancellations, as well as in a short time make what is an interactive face to face course into an effective virtual one which is no small feat and they probably spent hours working late nights and weekends to make this happen
5. Like everywhere else, I wonder if they've had to make some people redundant. The courses are their main source of "income" to keep the charity going and to pay staff, with many people cancelling I imagine they will not get what they predicted and projected for the year and therefore may/may not have enough to pay all the staff right now. It's a hard time for them too.

The decision solely depends on what value you feel you could still get from carrying on with the course. But you can only get a full refund (minus £30 admin) if you cancel 4 weeks in advance as PP mentioned.

Just wanted to update this thread with the response from the Hertfordshire NCT lead. We're still definitely going ahead with our course.
**
^^Thank you for your email.

Following the Government press conference last week, all our courses will now go to a virtual format.

We understand how critical it is that you can access the knowledge and social support that you need, particularly in these uncertain times. Connecting local parents has always been at the heart of what NCT does. We are designing our virtual course to give lots of live interaction between parents to help you build the network that we know if such a lifeline in the early weeks with a new baby.

Interactive, engaging and social, our virtual antenatal courses will continue to be a great way for you to meet other parents and for our experienced practitioners to provide essential unbiased information and knowledge about labour, birth and looking after your baby. The interactive sessions and group chats with parents with due dates around the same time as you mean you will have a local, ready-made network of support when it matters most.

We’ll be back in touch with you very soon with full details of this alternative offer and would appreciate your patience as we rapidly respond to the change in government guidance.

We know these are concerning times, and more so when you are expecting a baby, so can reassure you that NCT are committed to providing our usual high level of service to all our parents.

@MiaY I got the same email. I am really disappointed to be honest as I really only wanted the social interaction.

I hope they will find a way to make it still work but missing that face to face will make a difference. I’d hope they would offer a partial refund. I’d be happy with 20% off. I didn’t want online so not thrilled to be forced to pay more for it.

Hi all, just to say that as the NCT are not planning to run their programmes as advertised they are obliged to give a full refund under the Consumer Act. Those working in education are all seeking to offer online alternatives but that does not mean that consumers are not able to receive a refund. This is the law. I’m sure they are concerned about maintaining organisational funds but they are in a position to apply for Coronavirus-relayed government funding to maintain economic buoyancy. Individual consumers-especially those only due to receive statutory maternity leave-are also financially threatened by economic instability. More so-no one is offering to compensate mothers to the same level as Coronoavirus subsidies but we are all expected to survive without our usual incomes for a number of weeks. If those who have paid for NCT face-to-face classes do not push back on the NCT on this issue and demand a full refund mothers in a less stable financial position will suffer and the NCT will not be held to account for their legal responsibilities. NCT is a charity, yes, but so are most educational providers. Private schools like Eton and wealthy universities also have charity status.

I have to say I do agree and feel they're taking the p a bit and just thinking we'll accept it. It's well known that women go to NCT for the social interaction both at the time and thereafter, I'm gutted to be honest. I think it is a bit crappy of them not to at least be offering a substantial discount.

That's a really good point CaptainPlimlico. My reply was before Boris' address that the government was going to help companies. In light of that I totally agree that all parents should push for a full refund if they're not satisfied and ask for a discount on the virtual courses since they're not the same as face to face.

I have booked NCT for July so really hoping things have changed by then and I can still attend face to face! I feel a bit annoyed at NCT as it is because I opted for the membership as well but it was a mistake basically, and they wouldn't refund me for that due to being a charity. I think they need to make that clearer. Good point about consumer protection law PP.

It's all a bit frustrating isn't it. I haven't ended up doing much about it because it was only 2 weeks till my classes started so I didn't feel it was sufficient time to demand a full refund really, so thought a 50% cancellation fee offer was fair enough. For the sake of only getting half our money back anyway, we've decided that we're just going to go for it hoping for the best - although offer of a discount would still be welcomed as it's not technically the full experience anymore. For some of you who don't start till May, June or July (especially those who might have had a change in financial circumstances because of CV), I'd probably seek a refund at this point or maybe wait for more feedback on how the classes are and decide which direction to take! Mine start next Saturday, so I'll come back and update how I've found them!

Yes please let us have your honest thoughts @TwinklyTwinkle, I do hope you get on well with them I'm due to start mine end April

Thanks @christmastree43! My class next week was due to be a whole day 7 hour one 😂 so I'm curious to see if we get the same length of time doing it on Zoom! I may not be able to hack it! 😂

I am getting fed up with NCT now. I signed up for my partner to meet people. It was the social aspect. This cannot be done via video and I know my partner will not feel comfortable with video chat.

NCT should have offered refunds or reductions. Yet they are trotting out the line no refunds.

I have sent several emails to the local organiser and got rubbish generic emails about how good the feedback has been for the online courses. Totally disregarding consumer rights.

It was then escalated to head office and I got a ridiculous we are great, our courses are great and we are a poor charity response.
They offered free NCT membership and a slight reduction in the course.

At this point I want nothing further to do with NCT.

Luckily I paid via credit card so will do a charge back if they do not refund.

To other mums and dads what I will say is do not feel pressured if you want a refund. Persist. They are a charity worth a fortune - just look at their accounts on the charity commission website. Don’t feel sorry for them!

If you have twitter send a tweet expressing this. I would continue virtual classes for a discount but they need to acknowledge this wasn’t what was agreed.

I have now spoken to them and apparently we will all be offered discounts if we choose to continue or a full refund.

I would have loved this option. We had to do NCT because the NHS antenatal classes were fully booked.

We only wanted the info - didn't want the social side at all. All of the info can be taught perfectly well online (lots of it is handouts, videos, or discussion) and you wouldn't miss out on anything other than the chance to hear a lot of entitled blokes bang on about their opinions on pain relief during labour.